awareness

Zonta Club of Alytus brings awareness to gender-based violence with ‘You Are Not Alone’ project

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The Zonta Club of Alytus, Lithuania, worked with the Alytus Women’s Crisis Center for its “You Are Not Alone” project, which brings awareness to violence against women and girls. The club aims to raise awareness, reduce indifference and eliminate the perception that violent relationships can be justified.

Two lectures were presented—one in person and one online—”Awareness of Domestic Violence: The Dynamics of the Circle of Violence” and “The Path of Help for Those Who Have Experienced Violence.” The lectures were delivered by a psychologist and a lawyer from the Alytus Women’s Crisis Centre.

After the lectures, people met outside the Alytus City Theatre and formed a procession to the Alytus Women’s Crisis Center, where there was an orange door symbolizing opening a door if you need help.

Zonta Club of Schaffhausen memorializes femicide victims to kick off 16 Days of Activism

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The Zonta Club of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, joined Soroptimist Schaffhausen to host a memorial and solidarity procession on 24 November. The action was musically framed atmospherically with the choir “salto cordale.”

The event also included an installation of shoes, which symbolized the number of femicides committed in Switzerland in 2022.

Zonta clubs in Wyoming participate in state proclamation acknowledging 16 Days of Activism and Zonta Says NO

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On 2 November, the Zonta of Cheyenne, USA, participated in a signing ceremony where Governor Mark Gordon issued a proclamation acknowledging the upcoming 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and the crucial work the Zonta clubs in Wyoming are doing. The proclamation also includes language urging citizens “to support those who work to end gender violence and to learn the detrimental consequences gender violence has on the well-being of the community.”

The club has arranged for a gubernatorial proclamation at the start of 16 Days of Activism for many years, and this year’s ceremony follows that tradition. Zontians at the ceremony had a chance to share a small portion of the history of 16 Days of Activism, and some of the work done in the community to raise awareness about the Zonta says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

In the news: Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey and its Golden Z club raise awareness to combat human trafficking

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This week, the Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey held its annual “Zonta Says No to Human Trafficking” Rally at the State Capitol.

According to advocates, the human trafficking industry generates more than $32 billion each year and occurs all over the world, including right here in the commonwealth. It can occur in restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, farms, factories, and even in homes as the result of force, fraud, coercion, and other trafficker tactics. 

“Human trafficking is a criminal enterprise that operates and hides in plain sight,” said Rhonda Hendrickson, Chief Operations Officer of the YWCA Greater Harrisburg. “Traffickers hone their skills each and every day and their recruitment tactics, they perfect- manipulating, coercing and, yes, even forcing victims into exploitation,” she added. 

Advocates believe thousands are trafficked through the keystone state each day but say that it’s difficult to estimate an exact number because too often, trafficking goes unreported. 

https://www.weny.com/story/47727866/raising-awareness-to-combat-human-trafficking

Zonta Club of Beaune Cote d’Or inaugurates Red Bench in honor of local gender-based violence victims

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The Zonta Club of Beaune Cote d’Or, France, held an inauguration of a Red Bench in the hobby of the local hospital in memory of Audrey Clément and her daughter Albane, who were both brutally murdered on 8 May due to gender-based violence. The perpetrator was an intimate partner of Audrey and a father to Albane. After the terrible femicide, the club supported the family with many hospital workers.

“The bench must be a memorial, and it is a way to remember collectively!” said Zontian Marion Leuba. “Everything must be said about this barbaric act. This femicide took place on 8 May by a man who was both the companion, father and colleague of his victims … we are here to remember once again and stop time. This bench that becomes a monument will be responsible for transmitting this history, reactivating this emotion so that no one forgets what happened that day. These femicides have particularly upset us Zonta members, and they convinced us that more than ever, we had to fight violence against women and girls around the world.”

Zonta Club of Kowloon announces findings and recommendations from survey on Hong Kong women’s experience of violence in 2021

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  • The press conference was covered in 17 newspapers and radio and tv stations.
  • Speakers at the press conference.
  • The club’s press conferrence presented its findings and recommendations for the survey.
  • A screenshot of the audience.

The Zonta Club of Kowloon, Hong Kong, has always supported the Zonta Says NO campaign since it launched in 2012. After realizing that there was a scarcity of statistics on sexual and domestic violence in Hong Kong, the club decided to sponsor the “Hong Kong Women’s Experience of Violence 2021” research. 

The Women’s Coalition on Equal Opportunities organized the research, and the lead researcher is Annie Chan from Lingnan University. Annie arranged the survey, which comprised of 1044 questionnaires that sexual and domestic violence survivors completed and 30 in-depth interviews. 

The club held a virtual press conference on Rose Day to announce the findings and recommendations to the Hong Kong media. Their advice to combat sexual and domestic violence in Hong Kong were:

  • The Hong Kong government should offer financial and housing support for women survivors and establish sexual violence crisis support centers.
  • The Hong Kong government needs to improve flexibility in service provision and increase funding to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) serving women survivors.
  • The Hong Kong government should review procedural guidelines for handling sexual violence cases, intimate partner violence cases and child abuse.
  • The Hong Kong police should review the existing classification for domestic violence because cases are being under-reported, and the current numbers do not reflect the actual prevalence.
  • The Equal Opportunities Commission should establish mandatory sexual harassment policies for companies and implement staff training.
  • There is a need to improve policy, legal and professional training provisions. This would include modernizing family court, increasing training for personnel who work with women and speeding up reforms on sex crime legislation.
  • There is a need to educate the public about sexual and intimate partner violence and equip women with information on women’s rights and relevant laws to protect them.
  • There is a need to address sexual violence in public transportation and schools.

