EMBASSY OF THE NETHERLANDS HOLDS CYCLING TOUR IN SUPPORT OF ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The Netherlands embassy in Malaysia on Saturday organised a cycling tour to mark the “Orange the World” programme, a global campaign to raise public awareness and to eliminate gender-based violence against women. 

Held in collaboration with Five, a cycle-run cafe, the event was participated by over 20 Dutch and Malaysian cyclists, who took part in a 50-kilometre cycling tour around the city. 

The embassy in a statement said the event demonstrated the Netherlands’ steadfast commitment in the efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls as a matter of human rights.

“Worldwide, the Netherlands supports civil society organisations that are committed to preventing and combating violence against women and girls,” it said. 

According to the embassy, in 2022, 48,800 women globally were murdered by their ex or partners and family members.

It said women and girls are at a greater risk of being killed at home – 55 per cent of all female homicides were committed by intimate partners or family members, while 12 per cent of all male homicides were perpetrated by family members.

“In the Netherlands, every eight days, a woman gets killed by a (ex)partner or family member," it said. 

Globally, one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime, mostly by an intimate partner.

The latest report by the United Nations showed that a woman is killed every ten minutes.

The “Orange the World” campaign is an international 16-day campaign running from Nov 25 to Dec 10, aimed at raising awareness and encouraging people from around the world to take action to end violence against women and girls in communities, at home, in public spaces, in schools and workplaces, during conflicts and in times of peace.

The programme is held to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which was observed on Nov 25 and the International Human Rights Day on Dec 10.

-- BERNAMA