Himal Innovative Development and Research Pvt. ltd. HIDR

Human Rights Day reminds us that gender-based violence is not just a social problem; it is a human rights crisis. Every act of violence violates fundamental rights: the right to safety, the right to health, the right to dignity, and the right to live free from discrimination. Today, we reaffirm that violence against women and girls is a violation of international human rights law, and states have binding obligations to prevent it, respond to it, and ensure justice.
This day marks more than the end of a campaign, it’s a call to accountability. Governments, institutions, and communities must commit to long-term action, i.e: strengthening legislation, improving enforcement, expanding survivor services, and ensuring that every sector such as health, justice, education, social services, and others upholds survivors rights. The world cannot continue to treat GBV as inevitable. It is preventable, and prevention begins with political will.
Human rights frameworks like CEDAW, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and UN human rights mechanisms are crystal clear. The states must provide protection, ensure safe reporting systems, guarantee access to justice, and fund comprehensive services. This is not just charity, it is an obligation. Survivors deserve systems that respect their autonomy and protect their rights.
As the 16 Days campaign concludes, our commitment must continue. Over the next year, we must push for stronger budgets for shelters and mental health care, better accountability systems, national helplines that actually function, and more support for women-led organizations on the frontlines. Ending GBV is not just a once-a-year conversation, it’s a year-round responsibility.
Human Rights Day is a reminder that the fight for safety, dignity, and equality never stops. Today, we renew the promise to protect the rights of women and girls everywhere; in laws, in policies, in budgets, and in daily action. The crisis of GBV is real and there is for it. So with us and join us in this 16 Days of Activism against GBV to end violence against women and girls.

Despite legal protections, caste‑based discrimination remains deeply embedded in Nepalese societies. For Dalit women, it compounds existing gender‑based violence and exclusion. The 2024 report by Amnesty International, “No One Cares: Descent‑Based Discrimination against Dalits in Nepal” describes how Dalits, especially Dalit women and girls, continue to face untouchability, segregation, and systemic bias in every sphere of life, including access to justice, basic services, and dignity. Only a handful (30-43) of caste‑discrimination cases are registered by police each year, reinforcing distrust, impunity, and social silence.

For many Dalit women, violence is not only about caste, it's also about gender, class, marital status, disability, and other factors that make the situation far worse. Research in Nepal shows that married Dalit women are particularly subject to domestic violence, often inflicted by husbands or in-laws, involving physical, psychological or sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancies, deprivation of basic needs, and denial of autonomy. Especially in contexts of alcoholism, patriarchal norms and economic marginalisation (Khatri, S.K. 2021).

Additionally, disabled women and women with overlapping marginalised identities face even higher rates of lifetime violence. A 2021 national‑level study found that 35.3% of women with disabilities in Nepal have experienced violence, with emotional/psychological abuse being most common. Even efforts to improve political representation don’t always solve systemic inequality. While quotas have increased women’s presence in local governments, a 2024–2025 study on Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) and allied research on Dalit women’s participation finds that caste structures, social stigma, lack of resources and limited decision-making power still prevent many Dalit women from exercising real agency.

Intersectionality is the overlapping of castes, gender, disability, class, and other identities. It defines who faces violence, who gets neglected, who is excluded from justice, and who remains invisible. The crisis of GBV is real and there is for it. So with us and join us in this 16 Days of Activism against GBV to end violence against women and girls. We must make the invisible visible.