The Zonta Club of Gladstone Inc, Australia, conducted another successful 16 Days of Activism during the 2023 Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign by commencing at its orange November dinner meeting and culminating in an orange breakfast, which was attended by local state member of parliament, Glenn Butcher, and his wife, Theresa.

The club undertook some old and some new advocacy activities around town, including the following:

• At their launch dinner, they welcomed two guest speakers from the Gladstone Police Station, Cath Purcell and Vicki Dredge. They also donated two laptops for police officers to use when taking statements from domestic violence victims at home. Feedback from the police was that “the donation provides a greater ability for officers to take a typed statement in the field, from the victim’s accommodation, and will be a great support in collecting immediate evidence.”  
• The club distributed orange cut-out ladies for display at 31 local businesses, with some information about the campaign attached to each orange lady.
• During the campaign, they asked large local businesses to make their night lights orange. Participating businesses included the Gladstone Regional Council (Art Gallery, Council Chambers and the Anzac Park tree) and the Gladstone Ports Corporation. The Gladstone Ports Corporation lit up multiple lights focused on a tree-lined strip around a park, reflecting off the water around the park.
• The club joined the Raise a Cup campaign, which involved placing 500 stickers on coffee cups at four local coffee shops. The coffee shops were very eager to support this initiative.
• They raised awareness about the number of women killed due to domestic violence in Australia in 2023 by placing ladies and a tally of deaths on fences in three high-traffic areas in town.
• Two club members posted relevant posts and highlighted the club’s local efforts each day of the campaign, which gained significant attention from our social media followers.
• The club prepared an up-to-date list of local area emergency telephone numbers on the back of toilet doors.