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16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

25 November to 10 December 

Background to the 16 Days
2008 Action in Aotearoa
    The action: 16 Emails, 16 Days
    How to participate
    The 16 Ministers
    Suggested points to raise
    Background information

Background

The 16 days of activism on gender violence is an international campaign that started from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute held in 1991. The 16 days starts on November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and goes till December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the massacre of women in a Montreal university.

2008 Aotearoa Action

The action: 16 Emails, 16 Days
We are highlighting the fact that violence against women is a serious issue in this country, by sending 16 emails over 16 days to key Ministers of the new coalition government.


How to participate

1. Send your first email this Tuesday (25^th November) – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the first day of the 16 day campaign.
2. Choose randomly from the list of 16 ministers (see below) until you have sent one email to each Minister on the list – this way we don’t all send emails to the same Minister each day.
3. Make your email as short or as long as you choose – it is far more important that many of us send emails rather than a few of us sending lots of content
4. The more diverse we make the messages the more likely they are to be taken notice of
5. Choose your own subject title for your emails – probably better if they are all different
6. Write the message in your own words – it will be far more powerful if we all say different things – quite OK to each send the same message to each Minister but also great if you want to say something different to each Minister.
   
7. It is a good idea to ask specific questions – that way the relevant minister will be obliged to provide a specific answer – if possible make your questions applicable to the Minister you are writing to for example:

• What is the annual cost to ACC for payments made to women as a consequence of injuries inflicted by men? (or similar) or
• What is the Maori Party’s policy on violence against women?
• What are your views on ……..or what do you plan to do about………?

8. It is a good idea to make particular mention of the ‘16 days of activism on gender violence’, that this is a global campaign against gender violence etc.
• Emails sent on 25^th November could mention that is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
• Emails sent on 10^th December could focus on the fact that it is International Human Rights Day and violence against women is a violation of fundamental human rights. This right is embodied as the right to security of the person in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. The 1993 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women explicitly sets out ways in which governments should act to prevent violence, and to protect and defend women’s rights - What are the Ministers in the new National coalition government going to do to ensure the right’s of New Zealand women to live safely, securely and free from violence?
9. Encourage others who share our concerns to also participate – the more who participate in this the better
10. It doesn’t matter if you miss a day or two or if someone starts sending emails part way through the 16 days – the more people participating and the more days they send emails, the better
11. Please keep a copy of emails you send and the replies you receive – you are likely to first get a standard ‘your email has been received and we will get back to you shortly’ reply – it would be great if we can each keep track of the definitive responses and if none is received in 3 weeks then go back and ask where the reply is. For this to be most effective we need to collate everything that gets raised and all responses received.

12. Dates

• Send the first email on Tuesday 25^th November
• Then one each day for 16 days
• Last emails go on 10th December

The 16 Ministers

	Title/name	Relevant portfolio(s)	Email address
1	Hon. Paula Bennett	National Party Minister for Social Development and Employment Minister for Disability Issues Minister of Youth Affairs	Paula.bennett@parliament.govt.nz
2	Hon. Pansy Wong	National Party Minister of Women’s Affairs Minister of Ethnic Affairs Associate Minister for ACC	Pansy.wong@parliament.govt.nz
3	Hon. Simon Power	National Party Minister of Justice	Simon.power@parliament.govt.nz
4	Hon. Tony Ryall	National Party Minister of Health	Tony.ryall@parliament.govt.nz
5	Hon. Dr Nick Smith	National Party Minister for ACC	Nick.smith@parliament.govt.nz
6	Hon. Judith Collins	National Party Minister of Police Minister of Corrections	Judith.collins@parliament.govt.nz
7	Hon. Anne Tolley	National Party Minister of Education	Anne.tolley@parliament.govt.nz
8	Hon. Georgina to Heuheu	National Party Minister for Courts Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Associate Minister of Maori Affairs	Georgina.teHeuheu@parliament.govt.nz
9	Hon Kate Wilkinson	National Party Minister of Labour	Kate.wilkinson@parliament.govt.nz
10	Hon. Dr Jonathan Coleman	National Party Associate Minister of Health	Jonathan.coleman@parliament.govt.nz
11	The Rt Hon. John Key	National Party Prime Minister	John.key@parliament.govt.nz
12	Dr Pita Sharples	Maori Party Minister of Maori Affairs Associate Minister of Corrections Associate Minister of Education	Pita.sharples@parliament.govt.nz
13	Hon. Turiana Turia	Maori Party Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Associate Minister of Health Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment	Turiana.turia@parliament.govt.nz
14	Hon. Rodney Hide	ACT No relevant portfolios but ACT leader	Rodney.hide@parliament.govt.nz
15	Hon. Heather Roy	ACT Associate Minister of Education	Heather.roy@parliament.govt.nz
16	Hon. Peter Dunne	United Future Associate Minister of Health	Peter.dunne@parliament.govt.nz

Some starting points to raise in emails

It will be more powerful if we all raise a whole range of issues- however some ideas are:

• Concern about the high statistics on violence against women in New Zealand (e.g. high rates of domestic violence, low rates of prosecutions for rape, high rates of violence experienced by young women- to get statistics see www.roundtablevaw.org.nz)
• How  NZ is responding to the recommendations of the CEDAW committee
• The problems with a fragmented government approach to the different forms of violence, and the need for an overarching strategy covering all parts of the spectrum of violence against women
• The need for violence prevention strategies that are based on evidence, and are long term – this issue will take many years to address
• Institutional violence/abuse -how the system continues to abuse women after they have taken action to reclaim their lives eg family courts
• The difference between violence by men towards women and violence by women towards men, and the need for a gendered analysis of violence
• The  link between child abuse and abuse of women – today’s abused boy children highly likely to grow up to be abusers of the future – most women who as adults abuse their children have themselves been abused in childhood – the cycle of violence
• How addressing violence against women will mean addressing the root of much serious crime in this country
• The need for early intervention, and prevention work, as well as services that help  women and children to get to safety to rebuild their lives free from violence

 
Background information

A few of the many web sites to get ideas for what you want to say in your emails:

Go for it – if we all do a SMALL bit this could have a BIG impact