The Embassy of the Netherlands in Sri Lanka and the Maldives organized a Cycle Tour on Thursday (24) to say NO to violence against women and girls, as part of the Orange The World campaign.

The Dutch Ambassador with a group of other Ambassadors, NGOs, Company representatives, and local police successfully delivered the ‘Orange The World’ banners to different diplomatic missions and organizations in Colombo.

The 16 Days of Activism against violence against women and girls is an international campaign that takes place each year. It commences on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until 10 December, Human Rights Day.

It was originated by activists at the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and this year marks its 30th anniversary.

According to the latest estimates, nearly 1 in 3 women aged 15 years and older, around the world have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner, non-partner or both, at least once in their lifetime, indicating that levels of VAWG have remained largely unchanged over the last decade.

These numbers do not reflect the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and would be even higher if they included the full continuum of violence that affects women and girls including sexual harassment, violence in digital contexts, harmful practices, and sexual exploitation.