Through December 10 USAID is spearheading a global call to action over the course of 16 days to speak out against gender-based violence. You may not know that 1 in 3 women and girls will be abused, beaten or coerced into sex? Or, that abuse of women reaches as high as 70 percent in some countries. Or, that 42 percent of women who have been abused have sustained injuries because of the abuse. These stats shared by USAID and the World Health Organization are real and pertinent and need to be changed.

During these next two weeks you can join the global chorus of voices against gender-based violence by following the #16Days hashtag. You can also visit the USAID site dedicated to this effort at www.usaid.gov/16-days where you will find a plethora of information, reports, blog posts, and a calendar of events all pertaining to activism against gender-based violence.

Also be sure to follow @USAID on Twitter to read gender-based violence tweets and share them with your followers. Here are some #16Days tweets that are particularly interesting.