Sexxual and gender violence, abuse, and discrimination against girls and women is an international pandemic that impacts everyone; the developing and the developed world alike. In more than 30 African countries, over 3 million young girls annually risk female genital mutilation; a procedure that intentionally alter and cause injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons, considered as a crime under human rights and humanitarian laws. 

Further, incidences of violence against women are especially high during armed conflict. Even though the UN has adopted international commitments to address sexaul and gender-related violence in violent conflicts, there is no legal system to hold the perpetrators to account. In today armed conflicts, sexual violence is increasingly used as a weapon of war, designed to denigrate and dehumanise women and to tear families and communities apart. These acts of violence rob victims of the dignity and security that every human being is entitled to under the humanitarian law. But their consequences extend far beyond those women who are directly abused and/or victimised by them as they affect whole society. 

In addition, one of the many consequences of violence against women is that it often hinders the victim and survivor's ability to receive a quality education that could help them to heal and advance their livelihoods. In this respect, everyone of us can and should play a role in advocating for and promoting gender mainstreaming by standing together to oppose all sorts of violence against women and girls. Even acts as simple as being conscious of the gender biases and stereotypes that exist in our cultures and avoiding them in our daily interactions and communications go a long way.