The "old town hall glowed orange on monday evening, the smell of sausage drifted across the marketplace. Whoever thought the living advent calendar had already started was mistaken. Rather, it was a very serious topic.
The zonta club in herzogenaurach wanted to support the UN campaign "orange the world" with a high-profile campaign support and make a statement to end violence against women and girls. To the sound of whistles, the "piranha social club samba band" under the direction of alberto parmigiani lieb sounded her drums.
There is still a need to catch up
Herzogenaurach was also attended by claudia wolter, equal opportunity commissioner for the erlangen-hochstadt district, who also saw a need to catch up on equal rights for women and men and spoke out against physical, psychological and sexual violence. "This is a task for society as a whole. A municipal task, a task for the states and the federal government. We still have a lot to do, and we have to do it together, she said.
President christine edgar pointed out that a woman dies every third day in germany as a result of intimate partner violence. Worldwide, one in three women is affected by sexualized violence at least once in her life, including in germany. The zonta president quoted from the statistics of the federal criminal police office. According to the report, 122 women were killed by their partners or ex-partners in germany last year. In total, more than 114,000 women have been victims of domestic violence, threats or assaults.
Too few convictions
The violence ranged from bodily harm to murder and manslaughter. "Around 8,000 rapes are reported in germany every year, and only 13 percent of all cases result in a conviction", she said. The figures are just the tip of the iceberg. "Violence against women and girls has become a sad everyday occurrence in our country", the president stated.
The numbers are shocking. "They show that far too many women continue to suffer from the violence of their partners or ex-partners, said edgar – and in the market place the whistles sounded again.
Zonta is also working hard to end the widespread practice of child and forced marriage. According to estimates by the united nations, over twelve million girls under the age of 18 are forcibly married every year worldwide.
For more women’s shelters
For most girls, child marriage puts an end to any chance of attending school, receiving an education and leading a self-determined life. Instead, for many of those affected, a martyrdom begins, marked by early pregnancies and the associated complications, as well as physical and psychological violence by the partner.
Federal family minister franziska giffey (SPD) also launched a nationwide initiative. Under the heading "stronger than violence organizations have joined forces to help those affected. The goal is to increase awareness of the support services and to expand them. This will specifically involve the expansion of women’s shelters. Nationwide, there are about 350 shelters for women affected by domestic violence. But at the moment there are not enough places. That’s why the federal government plans to provide 120 million euros for women’s shelters and counseling centers over the next four years. Women affected by violence should in future have a legal right to a place in a women’s shelter.
At the end of the event, participants were invited to the "herzobar" invited. Heike kramer, commissioner of the central franconian police for victims of crime, gave a talk on the topic of "violence – how can i protect myself as a woman?.