16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

Every year, from 25 November to 10 December, more than 300 organizations in Switzerland mobilize to counter gender-based violence through the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” Campaign. The initiative, launched in 1991 by the Women’s Global Leadership Institute, symbolically links two key dates: the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November) and Human Rights Day (10 December).

The Canton of Ticino has also participated in the Campaign for several years, promoting moments of reflection, cultural initiatives, and awareness-raising events organized by institutions and civil society. The goal is to reduce episodes of gender-based violence through information, prevention, and the active involvement of the population.

Each edition highlights a specific theme to shed light on the complexity and multiple forms of gender-based violence.

In 2025, the focus is on a reality often ignored: violence experienced by people with disabilities.

Women and queer people with disabilities – especially those who rely on assistance, live in residential facilities, or have non-visible conditions – are two to four times more exposed to violence, abuse of power, coercion, neglect, and forms of control, often repeated in daily life. Despite this, they remain largely invisible: absent from statistics, overlooked within protection systems, and marginalized when disability, gender, sexual orientation, age, chronic illness, origin, and socioeconomic status intersect, creating structural vulnerability.

The theme “Gender-Based Violence and Disability” therefore aims to highlight the interconnection between these dimensions and to promote both individual support and collective and institutional responsibility, which are essential to prevent and combat all forms of violence.

On the occasion of the Campaign, the USI Equal Opportunities Service and the SUPSI Gender and Diversity Service, under the patronage of the Città of Mendrisio, invite, Thursday December 4, the academic community to attend a public screening of the documentary “La Pandemia oscura” by Paola Ghislieri. A roundtable discussion will follow — an opportunity to learn, reflect, break the silence, and help build a safer and fairer community.

For more information about the event, please consult the dedicated web page.