What are the 16 days?

ICchange needs your support for 16 days of action created by the UN to make sure that vital work being done to stop gender-based violence continues to transform the lives of women and girls.

The campaign starts on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day.

Each day, we will shine a spotlight on the work and impact of a different service or campaign through our blog, each a vital piece of the infrastructure needed to eliminate violence against women and girls - and each piece protected by the Istanbul Convention.

Why are we doing this?

This is a perfect moment to galvanise the action needed to end gender-based violence in the UK, while also celebrating some tremendous achievements in often challenging times.

Firstly, we want to take this time to recognise the importance and creativity of the work undertaken by individuals, organisations and campaigns to end violence against women.

But, secondly, we must also highlight the imminent threat to these vital services due to restrictions and cuts to funding that may halt this progress.

Ultimately, ICchange continues to call on the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

The Istanbul Convention was designed to prevent and combat violence against women by protecting and developing these types of services.

The efforts of the 16 organisations we’ve highlighted – and the many we didn’t have space to - inspire us to ensure we win the campaign for ratification, something already done by 19 countries.

We therefore need the UK government to deliver on its promise made in June 2012, so these organisations can thrive, not fight to survive.

How can you get involved?

Each day brings new, real-life insight into a campaign or service that are tackling violence against women and girls. These 16 organisations are just a snapshot of the wider infrastructure needed nationwide .

You can follow the links within the case studies to support the organisations’ vital work.

You can also help protect all the services out there in the long-term by signing our petition telling the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention now.