The United Nations’ annual “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign is aimed at the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. It runs every Nov. 25-Dec. 10. Photo: United Nations
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of New York’s Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault spreads awareness of violence against women and girls year-round, culminating in December when it observes “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” the United Nations’ annual campaign, and The Episcopal Church’s “Breaking the Silence Sunday.”
“We host events throughout the year because violence against women and girls happens on a daily basis,” Yvonne O’Neal, a founding task force member, told Episcopal News Service. “Gender-based violence is a painful reality within our church and our world.”
The “16 Days of Activism” campaign is aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls. It begins with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Nov. 25 and ends on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. The campaign started in 1991 at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute.
In support of the campaign, General Convention in 2022 passed a resolution calling on The Episcopal Church to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on the Sunday closest to Nov. 25. The resolution also calls on Episcopalians, laity and clergy, to learn how to support rape and sexual violence supporters.
“Honoring that call [to observe ‘Break the Silence Sunday’] means speaking clearly to victims and survivors – affirming that we care for them, that we hear them and that they have a home in our congregations,” O’Neal said.
This year’s U.N. campaign focused on cyberbullying, online harassment, deep fakes, blackmail, digital safety and other areas related to digital abuse.
In early December, the diocese’s task force hosted a webinar focused on digital abuse, which can also be used to track women and girls and exploit them online.
“[Digital violence] can be physical, often with the use of an electronic device, a tracking device … possibly using personal images and pictures,” Shael Norris, cofounder and executive director of SafeBAE, a nonprofit committed to ending sexual violence among middle and high school students nationwide, said during the Dec. 4 webinar.
The webinar was the third in a three-part series the diocese hosts annually, with the 2026 series beginning in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
An estimated 840 million women – almost one third – worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence, according to data from the World Health Organization.
In the United States, one fifth of U.S. women have been raped or experienced attempted rape; one third of those women were between the ages of 11 and 17 when they experienced it for the first time, according to the nonprofit National Sexual Violence Resource Center. On average, someone, including men and boys, is assaulted every 74 seconds; every nine minutes, that someone is a minor. Women and girls are at greater risk, with one in six having been raped or having experienced attempted rape, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual assault nonprofit in the United States.
Beyond hosting advocacy events, O’Neal said one of the task force’s goals is to educate priests and lay leaders on how to identify the signs of domestic violence and sexual assault so they can help survivors find safety.
“A lot of times the priest, if they don’t know better, can give the wrong information, especially when it’s a marriage – the vow of ‘until death do us part,’” O’Neal said. “A priest who doesn’t know better may recommend you not leave your spouse, but staying could be a death sentence.”
To help congregations observe “16 Days of Activism,’ the Diocese of New York publishes a toolkit offering resources to combat gender-based violence. Its aim is to help congregations in the diocese and throughout The Episcopal Church mark Break the Silence Sunday. The 2025 toolkit, available in Spanish, French and Creole, includes a variety of worship resources, including items to assist those who will be preaching, as well as a liturgy for a “Eucharist of Healing, Hope and Liberation” and additional collects.
This year’s toolkit also includes messages from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and New York Bishop Matthew F. Heyd. Both noted that this year’s “Break the Silence Sunday” fell on Nov. 30, the first day of Advent.
“As followers of Jesus, we are called to lift the veil of silence, to listen deeply, to stand beside survivors in compassion and to act with courage in our churches and communities,” Heyd said. “Healing begins when we listen; transformation begins when we act.”
Rowe echoed a similar sentiment:
“Gender-based violence is a particular epidemic, and each of us has a responsibility to become educated on its prevalence – and to play a role in healing its harms and disrupting its generational cycles,” Rowe said.
O’Neal said the toolkit can be used any time of the year, not just during the “16 Days of Activism.”
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.