To raise public awareness of violence against women, the Zonta Club of Montevideo, Uruguay, visited several populous locations in their city with the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women banner and handed out Zonta Says NO flyers with the number of help hotlines for those experiencing domestic violence.
This year, all 25 Zonta clubs and Golden Z club members in District 26, Japan, promoted the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign all over the country to raise awareness of gender-based violence. Some actions that the clubs took this year included public demonstrations such as lighting up local landmarks in orange, marching through their cities, handing out flyers and more.
The Zonta Club Caloundra City Inc, Australia, chose to use the 16 Days of Activism as a catalyst to raise community awareness of the issues impacting women and girls locally and globally.
The club placed displays of Zonta initiatives and programs in local libraries. The displays were enhanced by showcasing children’s and adult’s books with a related focus.
Facebook posts reflected Zonta International’s and District 22’s projects in addition to local information. A huge success was the ‘orange-themed’ park run. The club’s local park run committee was happy for them to attend the regular Saturday morning event and provide information, in addition to handing out orange iceblocks and lollipops at the end of the run. Significantly, they were joined on the morning by members of the Sunshine Coast Falcons Under 18 rugby league team. The presence of the young athletes echoed the sports club’s commitment to promoting respectful relationships.
This year, the Zonta Club of Madison, USA, launched a Facebook campaign, passed out more than a thousand orange ribbons and donated to a food pantry as a part of their Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women club actions.
Facebook campaign
The club had four focus areas for this year’s campaign: domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which they highlighted on Facebook.
The club also included information on local resources. The campaign received comments from clubs in District 6, Zonta Club of London, Brisbane and Club of Beaudesert Area Australia, California, Hamilton, Ontario and more.
Orange ribbons
The club handed out 1,500 orange ribbons with information cards at several holiday community events. The Madison Municipal Building and the Overture Center for the Arts were lit in orange at the event.
16 Days Service Project
In honor of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, each club member donated 16 food items to the Middleton Outreach Ministry Food Bank.
Along with painting their city orange for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Burbank Area, USA, engaged in various activities to raise awareness and encourage action to end gender-based violence in all its forms.
The campaign began with a Proclamation from the City of Burbank, presented by Mayor Jess Talamantes. Then the lights at City Hall, Burbank Water and Power and Nickelodeon were turned orange in a brilliant display of government and corporate support.
Zontian Marva Murphy set up a presentation at the Central Library expressing the story of Zonta’s advocacy to end gender violence. Girl Scouts painted orange cut-outs of women and placed them in area businesses promoting Zonta and the campaign. Club President Kelli Potts led club members with a table display at the Burbank Farmer’s Market, and the campaign wrapped up with a self-defense workshop for the public at Inspire Martial Arts and Fitness.
“The Zonta Club of Burbank is thankful and grateful for the support it has received from the City of Burbank and its agencies to bring attention to the campaign to end violence against women,” said Lieutenant Governor Gloria Salas.
For this year’s Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign, the Zonta Club of Cincinnati, USA, partnered with Women Helping Women (WHW), the local YMCA and the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Libraries (CHPL) in planning various activities.
Kickoff
On 25 November, the club kicked off the Zonta Says NO campaign at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, where Club President Melinda Hepfner was the emcee. In attendance was the city’s Vice Mayor, Jan-Michele Kearney and Denise Driehaus, the Hamiton County Commissioner and founder of the Hamiton County Commission on Women and Girls.
Later in the evening, many iconic buildings in the city, such as Bengal’s Paycor Stadium, the courthouses and the Duke Energy Convention Center, were illuminated in orange.
Bookmarking the event
The club partnered with seven public libraries to distribute Zonta Says NO bookmarks with the hotline numbers for WHW and the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati. With the staff, club members will host speakers from WHW and the YMCA starting on 1 January 2023.
The club hopes that with their united voice speaking out against gender-based violence, they will become louder in bringing awareness to the issue and building a better world for women and girls.
On 30 November, the Zonta Club of Cleveland, USA, along with several other community organizations, partnered with the City Club of Cleveland to bring social justice forum entitled “The Changing Landscape of Reproductive Rights.”
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization completely altered the legal landscape for access to abortion, the future of legal protections for abortion has become increasingly uncertain.
The forum featured Fatima Goss Graves, the president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, and Helen Forbes Fields, the president and CEO of YWCA of Greater Cleveland, to discuss this evolving issue and the legal strategies developed and deployed to address growing concerns.
“One in four women in this country have access to abortion care, and we shouldn’t pretend like that is not a fact. I trust them to make the decisions they need to make for themselves and their families,” said Fatima.
Click here to watch a video or podcast on the forum.
To bring awareness of violence against women to their town, the Zonta Club of Fredericksburg, USA, placed a Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women banner on their Main Street in the heart of the downtown shopping area. During the holidays, tens of thousands of visitor flock to the site.
The club also made a huge Zonta Says NO display on the grounds of the Old Pioneer Library. The display includes a QR code that took audiences to the club’s website explaining the 16 Days of Activism.
During the 16 Days of Activism, the Zonta Club of Dhaka III, Bangladesh, participated in various programs to say NO to violence against women and children. This year, the club strived to help underprivileged children, empower women in remote areas who lost their homes and help rape victims rehabilitate themselves.
Realizing the importance of sanitation and hygiene, the club built four toilets for those living in remote and underprivileged areas and distributed blankets and Zonta t-shirts. They also taught the children the importance of education, avoiding early marriage and menstrual health.
On 10 December, the club met with Zontians Marion Bethel and Pamela Morgan to talk about the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Bangladesh ratified in 1984, being one of 189 countries to have done so.
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