16 Days of Activism against GBV 2015 campaign

The 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV) online campaign for the year 2015 was designed to bring attention to the forms of GBV prevalent in Sri Lanka. The campaign was carried out alongside the 16 days activities that were organised on the ground, a joint effort by members of the GBV Forum. The GBV Forum consists of local and international civil society organisations in Sri Lanka and is chaired by the United Nations.

Since 2011 Women and Media Collective has carried out the online campaign on the Sri Lanka 16 day’s blog. The public is invited to also contribute to the campaign by sending in articles, photographs, film, poems or a method in which they prefer to express their views on GBV. Blog posts were published on WMC Facebook and Twitter platforms under the hash tag #sl16days. There is also a Twitter profile dedicated to the Sri Lanka 16 day’s campaign.

A series of illustrations by Sybil Wettasinghe was a special feature of the 2015 campaign. It depicted domestic violence, violence in public transport and forms of political violence that women in Sri Lanka grapple with on a frequent basis. The illustrations deemed to be a favourite by the online community considering its high engagement on social media and news websites. The 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence online campaign was supported by FOKUS Women.