By María Josefina Arce

Since 2007, October 2 is celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence, which unfortunately in its various forms is present in the world and, according to experts, is estimated to cause about two million deaths each year.
  
Gender, racial, religious, xenophobic, state and criminal violence, among others, have been escalating and endanger the achievement of target 16.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals, to significantly reduce all these manifestations of aggression by 2030.
   
International organizations point out that gender-based violence has registered a notable increase in recent years, and is one of the most widespread violations of human rights.
   
The COVID 19 pandemic aggravated this type of abuse against women and girls. Even before the global health emergency, one in three women suffered physical or sexual assault, mostly from their partners.
  
The necessary confinement to prevent the spread of the virus also led to an increase in the number of violent acts against women in the home.
   
Another form of violence is the racial violence still present in many nations. The United States is a clear example. In this northern country, African Americans suffer every day from police brutality, unemployment and insufficient access to basic services such as health, education and housing, simply because of their race.
    
Even with COVID 19, the Black American population was the most affected by the disease caused by the new coronavirus. And according to experts, it will take the longest to recover from the economic and health impact of the disease.
    
Violence, a consequence of systemic racism in the United States, is also present in the criminal justice system, according to a recent report by independent UN human rights experts.
  
But the United States is also fertile ground for another type of violence: gun violence. So far this year, more than 500 shootings have been recorded on U.S. soil.
   
The Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research center, pointed out that up to the beginning of last month, nearly 13,000 deaths and more than 25,000 wounded by these devices were reported, while some 700 children and 4,000 young people have been shot.
    
In the world many forms of violence persist against the most vulnerable and threaten their lives and rights. That is why every October 2nd we seek to promote a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding among all.