Commonwealth Secretary-General’s message for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we come together as a global community to reaffirm our commitment to ending violence against all women and girls.

This day reminds us of our shared responsibility to eliminate one of the most pervasive human rights violations.

Despite the progress we have made, violence against women and girls remains a devastating reality.

Globally, one in three women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

Sadly, this is also the case in the Commonwealth.

Last year, every 10 minutes, somewhere in the world, a woman was murdered by someone in her own family.

This violence is not just a personal tragedy.

It reflects deep structural failings that rob women and girls of dignity, rights, and opportunities.

This hidden pandemic harms everyone.

It destabilises families, fractures communities, and undermines the social and economic foundations of our societies.

Yet we know violence can be prevented.

And we know a different future is possible.

That is why I have dedicated my entire career to fighting this scourge.

As a barrister, as a UK minister, and as an Attorney General, I worked tirelessly to dismantle harmful attitudes that enable such abuse.

This meant engaging with everyone – from judges to police officers to first responders – to support victims, hold perpetrators accountable, and reduce the prevalence of violence.

When I became Secretary-General of the Commonwealth in 2016, I built on this work by making the elimination of violence against women and girls a top priority of my leadership.

We needed to make ending violence everyone’s business.

That’s why I launched the ‘Commonwealth Says NO MORE’ campaign and portal – the first initiative of its kind.

This initiative provides governments, businesses, and citizens with free, culturally sensitive tools to challenge harmful attitudes, intervene in cases of abuse, and support survivors.

While empowering people to act is essential, understanding the economic cost of violence offers another powerful argument for change.

For this reason, we developed a pioneering tool to measure the economic cost of violence against women and girls.

This tool quantifies how much a country loses when it fails to prevent violence and provides evidence-based solutions to improve national responses.

I am proud that Seychelles and Lesotho have already utilised this tool to strengthen their prevention and intervention efforts.

But there is still so much more for us to do – individually and collectively.

Crises such as conflict and climate change are inflaming inequalities, leaving women and girls even more exposed to violence.

Meanwhile, online spaces have become new battlegrounds, rife with misogynistic hate and harassment.

This year’s theme ‘No Excuse’ reminds us that there is no justification for violence and no excuse for inaction.

We must confront this issue with the urgency it demands.

This calls for stronger laws, greater investments in prevention, better survivor protection, and more support for grassroots organisations.

Today, as we honour the memory of femicide victims and stand in solidarity with survivors, let us recommit ourselves to action.

Let us work together to ensure that our homes become a place of dignity, safety, and peace.

Because only then will we be able to achieve peace in our world.

The time is now.