advocacy

Students in Denmark say NO to violence against women

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Inspired by the ZontaSaysNo campaign, the Danish District 13 Zonta clubs of Viborg, Silkeborg, Aarhus and Aarhus II invited upper secondary schools in their respective cities to discuss the topic of equal rights and respect between the sexes.

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More than 150 students at seven upper secondary schools said yes to the invitation. During the course of November, they spent 

many lessons in English, Danish, social studies or drama working on subjects such as how to say no to physical or mental abuse, how to have ethical behavior on social media, and learning about bullying and mental terror. They also learned about sexist stereotyping and other related topics.

The result was a series of inspiring essays, poems, short stories, video productions, social studies papers and plays. The students presented many of these products on stage to an enthusiastic audience on 24 November at VIA University College in Aarhus.

The Zonta club members said they are grateful to the students for their thought-provoking responses and reflections. Members said the contributions from the students strengthen their faith in humanity and show them clearly just how aware young people are about these issues and about how important it is to say no to physical and mental violence and to fight for gender equality.

Zonta Club of Charlevoix Area takes donations from community members to build 16 Days display

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Zonta Club of Charlevoix AreaThe Zonta Club of Charlevoix Area members from District 15 are raising awareness about the issue of domestic violence with their Zonta Shoe Tree.

The Shoe Tree, currently on display in a prominent Charlevoix, Michigan location through 10 December, features 183 pair of shoes. Each pair represents one of the 183 victims of domestic violence or assault in the Charlevoix community in 2017.

The Zonta Shoe Tree serves as a public reminder that while each of the 183 victims put their shoes on and walk through their day just like everyone else, they live with violence.

Residents generously donated 183 pair of shoes and Charlevoix businesses and the local high school served as drop-off locations.

An area Girl Scout Troop joined Zonta members in painting the shoes orange, marched with members in the Holiday Parade and assisted in decorating the Shoe Tree.

By inviting the local community to donate shoes and help build the shoe tree, Zonta members and community members actively participated in an open discussion about the issue of domestic violence.

3 ways to prepare for the 16 Days of Activism

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Spread the word and say NO! Like, share and comment! Tomorrow starts the #16Days of Activism.

Here are three things that you can do to take part in the 2018 Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign:

0_3 things you can do before the 16 Days of Activism (7)

Zonta Club of Lulea raises awareness with local library display

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ZC of Lulea

To raise awareness of violence against women, the Zonta Club of Lulea, District 21, collaborated with their local library, the City Library of Pitea. In the center of the library, the club set up a display to  showcase books and movies focused on violence against women.

Club members said they think facts are important, but if you really want to reach people you have to appeal to their emotions. Books and movies do that. This is why the Zontians chose to collaborate with the library on the display.

With an exhibition in full view from the entrance of the library, they want to encourage the visitors to read and watch stories about survivors of violence against women. This is also in line with the theme chosen by UN Women this year, #HearMeToo.

A presentation was also given to the staff about how gender-based violence impacts women all over the world. Because of this, they are now ready to answer questions from the public about the exhibition and violence against women.

In the News: Zonta Club of Kankakee organizes empowerment and solidarity walk

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The Zonta Club of Kankakee is spreading awareness about domestic violence by inviting survivors and sympathizers to walk in solidarity with those who have endured abuse.

Empowerment: Solidarity Walk with Domestic Violence Victims will take place on October 27. Participants have the option of walking individually, with a team or even virtually.

Club members hope the event will give people a chance to reflect on domestic violence in their community.

Click here to read more.

Zonta Club of Lebanon reflects on 2017 walk, plans upcoming event

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The Zonta Club of Lebanon was pleased to host the 2017 Area 4 Zonta Says NO Advocacy Walk in Lebanon’s beautiful Memorial Park and plans to host the 2018 Advocacy Walk in Indianapolis in October.

The third annual walk was held in October and allowed clubs and concerned individuals to gather to advocate against domestic violence.  The walk was held in Memorial Park in Lebanon.  Zontians and Z-Club students from all over Area 4 were present to walk to raise awareness of the dangers of domestic violence.

A representative from the mayor’s office spoke and welcomed participants and then Pascal Fettig from Mental Health America Boone County spoke on things being done in Boone County to address violence against women.

After a brief warmup, the walkers carried signs and posters along a state highway and around the park.  Cars were honking their horns and people were waving encouragingly.

