The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls is observed on October 25th of each year and marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Mrs. Simplis Barrow has maintained that it is a time for the people of Belize to demonstrate their willingness to renew their commitment to take concrete actions to eliminate Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in all its forms.

 

As daunting as this task may seem, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow remains firm in her resolve to contribute in any way possible to the elimination of this scourge from the Belizean society. Hence, in 2016, she decided to not only participate in the launch of 16 Days of Activism but decided to take on the task of planning and executing the event.

 

To ensure that the message was as impactful as possible, she opted to add human faces to the discussion by inviting survivors of GBV to share their stories at the launch.

 

Since 2016, the event continues to see participation from survivors, government officials, the diplomatic corps, educational institutions, civil society, the private sector, and other stakeholders.