Many local media took interest, and their press conference was covered by 17 newspapers, radio and TV stations. 

The club hopes that their recommendations will be helpful for the local government and other relevant bodies to incorporate into their planning and servicing models for the coming years.

Zonta Club of Bad Nauheim-Friedberg holds workshop to empower girls against online violence

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The Zonta Club of Bad Nauheim-Friedberg, Germany, organized a workshop to empower girls against online violence. This was the first time the club started this cooperation project. They were responsible for finding cooperation partners financing the project, organization, media work and the advertisement before the workshop.

The club was impressed that more than 40 young women and girls all over Germany took part. They also noticed how many people were interested in the topic and how many girls were affected.

The club believes that it is essential to address and communicate with young women at their level, which led to the workshop’s great success. They are considering holding the workshop again.

Z and Golden Z clubs of Saint Michael’s College of Laguna host webinar about Safe Spaces

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The Z and Golden Z Clubs of Saint Michael’s College of Laguna, the Philippines, recently hosted a webinar called Safe Spaces: It Begins with You. The clubs invited attorney Terese Ray Anne O. Aquino as a guest speaker to educate their audience about the Safe Spaces Act. This law penalizes all forms of gender-based sexual harassment committed in public spaces, educational or training institutions, workplaces and online.

The clubs streamlined the webinar to more than 3,000 audience members and registered 5,000 engagements.

Zonta clubs in Bulgaria Say NO to cyber violence against women and children

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As an extension of the Zonta Says No campaign, the Zonta clubs in Bulgaria say NO to cyber violence against women and children. With people using the Internet now more than ever, the clubs wanted to highlight the hidden potential risks and prevent and combat cyberbullying.

Under the patronage of Iliana Yotova, the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria, the clubs collaborate with experts from the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime’s specialized unit. They are also joined by a number of international NGOs such as UNICEF and Soroptimist International, and other national and regional organizations that support the cause.

So far, a broad public awareness campaign has been released, including several volunteer educational training sessions carried out by experts. The clubs will conduct debates and meetings across multiple Bulgarian cities in the upcoming months. 

On 15 April, the clubs plan to hold a closing conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, where the campaign’s activities and outcomes will be summarized and reported.

To learn more about the project and keep track of its activities, visit https://www.zontabulgaria.com/en/cyberviolence, or check out the project campaign video: https://vimeo.com/677231652.

Zonta Club of Santa Clarita takes one word at a time to promote the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

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Taking inspiration from the Zonta Says NO tool guide released in 2021, the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley, USA, created a social media schedule for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Each day of the 16 Days centers around an inspirational word, and some days had different words intertwined throughout the day. Check out the club’s word-savvy social media plan below.

Day 1: Envision
For the first day, the club chose the word “envision” to “envisioning a world without violence against women.”

Day 2: Knowledge
The club wanted to share facts about gender-based violence around the world, including what happens in their town and state. They also shared why 25 November is an important date and why there are 16 days to the 16 Days of Activism.

Day 3: Community
The club shared the story behind the book “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez. The book is about the Mirabel sisters, which inspired the 16 Days of Activism.

Day 4: Orange
The club wore their orange shirts everywhere they went, and they had a photo shoot in front of one of the city’s library sculptures. The sculptures consisted of squares with words like Scrabble pieces, and the middle “I” is missing. They place their Zonta Says NO vertical banner in that empty spot.

Day 5: Service
The club’s Service Committee baked cookies and donated gift cards to Fostering Youth Independence, a local non-profit organization that assists foster children after they age out of the system.

Day 6: Allyship
For “Allyship,” the club shared photos of men that support their mission and what Zonta means to them.

Day 7: Student Engagement
The club was preparing to install a new Z Club, but it got rescheduled to 24 January. This will be their second Z Club.

Day 8: Advocate
Having so many students at the high school level who feel so passionate about Zonta and its missions help the club to advocate the need to share the importance of ending violence against women and girls. Education is the key.

Day 9: Outreach
The club received a proclamation from the city of Santa Clarity Valley.

Day 10: Awareness
In addition to the proclamation, the club got the city to display their Zonta Says NO banner on a paseo above a busy street to promote awareness. The banner was displayed throughout the 16 Days.

Day 11: Tribute
The club shared stories from survivors to advocate their mission.

Day 12: Listening
The club encouraged others to listen to the stories of survivors on its YouTube channel.

Day 13: Discussion
The club co-hosted a webinar with the Zonta Club of Burbank, USA, to discuss human trafficking.

Day 14: Remembrance
The club displayed their SCV Red Dress Project at several locations during the 16 Days. The original Red Dresses inspired the project, and they launched the SCV Red Dress Project in 2016. The project aims to advocate and share awareness of domestic violence within their community.

Day 15: Giving Tuesday
The club participated in Zonta International’s Giving Tuesday webinar and shared what they were doing for the 16 Days of Activism.

Day 16: Reflection
The club concluded the 16 Days with the word “reflection.” They showed a series of photos that reflect all their activities.