Parliaments around the world joined forces in organizing special events to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November. This year, the IPU called on parliaments to mobilize around the theme Building partnerships to combat violence against women on the understanding that a united front is needed for this cause.

Parliaments joined the campaign with a range of activities. A press conference on stopping violence against women was held at the Parliament of Romania; in Mali, a parliamentary network on violence against women and children has been set up to get parliamentarians to engage with communities and discuss how to bring female genital mutilation to a halt; in Norway, there was round-table conference between parliamentarians and civil society organizations; workshops for MPs were organized by the Parliaments of Zambia and Indonesia; in Trinidad and Tobago, a TV show advocating non-violence brought together parliamentarians, representatives from NGOs and youth parliamentarians; in Georgia, the nationwide 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence was opened under the chairmanship of the Speaker of Parliament.

In 2009, 33 parliaments organized around 50 activities to mark the Day. Detailed information about these activities is available on a special page on the IPU website.