Today we gather as a movement, as a community, and as a cooperative family to raise one voice in favour of life, dignity, and justice.
On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we firmly declare that all forms of violence are incompatible with the values that underpin our cooperative model.
Global statistics on gender-based violence (2025)
According to the WHO: approximately 840 million women have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence at some point in their lives.
In the last 12 months, 11% of women aged 15 and over have been victims of physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner.
Sexual violence by someone other than an intimate partner: an estimated 263 million women have experienced this type of violence since the age of 15. Progress in reducing intimate partner violence has been very slow: prevalence has decreased by only 0.2% annually over the past two decades.
Regarding femicides: in 2023, an estimated 51,100 women were killed by their partner or a close family member.
Violence is also affected by crises such as climate change: according to a UN study, every 1°C increase could increase intimate partner violence, and women in climate-vulnerable communities are more exposed.
Furthermore, there is a serious problem of underreporting: for example, only about 2% of cases of violence against women are reported in the media, suggesting that many situations remain hidden from public view.
Cooperatives, founded to promote solidarity, equity, and the common good, cannot and must not remain silent in the face of the reality that so many women face every day.
That is why we proclaim that no woman within our organisations, communities, or families should live in fear, with abuse, or with the burden of imposed silence. Today we affirm that women are essential pillars of cooperativism:
peacebuilders, administrators of development, guardians of social welfare, leaders who transform realities and sustain our organisations with vision, dedication, and humanity.
Therefore, as a movement, we assume the responsibility of guaranteeing safe, fair, and discrimination-free spaces where every woman can exercise her leadership and fully develop her potential.
We proclaim our absolute rejection of physical, emotional, sexual, economic, or symbolic violence.
We also reject indifference, prejudice, and the cultural practices that have allowed this violence to persist.
Instead, we proclaim a cooperative culture based on mutual respect, shared responsibility, and the full recognition of equality between women and men.
Today we reaffirm that cooperativism is not just an economic model:
it is a way of life, a way of relating to one another, and a way of building community.
And in this way of life, there is no room for violence, but there is room for education, prevention, listening, and support. We invite everyone to be an agent of change: to defend the dignity of every woman, to promote clear policies in our cooperatives, to guarantee protection and reporting mechanisms, and to build environments where equality is the norm, not the exception.
Today we proclaim hope, justice, and life.
May this proclamation resonate within and beyond our cooperatives, reminding us that together we can build a future where all women live free, safe, and respected.
Today, from the cooperative movement, we declare:
Not one more woman in fear. Not one more woman in silence. Not one more woman experiencing violence.
With unity, solidarity, and commitment, we raise this proclamation so that the light of dignity and the right to live free from violence may never be extinguished.
