advocacy

Zonta Club of Nurmes hosts event on everyday safety

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The Zonta Club of Nurmes organized a seminar on safety in everyday life as a part of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

The guest speaker of the seminar was the highest ranking police officer in Finland,  National Police Commissioner  Seppo Kolehmainen.

Other speakers talked about the importance of making concrete help available for victims, as well as holding authorities accountable.

The audience asked questions and at the end of the seminar, a local Gypsy king and 70-year-old, Seppo Palm, sang a song.

Zonta Club of Trondheim brings Zonta Says No to community

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The Zonta Club of Trondheim organized a Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women campaign together with 24 other organizations, including the municipality of Trondheim, NGOs and labor unions.

About 1,000 people visited 20 multicultural arrangements during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

There were 16 days of exhibitions, seminars, movies, discussions, dances and various artistic performances engaging the local community for the sake of understanding and stopping violence against women.

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The Zonta Club of Ibadan II used HeForShe to generate interest in the 16 Days campaign

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In the context of advocating for women’s rights and taking part in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, members of the Zonta Club of Ibadan II, District 18, adopted two tools.

First, the Nigerian club members embraced the HeForShe campaign to engage men of all ages in the mission to end violence against women. Then, they used social media to broadcast their message to a larger audience.

The HeForShe partners posted pictures on Facebook and Instagram wearing or holding shirts with the message. This generated engagement in the form of over 1,000 likes and many comments.

The HeForShe partners included national and community leaders as well as youth advocates.

Zonta clubs of Bombay I and III work with Save the Children India to host events during 16 Days of Activism campaign

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The Zonta clubs of Bombay I and III, India (District 25) partnered with Save the Children India to recognize the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

Beginning on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, through 10 December, Human Rights Day, the two groups participated in various activities.

Save the Children India is an NGO that prevents exploitation and discrimination of vulnerable women and children and empowers them to lead a life of dignity, self-respect and independence.

Over the various days of activism, more than 150 girls living in vulnerable conditions were provided opportunities to learn about issues relating to gender-based violence. The events included the screening of women-led films, which were followed by discussions, as well as drawing and poster making competitions. These helped the girls reflect on discrimination prevalent in their communities and possibly in their families. The girls also visited a police station to better understand the role of police in regards to issues related to violence against women and women’s rights. Rallies were held in the communities to create awareness of gender issues as well as to spread messages to strive for equality.

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The advocacy campaign culminated at the head office of Save The Children India with a day-long event that featured sessions focusing on providing conceptual clarity of gender, explaining the difference between sex and gender, and international initiatives in place to eliminate gender-based violence.

Zonta members of both clubs had discussions with the girls and volunteers at the events.

The Zonta Club of Bombay I also conducted a need-based project at the Asha Sadan Rescue Home. The club donated personal and housekeeping items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and Talc powder to the girls living at the adoption agency. The donations were worth 4,000 Rupees.

The Vice President of the Zonta Club of Bombay I Shernaz Hathiram also gave a talk on human trafficking and the girls interacted with the members and shared their thoughts on the topic.

Zonta Club of Iisalmi campaigns for 20 days as part of 20th anniversary

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Photo caption: The city manager of Iisalmi and local industrial entrepreneurs took photos wearing their orange squares to show their support for Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women.

In 2017, the Zonta Club of Iisalmi actively campaigned for twenty days instead of sixteen as part of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women and the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaigns.

The extended campaign was in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Zonta Club of Iisalmi, which was established in 1997. The advocacy committee of the club chose to focus on the education of girls for the theme of the extended campaign.

Funds were gathered for the Let Us Learn Madagascar program to support girl’s education. The club sold 1,200 lottery tickets and was able to donate EUR $2,400 to the cause. The slogan was “An educated girl can choose a better life.”

The club also took the opportunity to challenge men to take part in the HeForShe campaign. One club member sewed over 200 orange pocket squares that were handed out by Zontians to men in power both locally as well as in the parliament of Finland. The club members hoped these would be used as a symbol of the men’s commitment towards the goal of global equality. In the parliament, there were fifty pocket squares handed to male members. The president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, who is an Impact Champion of HeForShe, got a pocket square. The city manager of Iisalmi and local industrial entrepreneurs took photos wearing their orange squares.

