Orange the World! 

From November 25 to December 10, the Austrian Foreign Ministry and its representations worldwide are raising awareness of violence against women and girls under the slogan "UNiTE! End Digital Violence against all Women and Girls".

Violence against women and girls is a massive problem that takes many different forms, including genital mutilation, forced marriage, human trafficking, attacks on female journalists, violence at home or in the workplace. Gender-based violence is manifest in all societies, age groups, and social strata.

That is why gender-based violence is a top-priority issue in Austria’s foreign policy: Austria has been committed nationally and internationally to strengthening the rights of women and girls. In 2023, Austria once again supports the UN Women campaign “Orange the World” to raise awareness about gender-based violence.

Because women’s rights are human rights!

#OrangetheWorld #EndGenderBasedViolence #UNWomen #EndViolenceAgainstWomen

Facts & Figures:

 One in three women suffer from physical, mental and/or sexual violence.

 Every 11 minutes, a girl or woman died in 2020 from a violent act committed by someone she knew.

 At least 15 million young women have become victims of forced sexual intercourse.

 More than 640 million women over the age of 15 have experienced violence at the hands of their partners.

 70% of registered trafficking victims in 2018 were female.

 Around 250 million women alive today were forcibly married as minors.

 Genital mutilation affects more than 200 million women and girls worldwide.

AT engagement:

 Austria is pushing for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on Violence against Women on a global level.

 Through the Austrian Development Cooperation, Austria combats tradition-based violence against women and girls in partner countries.

 All humanitarian projects financed by Austria contribute to promoting gender equality.

 With the help of the Foreign Disaster Fund (AKF), Austria supports 23 projects that focus on the protection against gender-based violence.

 As a long-standing constant of Austrian cultural diplomacy, Austria's cultural work abroad pursues the aim of strengthening women’s rights.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations and UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) have called for broad support of this initiative through the organization of global actions aimed at raising awareness about violence against women, as well as lobbying for systemic solutions and the implementation of good practices.

The global theme of this year’s “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign is: Orange the World: Stop the Digital Violence against All Women and Girls! 
The Government of the Republic of Austria focuses on violence prevention in order to stop its escalation at later stages. To enable new preventive measures, the budget allocated to protection against violence has been significantly increased. These funds are used by institutions and organizations that address issues of violence as well as those dealing with women’s rights.
Individuals who commit acts of violence will, in the future, be required to attend specialized counseling sessions on the subject, while restraining orders are intended to protect women affected by violence from living in constant fear.
Furthermore, women who are at high risk of violence can apply to change their names free of charge. Police officers and medical personnel are being trained on how to properly respond when encountering victims of violence, as they are often the first people to come into contact with those affected. Legal and psychological assistance is also becoming more effective, and most importantly, increasingly accessible to women who have suffered violence.
Plans are also underway to tighten penalties for spreading hate in the digital space. The government has commissioned research on femicides in Austria over the past decade. Moreover, abroad, the Austrian government supports a variety of projects that assist women living in areas particularly affected by conflict or humanitarian crises.

More information can be found under the following links: Orange the World - Bundesministerium für Frauen, Wissenschaft und Forschung, Orange the World - Man(n) kann Gewalt an Frauen beenden