Gender-based violence is a global issue affecting education and gender equality — Assembly

For International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (GBV), three students Chiara, Sara and Saundarya explore the intersectional relationship between global femicide, education, rights, their safety and their calls for government action to ensure all girls and young women can thrive.

Warning: This article mentions gender-based violence, which could be triggering to some readers.

“If tomorrow I don’t come back, mom destroy everything. If it’s my turn tomorrow, I want to be the last”. These lines written by author Cristina Torres Cáceres, accompanied protests against femicide after the murder of a 22-year-old Italian student.

In November 2023, Giulia Cecchettin was supposed to discuss her thesis and graduate. But Giulia never got the chance to celebrate her hard-earned degree with her friends and family, because she was killed by her ex-boyfriend who didn’t want her to graduate before him. He compulsively checked her phone and asked her to tell him where she was all the time. He was insecure, and not supportive of her successes. He couldn’t bear the thought of graduating second to her. So, he killed her.

Giulia’s death has had an unprecedented impact on Italian society. Every Italian girl could be Giulia — a girl with big dreams for her future, who enjoyed portraying an optimistic and joyful world through her drawings.

But Giulia’s death was different from previous femicide cases because her family stepped up to speak out against the violence she was subjected to, instead of mourning Giulia in silence.

“True love doesn’t humiliate, disappoint, trample, betray, or hurt. True love doesn’t hit, shout, or kill” writes Giulia’s father, while her sister Elena urges the need for a cultural revolution addressing for the first time the word “patriarchy.”

“Giulia’s killer is not a monster. He’s the healthy son of a patriarchal society, that is steeped in the culture of rape,” Elena states.

Giulia Cecchettin was the 105th victim of femicide in Italy since the beginning of 2023.

“We must continue to fight until girls feel safe walking in the streets at night, and until they will be valued for who they are and what they accomplish. We shall fight, for Giulia and all our sisters, who had to give their lives for a cause that should never have existed.”

“Femicide is not a crime of passion, it is a crime of power, it is a murder of the State because the government does not protect us,” Elena Cecchettin continues.

Thanks to the advocacy of Giulia’s family, thousands of young people have gathered in protests against femicide, which has rapidly increased in the last few years.

Why is femicide in the news?

In 2022, UN Women reported that 133 women were killed every day. Verified data after this year is unavailable, yet the picture looks grim.

Specifically, India has noted a consistent increase in crimes against women since 2020, rising by 15.3% in 2021 and a further 4% in 2022, with 2023 data pending; but despite public outrage, most cases of gender-based violence (GBV) remain unreported or ignored. Recently, a female trainee doctor was sexually assaulted and killed during her rest break in a hospital in Kolkata, sparking widespread protests and strikes from doctors across the country. This brought to mind the brutal rape and murder of a paramedic student in 2012, which had elicited similar outrage and an overhaul of rape laws in the country — 12 years and many reforms later, progress seems negligible.

What is common to all these cases, heinous as they are is that the victims or survivors were targeted merely for being women.

In January 2024, massive anti-femicide protests broke out in Kenya, where at least 152 femicide cases were recorded in 2023. To get an on-ground perspective, we spoke to Gloria, a young Kenyan woman and gender justice advocate.

She talked about the spike in femicide cases involving heinous violence that was sensationalized through the media. This and rampant victim-blaming which accused femicide victims of trying to ‘get money’ from their male partners, led to small protests by young women, which snowballed with solidarity into historical rallies and marches when the original few protestors were harassed by male vigilantes.

“We need policymakers who recognise that the violence against young women impacts their education. Curriculums should embolden us in our fight for our rights and classrooms should be places of safety. Education should be the stepping stone to the rest of our future, not a death sentence.”

Femicide & girls’ education around the world

Gender-based violence impacts every aspect of women’s lives and its impact on education is no different. “Girls, especially in rural areas, face heightened risks because of the long distances they have to walk to school, which makes them more vulnerable to attacks,” said Gloria, a GirlUp Teen Advisor and gender equality activist from Kenya. “The government needs to step in and educate men about femicide and gender-based violence — why it’s wrong and the damage it causes. These conversations should be happening everywhere — from schools and workplaces to churches and mosques.”

Gloria ended on a note of hope, praising the power and fearlessness of the youth against the oppressive structures which facilitate femicide and IPV. She reaffirmed that the protests had brought significant awareness to the issue, and immediately resulted in a drop in reported femicide cases. However, for this change to be lasting, significant legal, political and social measures need to be undertaken; and it is not just the youth, but the older generations consisting of people with power, who must align with this vision of justice.

What young women are asking of their governments

To ensure women’s rights and safety, it is necessary to invest in long-term cultural and social change.

We need laws that refuse to condone violence in any form, by anyone. We need law enforcement that stands up against patriarchal social pressure. We need authorities who will be not only strict but also sensitive to gender-informed approaches to education. We also need police who focus on the safety of survivors, and courts that prioritize justice for the victims. We need politicians who speak up against interpersonal violence and femicide and refuse to denigrate the survivors’ dignity by politicizing cases. We need systems that believe and support, rather than humiliate, victims and survivors of violence.

We need policymakers who recognise that the violence against young women impacts their education. Curriculums should embolden us in our fight for our rights and classrooms should be places of safety. Education should be the stepping stone to the rest of our future, not a death sentence.

We cannot hope for a better tomorrow anymore - we need to fight for a safer today. Femicides are not normal and never should be. We must continue to fight until girls feel safe walking in the streets at night, and until they will be valued for who they are and what they accomplish. We shall fight, for Giulia and all our sisters, who had to give their lives for a cause that should never have existed.

This piece was co-written by:

Sara Bonaparte (she/her) is a curious 18-year-old student from Italy who loves playing the piano, reading and travelling. She is passionate about women’s health and social justice

Saundarya Nair (she/her) is a gender justice youth activist from India, passionate about sexual & reproductive health, rights & justice, gender-based violence and women in sports amongst other issues areas.

Chiara Longo (she/her) is a 20-year-old Italian climate activist and Girl Scout. She is the founder of the blog #PlugInTheWorld, which amplifies youth voices.