In Pictures

‘Gender alert’: Global protests denounce violence against women

Tens of thousands rally across the world to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

People attend a demonstration to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Madrid on November 25, 2019. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP) — People attend a demonstration to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Madrid. [Oscar Del Pozo/AFP]

Tens of thousands of people have rallied across the world, in countries as diverse as Guatemala, Russia, Sudan and Turkey, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Roughly 87,000 women and girls were murdered across the world in 2017, according to the United Nations.

The French government announced it would make it easier for doctors to share information on vulnerable women and write into law the concept of psychological “entrapment”, following enormous rallies in France over the weekend.

Crowds marched through the streets of Moscow to highlight the government’s failure to pass laws protecting women, and hundreds of Sudanese women chanted: “Freedom, peace and justice” as they gathered in Khartoum in the first such protest in decades.

In Mexico City, masked demonstrators with sledgehammers smashed glass panes of bus stops, spray-painted monuments and clashed with riot police on Monday to protest authorities’ failure to halt soaring rates of femicide and rape in the country.

Tens of thousands marched in Madrid on Monday evening following a weekend of protests. Spain’s long-standing laws against gender violence have not halted the problem with 52 women having been killed by their partners or ex-partners since the start of 2019.

The UN warned that more action was needed around the world, singling out Afghanistan as a country where too little is done to counter sexual violence and rape.

Sudanese women cheer as they celebrate the launch of the Unit to Combat Violence against Women and Children, in Khartoum, Sudan, 25 November 2019. According to local media reports, Sudanese Minister o — Sudanese women cheer as they celebrate the launch of the Unit to Combat Violence against Women and Children. According to local media reports, Sudanese Minister of Labor and Social Development Lina Al-Sheikh called for a 16-day campaign to raise awareness in preventing violence against women and children. [Marwan Ali/EPA]

Women hold placards as they protest against gender-based violence, outside the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Marius Bosch — Women protest against gender-based violence in Johannesburg. South Africa has one of the worst records of any country on gender violence and the government has faced several rounds of mass protests on the issue. [Marius Bosch/Reuters]

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against femicide and violence against women, in Istanbul, Turkey, November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer — Demonstrators protest against femicide and violence against women in Istanbul. Murad Sezer/Reuters]

Women hold signs during a demonstration to protest femicides and violence against women, in Nantes, France November 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe — Women protest against femicides and violence against women, in Nantes, France. [Stephane Mahe/Reuters]

Demonstrators protest against violence towards women in Moscow on November 25, 2019. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP) — Demonstrators protest against violence towards women in Moscow. [Alexander Nemenov/AFP]

Women march to protest violence against women in Mexico City, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. According to the federal government there were — Women march in Mexico City on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. According to the federal government, there were 3,662 femicides, or gender-related killings of women, in Mexico in 2018. [Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo]

People light candles between banners on a street during a rally against violence against women on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Sofia, Bulgaria, 2 — Protests were also organised in the Bulgarian capital Sofia to mark International Day for the Elimination against Women. [Vassil Donev/EPA]

A woman holds a banner with the words ''Respect my existence or expect my resistance'' and shouts slogans during the march marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in — A woman holds a banner with the words "Respect my existence or expect my resistance" during a march in Lisbon, Portugal. [Mario Cruz/EPA]

Activists participate in a rally in memory of the women murdered in the country to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in San Salvador, El Salvador, 25 November 20 — Hundreds of Salvadoran women took to the streets of San Salvador to demand the declaration of a "gender alert" to protect all women from sexist violence and other crimes, such as sexual violence. [Miguel Lemus/EPA]

A woman shouts slogans during a march marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 25 November 2019. EPA-EFE/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni — Protesters march in Argentine capital of Buenos Aires calling for the elimination of violence against women. [Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA]

Women take part in a march to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, at Plaza Italia in Santiago, Chile, 25 November 2019. The International Day for the Elimination — Women take part in a march at Plaza Italia in Santiago, Chile. [Elvis Gonzalez/EPA]

Feminist groups and members of civil society march during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, during the fifth day of protests, in Bogota, Colombia, 25 November 2019. — Feminist groups and members of civil society march during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. [Mauricio Duenas Castaneda/EPA]