The local newspaper published the writings of six local men in powerful positions regarding violence, equality and education supporting the campaign. A panel discussion was held on the local radio station, featuring the same themes as well as poems regarding women and education. The poems were chosen and read by Zontians and were performed almost daily.

Zonta Club of Gaylord Area calls on young men to pledge to end violence against women

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The Zonta Club of Gaylord Area, District 15, arranged for the Gaylord High School wrestling and varsity boys basketball teams to take the White Ribbon Pledge to end violence against women.

The event, titled “Our Team Says NO,” came on the heels of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. The event featured local men in Michigan who stepped forward to add their voices to the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

On 20 December, the Gaylord High School Wrestling and Varsity Boys Basketball teams took the White Ribbon Pledge.

The pledge read: “I pledge not to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls. From this day forward, I promise to be part of the solution to end all forms of this violence.”

Now a worldwide campaign, the White Ribbon Pledge was created in 1991 by a group of Toronto men as a way for men to raise awareness of violence against women. According to the pledge, it is the responsibility of all men to step up, speak out and take action against violence. The campaign seeks to promote healthy relationships, gender equity and a compassionate vision of masculinity.

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Megan King of the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan urged Gaylord athletes to use their visible role to help make positive social change by initiating respect. In addition to leading the young men in the white ribbon pledge, she explained the origins of the White Ribbon Pledge and shared two short videos. The first featured the Red Riots high school basketball team in Maine who said they chose, “not be defined by the strength of our arms and legs, but rather by the strength of our character.” The second video featured professional football players from the Toronto Argonauts who said it is about “leading by example both on and off the field.”

Zonta Club of Gaylord Area President Amber Theriault followed King’s presentation by asking the athletes to not initiate or encourage inappropriate jokes. Rather, she called on them to help make a cultural shift. Theriault challenged the student-athletes to commit to and share the message of respect for women.

Cherie Nutter, a Zonta member and president of the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan Board of Directors, closed the event by speaking of the goal to keep local young athletes from making gender-biased slurs.

The Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan has also created a program titled “Coaching Boys Into Men,” designed to encourage coaches to teach young athletes about respecting women and working to end violence against women.

Zonta Club of Kauai donates survivor bags to local shelter

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As part of their advocacy efforts for the Zonta Says NO To Violence Against Women and 16 Days of Activism campaigns, the Zonta Club of Kauai members collected supplies for a local family shelter.

Club members presented survivor gift bags to YWCA Shelter Director Erica Beighley, who said the donations were much appreciated.

Read the rest of the story here.

The INNHS Z Club and Zonta Club of Ilocos Norte held multiple community events during the 16 Days of Activism campaign

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The INNHS Z Club and Zonta Club of Ilocos Norte in the Philippines held a series of activities during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women.

Along with the City Government of Laoag and the Local Council of Women, the groups formally opened the campaign with a walk, self-defense training event and a poster slogan contest.

More than 1,000 women participated in the various activities, which were designed to raise awareness of violence against women and to provide an opportunity to talk about solutions to ending the problem.

The Z Club and Zonta Club also worked with the Philippine National Police and other local organizations to host a series of events for the young girls in the INNHS Z Club.

During one event, the issue of bullying was raised.  Zontian Shey Abaya spoke about bullying during a speech to the group. The talk was followed by a self-defense training provided by 25 members of the Women and Children Protection Desk of the Philippine National Police.

Approximately 1,000 young girls from grades 7-12 participated.

Other activities included appointments of new officers and induction of new members of INNHS Z Club and the distribution of whistles for all the young girls.

Zonta Club of Albury-Wodonga Inc. uses grant to distribute anti-violence posters

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Over the next few months, the Zonta Club of Albury-Wodonga Inc. will distribute posters and pamphlets detailing anti-violence messages and support information to businesses in the area.

The club received a grant from the Border Trust Big Give and was able to design and print 1000 posters.

Read more here.

2017 Zonta Says NO recap

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Zonta clubs across the world participated in advocacy and awareness efforts from 25 November to 10 December as part of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women and 16 Days of Activism Against Gendered-Violence campaigns.

Watch select highlights here and read stories from other clubs at www.zontasaysno.com/zontiansinaction/

Read a recap of the 16 Days of Activism campaign from the President’s Corner Blog: http://ow.ly/kfL930hcMRe