Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will launch a pioneering Peace in the home: Ending domestic violence together initiative as part of the larger strategy focused on ‘A Peace-building Commonwealth’ – the theme for Commonwealth Day and the rest of the year.
This March, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will launch a pioneering Peace in the home: Ending domestic violence together initiative as part of the larger strategy focused on ‘A Peace-building Commonwealth’ – the theme for Commonwealth Day and the rest of the year. Her aim is to build a coalition of governments, businesses, civil society and citizens committed to ending domestic violence and achieving peace in the home.
According to the World Bank, one in three women will experience violence in their lifetime and as many as 38 per cent of women murdered globally were killed by an intimate partner. But it is an issue that affects everyone; around 15 per cent of domestic violence victims are men. Achieving gender equality, empowering women and girls and ending the epidemic of domestic violence are urgent priorities for the Commonwealth and its Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland.
The Commonwealth’s 12-month initiative will include a multipronged action plan mandated by Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers at their summit in Samoa last September. It will begin with a month of activities in March. This plan includes a cross-sector policy discussion; the launch of a project to investigate the economic cost of violence in each Commonwealth country; and consultations with key stakeholders.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Scotland will officially launch Peace in the home: Ending domestic violence together and unveil specific measures to help governments tackle domestic violence, at a high-level panel discussion on International Women’s Day, March 8. Peace in the home is expected to culminate in a Commonwealth accord in February next year.
