The Zonta Club of Saffle-Amal, Sweden, originally planned to put up five Zonta flags in Säffle square and five flags outside the public library in Åmål to raise awareness to the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign. Unfortunately, the club did not receive the flags in time due to delivery delays, and they plan to revisit the idea for next year’s campaign. However, the club was able to find other visible ways to raise awareness on the issue.

After noticing the many empty display windows in their area, the club decided to stage multiple window displays showing what happens to female abuse victims. The exhibits were put up throughout the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Base Violence, and a Swish number was available for those who wished to donate to the campaign. The window displays gained so much attention that the local papers Säffle Tidningen and Provinstideningen Dalsland wrote a feature on the campaign and the club’s letter to the editor explaining Zonta Says NO.

Club members also spoke out about Zonta and brought awareness to gender-based violence in Säffle and Åmål while wearing Zonta vests, in which they received 2,720 Swedish Krona.

Due to the number of people wanting to know how many assaults are reported in Saffle and Amal, the club also added a window display featuring orange shoes that symbolized the number of assaults reported in the cities for the fourth year in a row. A Zonta Says NO exhibition was also held at the Saffle library to spread information about violence against women.

Throughout the campaign, the club used social media to spread knowledge, developed new relations, and in Åmål, they cooperated with a woman who works with female victims of abuse.

For next year’s campaign, the club plans to cooperate with Kvinnojouren Frida – Säffle-Åmål, a local women’s shelter, to create a more thorough event that focuses on solutions to gender-based violence issues.