On indication of Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, at the same time Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Antonio Tajani, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its foreign network join the ‘Orange the World’ campaign, kicking off 16 days of initiatives alongside civil society. The campaign, entitled ‘UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls’, focuses on the promotion of investments and financial resources dedicated to the fight against gender-based violence, setting an even more ambitious goal: to proclaim the 25th of every month an ‘Orange Day’, as a means of strengthening and continuing public attention on this topic.
As a tangible sign of adherence to the campaign, a lighting ceremony will be held in Rome on Saturday 25 November so to illuminate the Farnesina Palace, headquarters of the Ministry. “The Farnesina will be coloured orange to give a strong signal of attention and to reiterate the firm condemnation of all types of violence against women, a heinous crime that constitutes one of the most serious and widespread forms of violation of personal rights in the world. Every hour five women are killed in the domestic sphere, while one in three is a victim of physical or psychological violence or abuse and exploitation”, Tajani said.
The vulnerable condition of women and girls is worsened in armed conflicts, as well as in any emergency, since they are the most exposed. In the face of these alarming data, Italy once again expresses the strongest condemnation against all forms of discrimination and violence against women.
The elimination of violence against women and the support for women’s emancipation are among the pillars of Italian foreign policy and development cooperation. Evidence of this are the numerous international campaigns, such as the ones for the eradication of female genital mutilation and early and forced marriages, which have always seen Italy in the front line, as well as Italy’s commitment in the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Within the framework of the UN Agenda ‘Women, Peace and Security’, Italy is also at the forefront of the international community both in promoting initiatives to enhance the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution, and in post-conflict reconstruction, as well as through the ‘Fourth National Action Plan 2020-2024’.
Italy participates in projects of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization – UNIDO designed to support women’s entrepreneurship opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region, is proud supporter of the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network, and also of the African Development Bank’s Gender Equality Trust Fund – Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa – AFAWA. The recent Italian ‘Cooperation Guidelines on Gender Equality and the empowerment of women, girls and children’ aim to further intensify our engagement through specific initiatives ranging from women’s, maternal, child, sexual and reproductive health, to supporting programmes in favour of girls’ and women’s education, and women’s entrepreneurship development projects.
The planning and implementation of effective policies at international level are also crucial for the full realisation of the 5th Sustainable Development Goal of the ‘2030 Agenda’, the EU ‘Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024’ and the EU ‘Strategy on Gender Equality 2020-2025’.
