The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign started in 1991 to challenge gender-based violence across the globe. The annual campaign begins on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and concludes on December 10, International Human Rights Day. It encompasses other significant dates including International Women Human Rights Defenders Day (November 29), World AIDS Day (December 1) and, in Canada, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (December 6).
Gender-based violence is rooted in gendered inequality, the abuse of power and harmful social norms directed towards individuals and communities based on their gender, gender identity, gender expression or perceived gender (YWCA 2023). Systems of oppression like patriarchy, toxic masculinity and rape culture perpetuate gender-based violence. Women, girls and gender-diverse individuals who also identify as Indigenous, Black, people with disabilities or 2SLGBTQQIA+ are disproportionately impacted because of the intersections of sexism with other forms of oppression like racism, colonialism, ableism, heterosexism, homophobia and transphobia.
- Persistent colonial violence reflected in internationally condemned violations of Indigenous rights results in Indigenous women and girls being 12 times more likely than other women in Canada to be murdered or to go missing. (See Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
- According to Egale Canada, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, as well as gender-diverse and Two Spirit people, encounter discrimination, stigmatization and traumatic violence at much higher rates than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts.
- According to Dawn Canada, women with disabilities are twice as likely as women without disabilities to be sexually assaulted and are at a higher risk of abuse due to intersecting experiences of sexism and disability-based violence.
At Centennial, the observance of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence offers employees and students an opportunity to strengthen their capacity to end these forms of violence and to foster healthy and safe relationships and spaces. This year, the observance focuses on the Moosehide Campaign, Building a Culture of Consent and the College’s Sexual Violence Training for students and employees.
If you are experiencing any form of sexual or gender-based violence, resources are available from Centennial College at Sexual Violence and Sexual Misconduct Information and Support.
- Learn MoreThe Moose Hide Campaign
The Moose Hide Campaign began as a BC-born Indigenous-led grassroots movement to engage men and boys in ending violence towards women and children.
- Learn MoreBuilding a Culture of Consent
Be part of the movement in building a culture of consent at Centennial.
- Learn MoreSexual Violence Training Modules
All members of the Centennial College community have the right to work, study and live in an environment free from any form of gender-based or sexual violence.
Campus Information and Supports
Sexual Violence and Sexual Misconduct Information and Support
Centennial College Safety App – Sexual Assault and Violence Awareness
Gender-Based Violence Library Guide
Centennial College Red Dress Exhibit Video
Centennial College Healthy Relationships Podcast
Off-Campus Information
Ending Sexual Violence: An Intersectional Approach
Government of Canada National Action Plan to end Gender-Based Violence
Amelia Rising Sexual Violence Support Centre
- Everyone has the right to live free from violence. However, many living across the country continue to face violence every day because of their gender, gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender. This is referred to as gender-based violence (GBV), and is a violation of human rights.
- Half of all women across the country have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. – Canadian Women’s Foundation.
- Women living with physical and cognitive disabilities experience violence 2 to 3 times more often than women living without disabilities. 60% of women with a disability experience some form of violence. – Canadian Women’s Foundation.
- Indigenous women are six times more likely to be killed than non-indigenous women. Indigenous women are 2.5 times more likely to be victims of violence than non-Indigenous women. – Canadian Women’s Foundation.
- November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance that serves several purposes. It raises awareness of hate crimes against transgender and two-spirit people and it’s also a day to publicly mourn and honour the lives that were lost due to acts of anti-transgender violence. Transgender violence is a form of gender-based violence.
- According to the Trans PULSE Project, which researches the social determinants of health for transgender and gender diverse individuals in Ontario, 20% of all trans Ontarians had been physically or sexually assaulted for being trans and another 34% had been verbally threatened or harassed but not assaulted.
- “Anti-transgender violence is not a new phenomenon. We know that it disproportionately impacts young transgender women of color, and we can identify common risk factors shared among many of its victims. But in order for us to end this deeply complex crisis, we must constantly identify new approaches and engage wider audiences to address the root causes that lead transgender people to face a higher risk of violence.”
- December 6 is Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The date is etched in history by the shooting deaths of 14 women in 1989 in Montreal by a man deliberately targeting women on a busy campus. This day is about remembering victims; it is also a time to take action. We each have the opportunity and the responsibility to stand up against misogyny, sexism, hate and violence.
- Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada (MMIWG) refers to a human rights crisis. Indigenous women and communities have long called for action into the high and disproportionate rates of violence and the appalling numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police acknowledged in a 2014 report that there have been more than 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women between 1980 and 2012. Indigenous women’s groups, however, document the number of missing and murdered to be over 4,000.
- Indigenous women make up 16% of all female homicide victims, and 11% of missing women, even though Indigenous people make up 4.3% of the population of Canada.
- Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada, and 16 times more likely than Caucasian women.
- Six ways to end gender-based violence:
- Empower girls, women and non-binary folk
- Raise awareness locally and globally
- Transform institutional systems
- Change gender norms and social attitudes
- Educate boys, men and non-binary folk
- Hold perpetrators accountable for their action