City/Country, xx October 2014 – “There are no excuses for violence against women and there are no excuses for tolerating it.” This is the rallying cry of the new communication campaign of the World
Young Women’s Christian Association (World YWCA), a global network of 25 million women in over
120 countries leading social and economic change to achieve women’s full and equal participation in society. The campaign will support the annual YWCA Week Without Violence (October 13-19, 2014), a global initiative to mobilise local communities to condemn violence against women running for almost 20 years (1995).
All around the globe, from New York penthouses to tents in Juba, women, young women and girls are subject to violence in various forms, be it physical, verbal, psychological, emotional or economic.
Recent global prevalence figures indicate for instance that 35% of women worldwide have experienced either intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
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Violence against women has far-off consequences including mental harm and impact on society as a whole. Domestic violence, social and economic discrimination, child marriage, rape and female genital mutilation (FGM) are only a few examples of the different shapes violence can take.
“This is your fault; you’ve dishonoured the whole family!” The aim of the “NoXcuses” campaign is to question the validity of similar sentences commonly used when a violent act is committed.
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, World YWCA General Secretary, explains: “Oftentimes, both parties involved in such an act do not realise that no excuse is acceptable as violence is a violation of women’s fundamental human rights. Therefore, the slogan of our campaign, “NoXcuses”, implies that nothing can justify violence against another human being.”
Calling upon its members and local partner organisations worldwide, the World YWCA launched a set of activities and invites the public to join in raising awareness of gender-based violence during this year’s YWCA Week Without Violence.
Thanks to the local support of the “NoXcuses” campaign, true video testimonials were shot and are available on the website http://www.worldywca.org/noxcuses . They give a voice to women who survived different acts of violence. As a sign of
A gesture of solidarity and support by the World
YWCA General Secretary, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda
1 World Health Organisation, October 2013: Factsheet no 239, Violence Against Women http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/

engagement against violence, people are also encouraged via social media to upload pictures of themselves making a gesture of solidarity by crossing their hands to do an “X” (see picture) or by carrying temporary tattoos with the “NoXcuses” phrase.
* The hashtag #noXcuses will be used as yet another platform to share individual experiences or show support.
In country X the local YWCA… (Please enter your local country activity. If available, please add quotes of local YWCA spokesperson to explain the purpose of the activity.)
More global facts:
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Around 120 million girls under the age of 20 worldwide have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts.
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Close to half of all adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 believe a husband is justified in hitting his wife under certain circumstances.
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Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, forced into marriage before the age of 18.
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About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM).
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Close to 90% of current war casualties are civilians, the majority of whom are women and children and rape is increasingly being used as a weapon of war.
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In country x … (Please add local figures if any available)
* In case celebrities can be convinced to use the temporary tattoos, this could be mentioned at this
stage. Alternatively a captioned picture could be included.
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About the World YWCA
Present in over 120 countries, in 22,000 communities and with an outreach of 25 million women and girls, the World YWCA movement has nearly 160 years of experience in community interventions on violence against women, and is currently supporting survivors of violence to rebuild their lives and dignity in more than 70 countries globally.
For more information visit http://www.worldywca.org
or http://www.worldywca.org/noxcuses
About the YWCA Week Without Violence
The YWCA Week Without Violence is an annual global campaign that takes place in the third week of
October and is designed to mobilise local communities to condemn violence in all its forms and to promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts. During the Week Without Violence, the World YWCA
2 UNICEF 2014, http://www.unicef.org/media/media_75530.html
3 Ibid.
4 www.saynotoviolence.org
5 World Health Organisation 2012
6 YWCA

calls upon the YWCA members and partners worldwide to reflect together and explore ways in which all forms of violence can be prevented.
Press Contact: (Please add your local press contact here)
Name, YWCA country office
Email address or Fax
Phone Number