(Left to right): Gail Heimburger, Ellen Spaeth (District 5 Lt. Gov.), Glenda Carota (District 5 Service Committee Chair), Terri Purtee-Stein (Zonta Club of Cincinnati President), Connie Kingsbury (Zonta Club of Cincinnati President-Elect), Verna Tuttle (Director), and Marilyn Herrmann.

The members of the Zonta Club of Cincinnati, OH, USA participated in a joint candlelight vigil for victims of domestic violence on 1 October at the Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati. The vigil honored and remembered women killed by their intimate partners and provided hope to survivors exposed to violence and loss.

Zonta Club of Cincinnati President Terri Purtee-Stein was in attendance and said the event was emotional for her and the members.

“It was a very emotional event, especially when a father talked about the death of his two-year old daughter at the hands of her mother (his ex-wife) and her boyfriend who had shaken her to death.”

Wooden silhouettes of women with their names, dates of their death, and circumstances of their deaths – several of whom were pregnant at the time of their death and were depicted as such in the silhouette – were displayed. There were also wreaths with ribbons for each woman who died, as well as flags strung among the trees. Ninety women who died at the hands of their domestic partner in the past year in the greater Cincinnati area were represented.

On October 16, 2013 the clubs of District 8 all participated in a campaign to provide personal care kits and household items to a women’s shelter in their local community.

In an effort to speak out against violence against women, Zontians in District 8 created a splash with the campaign slogan “Zonta Says No” and educated their communities about Zonta’s efforts.

Because the press releases indicated that it was a district-wide action, the media was interested and several clubs received local coverage. Many Zontians commented on how they felt it brought them together with their fellow Zontians by doing a common action on the same day.

The District 17 Board is implementing a new District Service Project focused on an educational strategy for young people to be aware of the need of gender equality and non-violence in personal relationships.

They are now encouraging all Zonta Clubs in District 17 to organize at least one seminar on Violence Against Women, targeting either at high school and university students or social workers/service organizations who may be involved in counseling victims of violence.

The D17 team has prepared the following material which can be downloaded by Clubs on the D17 website for possible usage at club seminars. (www.zontad17.org under Service Committee) – A Powerpoint summarizing the VAW laws in the Philippines – A Resource Directory for Philippines, including details of contacts where victims can seek help. – A supply of VAW banners with D17 identity has been specially made and stored with the Area Directors. Clubs can borrow these banners for usage at their seminars. – Domestic Violence – An Overview of the Domestic & Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance Bill in Hong Kong.

The project will be implemented in stages, and information on other countries in D17 is being compiled. We hope that the summary  of VAW laws in the region will enhance awareness of women’s rights in our territories.

With a Resource Directory in Philippines, VAW victims will know where to seek help when needed.

Zonta Says No was highlighted at the Saturday night banquet during the 2013 District 12 Conference held in October. Attendees held banners created by the Zonta Club of Prowers County and the Zonta Club of Lakewood-Golden, along with pumpkins designed by the Zonta Club of Sturgis.

The Zonta Club of Kitchener-Waterloo has planned a social media campaign in support of Zonta Says No and to raise awareness about the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence.

They have created 16 videos, one for each day, featuring sixteen Zontians from our club speaking from their hearts about different issues and stories related to violence against women and girls.

The videos will start on 25 November and link will be available from their website,  Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Visit http://www.zontakw.org/#!16-days-of-activism-to-end-vio/c9pv for more info.

After the keynote speech “ZONTA SAYS NO” to violence against women:
“Giving ourselves the permission ”,  members went out into the park surrounding the
conference venue and tied orange ribbons to the trees.

What a great boost to the campaign’s visibility!

From the Logan County Herald:
http://logancountyherald.com/454/53836/a/lincoln-zonta-donates-to-sojourn-shelter

Lincoln Zonta donates to Sojourn Shelter

October 30, 2013,  The Zonta Club of Lincoln recently gave donations to the Logan County Court Advocate’s office for Sojourn Shelter to support local domestic violence victims. So far in 2013, the Court Advocate’s office has assisted 70 clients with Emergency Orders of Protection and provides ongoing assistance. The club collected used cell phones which can be re-programmed and given to women to call 911 in an emergency. Zonta Club of Lincoln also used $800 of last year’s turkey dinner profits to set up a fund at Lincoln IGA.

Many domestic violence victims have no choice but to “grab the kids and run.” They often have no formula, food, or diapers or any means to buy them. Charlie Lee at Lincoln IGA has often quietly provided items to these families at no cost to them. Zonta Club of Lincoln chose to support his efforts to help local domestic violence victims. Access to this fund will be given only by the Sojourn Court Advocate to the neediest clients. The community’s ongoing support of the annual Zonta Turkey Dinner allowed this generous donation.

