Orange buildings a statement about violence against women, not the World Cup

Many buildings were lit up in orange on Friday evening in several places in the Netherlands. The use of color has nothing to do with the World Cup in Qatar, where the Dutch national team played their second group match at the end of the afternoon. Instead, it was part of a global protest against violence against women. Called "Orange the World", the annual international demonstration is organized in about a hundred countries.

Ook ons gemeentehuis kleurt vanaf vandaag oranje. Met deze internationale campagne vragen we aandacht voor geweld tegen vrouwen en meisjes🧡 #gemeentezeist #orangetheworld pic.twitter.com/ZSYhg4PLHr

— Gemeente Zeist (@gemeentezeist) November 25, 2022

Five women worldwide are murdered every hour by a partner or a family member, according to the Orange the World organizer, UN Women. In the Netherlands, a woman dies in this way on average once every eight days.

In Rotterdam, the Erasmus Bridge, KPN's head office, De Doelen theater and the Erasmus MC hospital were among the buildings to be lit orange on Friday. A documentary about violence against women was also slated to premiere in KINO Rotterdam, with Mariëtte Hamer, the government commissioner for transgressive behaviour, set to attend..

In Amsterdam, the Oosterdok public library was to be colored orange. The city halls of The Hague, Apeldoorn and Dordrecht and elsewhere will also be illuminated orange, as will the largest hunebed in the country, in Borger, Drenthe. The Grote Kerk in Breda and the Academy Building of the University of Groningen were also going to be included in the demonstration. There are also buildings where special orange flags will fly in the coming weeks, and in Haarlem and the surrounding area, forty statues will be given an orange scarf.

Ook Vrouwe Aleida in #Schiedam is #medestander in de #OrangeTheWorld campagne @NLSoroptimist #stopgeweldtegenvrouwen pic.twitter.com/Xoor3FpUn4

— SorBenedenMaas (@maas_sor) November 25, 2022

The color orange stands for "a rising sun, dawn of a world without violence against women", explains director Marije Cornelissen of the Dutch organizer, UN Women Netherlands. The campaign was scheduled to start on Friday because 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. As such, there was little interest in postponing the symbolic statement to another date.

The fact that the orange campaign coincides with the World Cup can be both a disadvantage and an advantage, according to Cornelissen. "It helps to raise attention to it. Violence against women increases enormously during major sporting events. In England, the number of reports of domestic violence rises by 38 percent if the national team loses. In Colombia, there are more reports of a crime when there's a victory. Rising emotions and alcohol are a toxic combination."

The campaign will continue until December 10.

De knop omgezet voor #OrangeTheWorld pic.twitter.com/I6KXwozf5d

— Rik van der Linden (@rikvdlinden) November 25, 2022

GMW advocaten strijdt tegen geweld tegen vrouwen! Het kantoor zal de komende 16 dagen oranje uitgelicht zijn om aandacht te vragen voor de Orange the World campagne van @UN_Women. Lees hier meer:https://t.co/sfxFaHVyul#OrangeTheWorld @UNWomen_NL #tegengeweldtegenvrouwen

— GMW advocaten (@GMWadvocaten) November 25, 2022

Wie van vanavond langs de Luttenbergstraat 2 komt, ziet het provinciehuis in het oranje gehuld. 🧡 Dit doen wij elk jaar om te laten zien dat wij tegen #vrouwengeweld zijn én dat #Overijssel een provincie is waar iedereen zich veilig en welkom moet kunnen voelen! #orangetheworld pic.twitter.com/ANklus5pmp

— Provincie Overijssel (@ProvOverijssel) November 25, 2022

Ook in Assen wappert de #orangetheworld vlag bij de @ProvDrenthe #stopgeweldtegenvrouwen #16days #Awareness #medestander pic.twitter.com/1dt7GjQN0H

— Soroptimist Assen (@SorAssen) November 25, 2022

Heb je al gezien dat het Reghthuys in de kern Nieuwkoop oranje verlicht is? Dat doen we omdat we meedoen aan de internationale campagne Orange the World en daarmee zeggen we NEE tegen geweld tegen vrouwen. https://t.co/C7qS2eWpoQ #orangetheworld #medestander pic.twitter.com/5r9FoTVk5u

— Gemeente Nieuwkoop (@gemnieuwkoop) November 25, 2022

Ook #Veere kleurt oranje! #OrangeTheWorld @Soroptimist_W pic.twitter.com/GtOhFY6uTo

— Marjolijn van Leeuwen (@MarjolijnBvL) November 25, 2022

In Nederland is het helaas nog zo dat 45 procent van de vrouwen en meisjes te maken krijgt met geweld. Gemeente Stadskanaal is medestander in de strijd tegen geweld tegen vrouwen en doet mee met de campagne Orange the World: https://t.co/iqPfSHgszx#OrangeTheWorld #medestander pic.twitter.com/B4hvttvC6P

— Gemeente Stadskanaal (@stadskanaal_nl) November 25, 2022

Vandaag is het #InternationaleDagTegenGeweldTegenVrouwen. #OrangeTheWorld https://t.co/MHtQJstA3P https://t.co/gNubQNrQpO

— Ineke Kouwenhoven (@IKouwenhoven) November 25, 2022