On 2 December, the Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey held a “Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women” rally at the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Speakers included Representative Karen Boback, Representative Sue Helm and Representative Thomas Murt, who spoke on his proposed House Bill 135 to make female genital mutilation against the law in Pennsylvania. This event was covered by the press, and shown on both Channels 21 and 27 that same night.

In addition, the Club purchased a month’s time on three (3) digital billboards located in key freeway exits, highways, and streets in Harrisburg, PA. The billboards say in three (3) scrolls: Scroll 1: The Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey (with Zonta logo) invites YOU to join us in celebrating the “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence”. Scroll 2: Zonta Says NO: Join the Campaign To End Violence Against Women Scroll 3: WHAT CAN YOU DO? * Support the Women Shelters in your Community * Educate yourself and others on the issue of Trafficking * Encourage Action on “Safe Harbor” Legislation.

Since the beginning of May 2015, members of the Zonta Club of Kungalv have been knitting, crocheting, embroidering and stitching in orange with the message Zonta Says NO. Late at night on 25 November, club members went out in the rain and storm and decorated the two parks of the towns of Kungälv and Stenungsund with their knitted Zonta Says No graffiti. Statues, benches, posts and trees were all decorated in bright orange. Attached to the messages was a QR-code that directed the viewer to the club’s home page where a presentation of the campaign was posted with the Zonta logo and Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women banner.

During the same night, the club sent a press release to all the local newspapers wrapped in an orange tube to catch the attention of the editorial staff. The club’s president was interviewed by all three local papers and the club got the front page and two full pages with pictures of its message plus a smaller article. This was the club’s way of sending a hard message in a soft way to the local community and the local media.

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The Zonta Club of Kathmandu, Nepal, held an event for high school and college students on Friday, 4 December. Supported by the World  Health Organization, “United Against Violence” used drama, dance and poetry to spread awareness against gender-based violence.

From The Kathmandu Post:

Children from various schools and colleges on Friday staged various programmes such as drama, dance and poem recitation to spread awareness against gender-based violence.

Through the programme, they portrayed the forms of domestic, sexual, physical and mental violence women face both in the public and private sphere of their lives. “We live in a patriarchal society which discriminates against women and causes violence against them. It is important to spread awareness on violence against women and spread a message to stop it,” said Pema Lama of Rato Bangala School.

The programme was organised by Zonta Nepal to mark the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign. The campaign runs through November 25-December 10 every year.

At the programme, Zonta Nepal President Pramila Acharya Rijal spoke on the importance of breaking the silence against gender-based violence. Rijal said the event was aimed at advocating for making education safe from gender-based violence for all, with a particular focus on young women.

Madhu Prasad Regmi, secretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, said collective effort from the government, civil society and development partners was necessary to eliminate it. “The government has enacted laws against domestic violence and workplace sexual harassment. However, we feel that the law alone is not enough,” Regmi said.

The Zonta Club of East Auckland recently teamed up with Macleans Z Club in Howick, New Zealand, to pass out 2,000 orange ribbons. There were orange dolls with sashes on display, and the band rotunda was decorated in orange and with Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women posters. The Zonta and Z club members were supported by the Counties Manukau Police, local MP Jamie Lee Ross and family, and Adele White from the Community Board of the Auckland City Council. To increase awareness, retailers displayed information cards on counters and in windows.

The Zonta Club of Porterville was the shining beacon of orange in their town’s local holiday parade. Members walked the route holding a giant NO cutout and also rode in in a truck featuring clever, eye-catching signs reading “Dreaming of a Violence Free World”. 

At their 10th anniversary ceremony , the Zonta Club of Kanazawa, Japan featured the Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women campaign to more than 200 guests. The Club put up the posters at the entrance of the Banquet Hall, made a table display introducing the worldwide facts about violence against women in Japanese and appealed to our guests to support “Zonta Says No” by wearing the orange ribbon. Guests deepened their understanding what facts and reasons for why Zonta works to advocate to end violence against women. The local newspaper reporter and local TV news crew joined the ceremony and reported it on TV and in the newspaper.

In November, the club also participated in the Orange ribbon campaign held by Ishikawa prefecture, which was reported by the press.

During the 16 Days of Activism, the Zonta Club of Nanaimo, a member of the Women’s Action Committee, promoted the “clothesline” project. The group partners community groups and includes Status of Women at Vancouver Island University, Student Union, Canadian Federation of University Women, Haven Society, and further advocates for the elimination of violence.

Zontians held a work party to prepare the articles for the “clothesline” that will be hung in a variety of public places: arenas, at hockey games, public roads, bridges and private business locations. Members will be present in the local malls, etc. The Zonta buttons are on display, plus the club’s large banner. The Zonta Club of Nanaimo will also recognize the date of 6 December, the 26th anniversary of the murders of the 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Canada.

To lead into the 16 Days of Activism in November, the Zonta Club of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in September, invited Julie Lalonde (Project Manager of Draw-the-line.ca and Director of Hollaback!) and Director Erin Leigh and Manager of Manifest Change both from Ontario Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW), to speak about their activities. These speakers are active in the community throughout the year. Continue reading →

On 28 November, the Zonta Club of Liestal hosted an information booth on domestic violence against women. Club members wore security vests with the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women logo and distributed chips for the shopping trolleys with the same logo. The Club had quite a few women who admitted they had heard about or faced violence against women themselves. The Club also handed out small leaflets with information on where to get help locally.

On 28 September, the Zonta Club of Milwaukee held a silent walk to honor the 43 victims of domestic violence in Wisconsin in 2014, ranging in age from 1 to 78. The walk was held on this day to align with the release of the 2014 report. Flags with the names and ages of each of the victims were carried by the walkers and read aloud at the ceremony at the City Hall after the walk. Speeches were given at the ceremony by the Major, Police Chief, District Attorney and several other leaders in the community.

There were about 50 participants, including Zontians, survivors, agencies, Neu-Life staff, and other interested citizens. A great list of speakers included Carmen Pitre (Sojourner Family Peace Center), Toni White (board of End Abuse WI, the Club’s partner for the walk), Mayor Barrett, Chief Ed Flynn, District Attorney John Chisholm and Alderwoman Milele Coggs.

Two news stations attended and broadcasted stories of the event on the evening news:

http://fox6now.com/2015/09/28/too-many-43-people-killed-in-wi-as-a-result-of-domestic-violence-what-can-be-done-about-that-number/

http://www.cbs58.com/story/30133528/domestic-violence-walks-held-in-milwaukee-and-madison#.Vgnv0G43UJE.facebook