The Zonta Club of Ashtabula Area kicked off the 16 Days of Activism on Nov. 25 at the historic lift bridge in the Ashtabula Harbor.

The Lift Bridge Community Association (LBCA) supported this international and local organization event by lighting the lift bridge with orange lights – the color that symbolizes the Zonta International campaign of “Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women,” said Linda Coblitz of Ashtabula, a Zonta member, in a prepared statement.

“This campaign, which began nine years ago, unites Zonta clubs and members around the world as they raise their voices to bring awareness to this issue and advocate on behalf of gender-based violence survivors and victims,” she said.

As the world faces the COVID-19 pandemic, instances of violence against women and young girls are on the rise.

“Now, more than ever, it is essential that we work together, with our communities, partners, and future generations, to end gender-based violence,” Coblitz said.

Zonta International partners with the United Nations in their UNITE campaign, also working to stop gender-based violence.

Annually and internationally, the following dates are part of Zonta’s 16 days of Activism: Nov. 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; Nov. 29, International Women’s Human Rights Defenders; Dec. 1 World AIDS Day and Dec. 10, the end of the 16 Days of Activism, Human Rights Day.

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Let by Club President Chalida Anuntarumporn, the Zonta Club of Bangkok X—together with the deputy chief physician, faculty of nursing and executive management—held a campaign to stop violence against women and girls at One Stop Crisis Center at Police Hospital on 27 November.

Throughout the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Bangkok X, Thailand, organized multiple activities to raise awareness and prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls by not accepting, not ignoring, and not violating women in any form.

Zonta Club of Cebu II in the Philippines, in collaboration with its local government unit (LGU) partner, the City of Mandaue, continued with its commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism to eliminate violence against women in the community. An integral part of the communication drive was a massive information dissemination campaign calling the public to stop violence in all forms.

To widely disperse the message that it is imperative for everyone to say NO to gender-based violence, Zonta Club of Cebu II installed more than 50 banners measuring 3ft x 5ft in all 27 districts (barangays) of Mandaue City. The tarpaulins, visibly mounted in the government centers of each district, featured the message Stop Violence Against Women with photos of 100 women calling for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls in their respective communities and neighborhoods.

Mayor of Mandaue City, Jonas Cortes, gives full support for a more inclusive City promoting equality among all constituents. “Until the violence stops, we will continue to focus all our resources for Gender and Development programs in Mandaue and push for equality for all,” he said.

Since 2014, the Basque organization, Harituz, in Spain has been working on the project – Balls of Yarn Against Gender-Related Violence. The artistic symbol in the form of a giant and ever-growing scarf travels around the world from city to city with the goal that the kilometer-long knitting will one day dress the European Parliament in Brussels. Today, the knitting measures about 5 km. The whole project is about raising awareness and spreading knowledge of violence against women.

At Kalmar Art Museum in Sweden, 2.2 km of the scarf has hung in the museum’s stairwell for a couple of months in 2020, with a standing invitation to everyone to contribute to it. Anyone has been able to contribute to the scarf – anyone who in any way wanted to contribute to raising the issue of and counteracting gender-related violence. When Kalmar Zonta members heard about the project, they wanted to participate. Many Zontians knitted, and it became an 18 meter long knitted scarf! The knitting project ended with all the knitting being sewn together and in total Kalmar contributed just over 144.3 meters! The project attracted a lot of attention and has now spread to other cities.

The Zonta Club of Santa Clarity Valley, California, joined forces with their Z club at Golden Valley High School to host a Zoom workshop, “Recognizing Unhealthy Relationships.” Experts discussed characteristics of a healthy relationship, recognizing an unhealthy relationship, preventing dating violence and how the community can help. The workshop was open to students, parents, educators and members of the community.

The club also launched a new project, “Human Trafficking Survivor Backpacks,” which has already gained support from Zonta members and the community. Supporters purchase personal care items from an Amazon Charity Wish List. The items are then packed into backpacks, which are carried by law enforcement to be given to rescued survivors of human trafficking.

For the 16 Days of Activism, the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley, California also launched a social media campaign. Each day, the club posts about violence against women, including bullying, murdered and missing indigenous women, the Red Dress Project, female genital mutilation, human trafficking and human slavery, domestic violence and child marriage. Club members also wrote a series of articles on the club website to mirror the social media campaign.

The Zonta Club of Glens Falls, USA, is advertising the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign with three electronic billboards. The Glens Falls National Bank provided space for a billboard outside the Cool Insurance Arena, and the club donated money for two more billboards on Corinth Road and on Route 4 near Whitehall. 

The club also joined with its local Vera Bradley Outlet to assist women and their children through the Catholic Charities Domestic Violence Office. Vera Bradley donated 16 backpacks, which the club members filled with donations requested by Catholic Charities to support women who have had to leave a dangerous situation with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Included were items such as towels, socks and  personal care items.  The Soroptimist International Club of the Adirondacks joined the Zontians in augmenting the collection.

Meeting as a community during the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be difficult with restrictions on the number of people and concerns for safety. Members, districts and clubs can engage in discussions with one another and their community by hosting online book clubs. These six books are a great place to start.