Zonta Club of Lincoln is part of Zonta International, which has 30,000 members in 65 countries worldwide. Zonta recently launched “Zonta Says No,” an international campaign to raise awareness of and increase actions to end violence against women and girls both locally and around the world. More information can be found at http://www.zontasaysno.com or http://www.zonta.org.

Dr. Susan Harmon, President of Zonta Club of Lincoln presenting cell phones to Carrie Gave, Logan County Sojurn

To make the International Campaign “ZONTA says NO” visible, the Zonta Clubs of France put down on change.org a petition entitled “NO to violences against women, YES for a fair justice”. This petition is addressed to the ministeress of women rights and ministeress of justice, two women!

The petition will be sent at the conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism.

In this petition, the club points to the great disparity of punishment according to north-south, east-west France and ask for a brainstorming to solve this problem.

They ask for an equal punishment for the same act of violence against women throughout France.

They ask for the same application of our laws throughout our country.

They ask for a scale to help in the evaluation of the punishment in case of violence.

PLEASE SUPPORT this ACTION by signing the petition and forward the link below > http://chn.ge/19R6fY6

Here is the petition:

Madame la Ministre des Droits des Femmes et de la Famille, Madame la Ministre de la Justice, NON aux violences envers les femmes, OUI pour une justice équitable Depuis de nombreuses années, le « ZONTA», Organisation de Service Internationale, lutte, aux côtés de l’ONU, contre toute forme de Violence dont les femmes sont les victimes. Il soutient nombre de programmes d’ONU Femme pour améliorer le statut de la femme partout dans le monde et, localement, il soutient les associations investies dans cette problématique. Pour la Journée Internationale contre les Violences faites aux femmes du 25 Novembre 2013, le ZONTA International lance une campagne Internationale : « ZONTA SAYS NO » « ZONTA DIT NON » pour appuyer les efforts de l’ONU et de nombreux Etats contre ce fléau, comme la France qui s’est beaucoup investie dans cette lutte puisque l’année 2010 a été déclarée « Grande Cause Nationale » contre les Violences faites aux femmes. A l’occasion de cette campagne Internationale, les membres des clubs Zonta de France veulent alerter les Ministres concernées par ces Violences et lancer cette pétition pour que notre juridiction française évolue. En effet, selon les régions de France, selon les Parquets et même selon les magistrats d’une même cour, les peines infligées aux coupables pour un même fait de violence envers une femme sont très variables. Soulignons que les meurtres perpétrés sur les femmes par leurs compagnons ou ex-compagnons se poursuivent au rythme de trois par semaine. Nous demandons donc que soit mise en place une véritable réflexion sur la disparité constatée dans l’application des lois dont la France s’est dotée, aboutissant à la création de critères rationnels des sanctions à appliquer. Nous demandons que les lois soient appliquées de la même façon sur l’ensemble de notre territoire. Nous demandons un véritable barème d’évaluation des peines encourues pour les différents délits de Violences. Si personnellement ou si vous, Associations soutenant les victimes de Violences, vous avez le sentiment que la justice peut mieux gérer les peines encourues suite à des faits de violences, rejoignez nous et signez cette pétition. Les Zonta Clubs de France, membres du Zonta International, sont affiliés au CNFF (Conseil National des Femmes Françaises), et à la CLEF (Coordination Française pour le Lobby des Femmes)

On October 18, 2013, over 100 stakeholders, community leaders, first responders and service providers attended the fourth domestic violence leadership summit co-sponsored by the Zonta Club of Grants Pass. With a regular presence on the Domestic and Sexual Violence (DSV) Council, Zonta participates in decision making at the monthly meetings of the Council.

Among their partners are law enforcement, community corrections, violence advocates, family nurse practitioner, Soroptimists, ACT of Southern Oregon, court mediators and others. The Zonta Says No banner greeted people as the registered. The topic this year was Human Trafficking (HT). The primary presenter was one of the three survivors of recent local trafficking, Rebecca Bender, whose book “Road to Redemption,” was written for survivors on the road to recovery. Audience members were enthralled with the first hand testimony as well as Rebecca’s authenticity as she taught Human Trafficking 101.

A review of recent changes in state law highlighted the Oregon news that finally, child trafficking is a felony for the trafficker and law enforcement must receive HT training annually. Additional information helped audience members find ways to move from bystander to advocate.