Ref: 49/2020Date: 06 December 2020

On Sunday, 06 December 2020, the Women’s Rights Unit at the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) sent out an invite to tweet on “Together_for_homes_free_of_violence” hashtag, which PCHR launched as part of its campaign during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to raise awareness about the violence practiced against women and girls and the importance of providing protection for them, particularly in light of the outbreak of Covid-19 that greatly contributed to the increase in violence rates.  Members of PCHR’s Friends Club and female and male activists and social media users participated in this campaign.

Mona Shawa, Head of PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit, opened the session by welcoming the activists and gave a brief on the 16 Days of Activism against GBV, which starts on 25 November and ends on 10 December of each year.  Shawa said that this is an international activism campaign launched all over the world to raise awareness on violence and make it a viral cause, demanding protection for women and girls from violence.  She also emphasized that the circumstances this year are exceptional and that most activities in this regard were online due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. ‘Abdul Halim Abu Samrah, Director of PCHR’s Training Unit, praised the role of youth and PCHR’s Friends Club in such significant activities and stressed the importance of their effective role in reducing violence against women and girls and providing them protection as well as raising community awareness on the issue.

PCHR’s Friend Club and activists were active on all social media websites with the “Together_for_homes_free_of_violence” hashtag, which was virally used by 56,045 users, targeting society and decision-makers to reflect the scale of violence that women and girls are exposed to, particularly amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.