Why Ending Violence Against Women Matters?

Every year on 25^th November, the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, but this year feels especially urgent.

In 2025, the campaign theme is “UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls”, spotlighting how abuse has crept into the online world and demanding we treat it as real, serious harm.

How It All Began…

The roots of this day trace back to the Mirabal sisters: Patricia, Minerva, and María Teresa, known as “Las Mariposas” or, in English, “The Butterflies”.

In the Dominican Republic, they dared challenge the brutal Trujillo regime, determined to fight for justice. On 25^th November 1960, they were ambushed and killed, and their deaths were staged as a simple car crash. The outrage that followed transformed the three Mirabal sisters into symbols of resistance.

In 1999, the United Nations officially dedicated this date to calling out violence against women. 

 Violence Takes Many Forms – Including Digital

Violence against women isn’t limited to physical or face-to-face abuse. According to UN Women, it manifests in many ways, including:

Physical violence includes hitting or assault, sexual assault involves harassment or forced acts without consent, psychological violence includes threats, manipulation, and control, economic violence includes the restriction of money/independence, and lastly, digital violence, which is supposed to be the focus in 2025. This also includes cyberstalking, image-based abuse, doxxing, hate speech, and AI-manipulated deepfakes. 

Online spaces are no longer a refuge. For many women, they’re the new frontlines of abuse. It’s also a tool of systemic oppression, meant to restrict women’s power, hamper their rights, limit career prospects, and undermine their position in society, while affecting their personal lives, relationships, and everyday freedom. Reports from the UN highlight how anonymity and rapid evolving technology make digital violence widespread yet repeatedly dismissed. 

Who Is Responsible?

This is not the responsibility of survivors alone, but a collective responsibility.

The 2025 UNiTE campaign urges governments, technology companies, donors, and individuals to scale up their efforts. Above all, what is needed are stronger, clearer laws from governments. Tech companies must redesign platforms with safety at the centre. Funders should support organisations bridging gender equality and digital rights. Most importantly, communities, including men and boys, must speak out and actively support survivors. 

Digital violence is not “just online drama.” It has real-life impacts, as it silences women, damages mental health through the spread of fear, and can escalate offline. In order for things to change, we need updated laws that actually protect against digital abuse, schools must make online safety and consent part of mainstream education, and support systems such as helplines and counseling services must adapt to the realities of survivors in a digital era.

The picture is alarming in Sri Lanka: according to UNFPA, nearly one in four women reported having experienced physical and/or sexual violence since age 15. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the problem given lockdowns, which have left many survivors isolated and without essential access to support. 

This reality makes one thing clear: Addressing violence against women is no longer optional… It’s something we must confront now, not someday.

A Legacy That Still Inspires

The Mirabel sisters lost their lives in 1960, but their courage continues to fuel a global movement.

Their story is a strong reminder that violence, in any form, is never acceptable.

And in 2025, as our lives become more connected through social media, digital violence has become the newest battleground. 

Ending it isn’t a one-day task. It’s a commitment to making women and girls feel safe and respected by confronting injustice, speaking up for those who cannot, and creating a world where they can live free from fear and harm, and free to thrive. 

Now is the time to unite, act, and make change!

Penned by: 

Kavya Thotawatte 

Editorial Committee Member 25.26