The activism campaign began on Saturday November 25 – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – and runs until Human Rights Day on December 10.  In 2012 it is estimated that almost half of all women who were victims of intentional homicide worldwide were killed by an intimate partner or family member.

Carol Beaumont, Auckland lead organiser for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), said the effects of domestic violence are of great concern to NZNO with the majority of its 48,000 members women.  “Many of whom will be victims of domestic violence given the extent of this problem in our society and many suffer violence at work too.” Beaumont said in the last decade NZNO had advocated strongly for legislation, policy and industrial responses including provisions in collective agreements that provide employment protection and support for victims of domestic violence who face the risk of domestic violence.

“Nurses deal with domestic violence in a number of ways – screening, support, treatment and prevention is part of their work. Nurses are often the first health professional victims of domestic violence engage with,” said Beaumont.

“We are strongly in favour of workplace support provisions and have raised them with employers in our collective bargaining.”

She said that NZNO is part of the movement lobbying that the International Labour Organisation Conference adopt an instrument or instruments concerning violence and harassment in the world of work.

More on the days of action internationally can be found at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/end-violence-against-women Or facebook.com/SayNO.UNiTE and twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE