Thousands of protesters hit the streets of Europe and Latin America to demand an end to violence against women, with police in Turkey having to fire teargas to disperse the demonstrators.

The rallies took place to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, with thousands marching through Madrid and Barcelona, while others gathered in Paris and London and more rallied in Guatemala and Honduras. Protesters were also expected to hit the streets in Chile, Mexico and Venezuela and other countries.

Nonetheless, things turned ugly in Istanbul after riot broke. Police needed to come in to fire tear gas to break up the demonstration by hundreds of protesters urging the government to re-join an international treaty designed to protect women.

The Turkish government had abandoned the landmark Istanbul Convention earlier this year on grounds its gender equality principles undermined traditional family values, in a move that angered women campaigners. As a result, 345 women have been killed in Turkey so far this year, rights groups say.

In Spain, where the government has made the fight against domestic violence a national priority, thousands hit the streets of Madrid and Barcelona in a sea of purple flags, while others rallied in Valencia, Seville, and other cities around the country.

In the Spanish capital, marchers wearing purple masks, hats and scarves walked behind a huge banner reading “Enough of male violence against women. Solutions now!”

“Not all of us are here, the murdered are missing,” they chanted as they marched past the Cibeles fountain and other historic buildings that had been illuminated in purple, holding signs reading “Not even one more death”.

Leslie Hoguin, a 30-year-old student and an actor stated that “on a global level, it remains a scourge and a huge problem.”

“It’s high time that patriarchal violence against our bodies, our lives and our decisions came to an end.”
Leslie Hoguin

Many of the Protestants indicted that they were fed up of the ongoing abuse faced by women. Maria Moran, a 50-year-old civil servant noted that “We are sick of the ongoing violence against us which takes many different forms”.

So far this year, 37 women in Spain have been killed by their partners or ex-partners, and 1,118 since 2003 when the government started keeping a tally.

Nearly one in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly by someone they know, according to UN Women, the United Nations’ organisation for gender equality.

“Violence against women is a global crisis. In all of our own neighbourhoods there are women and girls living in danger,” executive director Sima Bahous said in a video message.

Pope Francis also weighed in and tweeted that “Women victims of violence must be protected by society. The various forms of mistreatment that many women suffer are cowardly and represent degradation for men and for all of humanity. We cannot look away.”

Many women suffer abuses around the world and the earlier human right activist take on the fight, the better for women.