Love doesn’t hurt

By Efrosini Costa

Valentine’s day is a great opportunity to celebrate love in our lives, but also a time to celebrate that love is built through respect and equality.

Love shouldn’t hurt.

But for seven out of ten women worldwide it does.

While we fuss over heart adorned cards and gifts tomorrow and worry about whether we have a special admirer on Valentine’s Day, one organization is hoping we will spare a thought for a world free of violence against women. 

“Love means many things to many people, but one thing remains constant: a safe and violence-free life” says UN Women, an international human rights group.

They are asking Valentine’s enthusiasts to: “gift your partner, your wife, your mother, your sister, and daughter a life free of violence.”

According to the organization, violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights in the world today.

In some countries, up to 7 in 10 women will be beaten, raped, abused or mutilated in their lifetimes, more than half of those women are killed at the hands of intimate partners. 

As the United Nations meets next month to address the issue, we are being urged to speak up and talk about the atrocities towards women that are committed every day to promote awareness of the issue and the importance of maintaining respectful relationships free of violence

“Relationships are based on the foundation of fairness and must be free from physical, sexual and emotional violence. They are based on respect for one another and by working to resolve conflicts and disagreements peacefully” the group said in a statement released this week, in the lead up to Valentine’s Day.

“Every woman and every girl should be able to live a safe life free of violence. Violence against women should not be accepted, tolerated or justified under any circumstances,” they added.

If you would like to take action on this UN Women’s issue visit: www.saynotoviolence.org

For more information on this initiative see: http://www.unwomen.org/

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