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The 25th of every month has been designated “Orange Day” by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women, to raise awareness and take action to end violence against women and girls. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from violence against women and girls for the UNiTE Campaign. For this Orange Day, 25 September 2017, the UNiTE Campaign focuses on the issue of Violence against Older Women, recognizing that women remain at risk for violence throughout their lives.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its commitment to leave no one behind holds promise for greater inclusion of older women. However, this can only be achieved through extending data collection on women subjected to physical and/or sexual violence from the upper age limit of 49 years, which stems from a traditional focus on women in reproductive age, to the age 50 and beyond.
Regardless of their age, all women are entitled to a life free from violence and its consequences. Any measure taken to achieve Goal 5 and eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls must include older women—this means including older women in prevention, response, and data collection efforts to monitor prevalence and progress on relevant Goal 5 targets and indicators.
