Beyond 16 Days: Special Envoy Briceno Stresses Ongoing Efforts to End Gender-Based Violence

Special for the Development of Families and Children Rossana Briceno says there is a greater need to be done beyond the annual 16 days of activism. The campaign dedicated to raising awareness for the elimination of violence against women and children ended a month ago; however, Briceno says the work continues. She spoke to Love News about the collaborative efforts that need to be made to end gender-based violence and how is using her platform to raise greater awareness. 

Rossana Briceno, Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children: “We have to do more. We can’t just keep silent anymore and my heart breaks for families especially when it comes to children but the women, the women need to know that they’re not alone and they need to know how to access services and that’s our campaign and this is where the Women’s Commission comes in , this is where Human Development comes in and many other organizations that are doing the same. I think we need to put our heads together and figure out a way how we can make it more accessible that our women know where to call, when to call, how to access these services because this has to end. It has to end at some point and it does not have to end in death. It does not have to end in fatality. Unfortunately 16 Days of Activism always somehow ends up with the most situations that come to light but we really really as a country need to make sure that our efforts are one and we’re not working separate because that doesn’t make any sense we’re defeating the purpose. And we need to ensure that women have that voice and they’re safe to ask for help. They need to be able to have that confidence knowing that if I ask for help I will get it.”

There were several incidents where women and children either died or were injured during the campaign.