At the main corner of the park, the Zonta clubs from Indiana had their Zonta Says NO posters posted next to orange pinwheels.  Each pinwheel represents a life that was lost due to domestic violence.

43587-shareyourstoryThe group advertises the walk at an event earlier in the fall. At the event,  Lebanon’s Lincoln and Civil War Reenactment, the club pairs with the Boone County Historial Society to sell food at the event.

This provides the members, as well as the Z Club students, an opportunity to fundraise and advertise their upcoming advocacy event.

 

Zonta Club of Johnson County hosts 5K to raise money to prevent domestic violence

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ZC of Johnson CountyMembers of the Zonta Club of Johnson County in Texas hosted their third annual Zonta Zoom Race to End Domestic Violence 5k and 1k Fun Run as part of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women.

Zontians have partnered with the Johnson County Family Crisis Center to host the event and a portion of the proceeds went to benefit current residents of the Johnson County Family Crisis Center.

Residents from the center assisted in decorating paper dolls that lined the route. Each doll represented a woman who had died as a result of domestic violence in Texas in that year. Sadly, there were 146 dolls lining the course.

Additionally, there was a shoe display at the starting line for the participants to see. Each pair of shoes represented a victim of domestic violence in the state of Texas for the year.

Participants were given t-shirts, snacks and breakfast for participating, as well as finisher medals for top placement.

Club members said they feel this event helps raise awareness for not only the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign, but the issue of domestic violence in general. Club members are proud of this event being so successful year after year.

Zonta Club of Rockhampton Inc advertises Zonta Says NO during local event

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ZC of Rockhampton Inc 3

During Beef Australia 2018, Australia’s triennial National Beef Industry event attracting over 100,000 national and international visitors, the Zonta Club of Rockhampton Inc, District 22, mounted a display at the local regional airport, raising awareness for the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

The display prominently provides awareness about the campaign, as well as information about local support services for those affected by domestic and family violence.

The display will run for the whole month of May, which also coincides with the local Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, which is marked every May in Queensland Australia.

Zonta Club of Saffle-Amal creates display to inform community about violence against women

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ZC of Saffle-Amal

Zontians in the Zonta Club of Säffle-Åmål decided to make a statement, enhance their visibility in their community and make people aware of what Zonta does during the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

They decided to make a statement to show their community the number of reported assaults on girls and women that were made in 2016.

130 orange shoes, 1 pair of red shoes and 1 pair of yellow rubber boots for a child were displayed by the Zonta Club of Saffle-Amal, District 21. Each pair of shoes represented a reported assault and many pairs were painted orange in order to show the grim statistics.

The yellow rubber boots represented a girl younger than 6 years and the red shoes represented a woman that died as a result of violence.

Visitors reacted in many ways and the most frequently asked question was if the shoes represented numbers throughout Sweden. Club members told visitors that the shoes represented only their community and passerby were speechless.

Many people took their time to see the display and to contemplate the figures of reported assaults. The number of shoes made an impact and many people reacted strongly. Lots of interesting conversations about violence in general and Zonta as an organization took place.

Club members sold homemade bread while sharing information about Zonta and also had orange knitted hats for sale. The club raised over US$600.

Community members told Zontians that they had made a difference that day in their community.

Zonta Club of the Fleurieu Peninsula Inc organizes display for 16 Days of Activism

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The Zonta Club of the Fleurieu Peninsula Inc, District 23, created a digital display promoting the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign. The Shine the Light project was a joint project between the Zonta Club of the Fleurieu Peninsula Inc and the local government of the city of Victor Harbor.

The façade of the local cinema which is in the main street of the city was illuminated with a digital art display that reflected ‘Zonta Says NO to Violence.’

The façade has been used by the city in the past to promote tourism and city council embraced the concept of supporting Zonta to further the cause.  Council staff and Zonta members workshopped with local digital artists to produce a dynamic and thought-provoking digital display.

The display shone during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and was seen by thousands of people.  The display ran on a loop from 25 November to 10 December, from sun down to sun up.

The digital display aimed to communicate the responsibility community members have to end the perpetuation of abuse toward women. It conveyed the message that boys need to be taught how to show respect toward women from a young age.

The digital artists were mindful that this was a public place open to all ages and were asked to use orange as a predominant color. White was also used to reflect White Ribbon.

Along with this display, the Zonta Club of the Fleurieu also provided bystander training, facilitated by the YWCA as part of their Rise Above the Pack program.