Cyber violence against women and girls is a global problem with serious implications for societies and economies around the world.

About 29 orange pinwheels are planted on the Boone County Courthouse lawn. Each represents a person who has died as a result of domestic violence in Indiana since 2014, explained Joanna Shoemaker with the Zonta Club of Lebanon, USA, District 6.

Shoemaker said this display is part of the larger 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign that is being celebrated by Zonta clubs internationally. The 16-day period started Nov. 25 and will end on Dec. 10.

The campaign is aimed to get the average person to realize how many people domestic violence touches. By showing the deaths involved, people can see the most extreme outcome.

“It is jarring to see it, and you realize that this is happening right here in your community,” said Christine Sterle, the club’s vice president.

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The Zonta Club of Berry Inc, Australia, in District 24, has established a window display in Berry Chemist and the Shoalhaven Library, with information available on how to access local domestic violence services.

Zonta Club of Berry Inc President Rosalie Fletcher said Zonta is passionate about eliminating domestic violence.

“Domestic violence is one of the major messages we want to get out,” she told South Coast Register. “We’re all about women empowering women.”

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The Zonta Club of Ulm-Donau, in District 30, is bringing awareness to the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign in Ulm, Germany.

Club members have erected a sign at Theater Ulm, and turned the building orange as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

Zonta Club of Lohja, Finland, in District 20 chose partnered with young people in the town for the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

The club turned the local youth center orange to raise awareness about violence against women and girls. The building, where young people gather daily both for spare time and for municipal youth services, is illuminated orange during the 16 Days of Activism.

The orange color outside the building is communicating the important message of the campaign, strengthened by the local media. In addition, young people who use the center’s services are getting information about the topics close to the youth during the days of activism, such as violence in relationships and harrasment on social media, at school or at work.

Information about everyone’s right to education, not only in Finland but worldwide, was spread, as well as facts about human trafficking in the world.

Conflict affects women and girls and men and boys differently. The violence experienced by women and girls in conflict situations is not always seen and is highly underreported.

“In 2016, sexual violence continued to be employed as a tactic of war, with widespread and strategic rapes, including mass rapes, allegedly committed by several parties to armed conflict, mostly in conjunction with other crimes such as killing, looting, pillage, forced displacement and arbitrary detention,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says in a recent report.

Click here to read Guterres’ April 2017 report on conflict-related sexual violence.

Traffickers and their victims often come from the same place, speak the same language or have the same ethnic background. Such commonalities help traffickers generate trust to carry out the trafficking crime. Court cases and other qualitative data indicate that women are often used to recruit other women.

Click here to find more information on trafficking in persons in the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

All Zonta clubs in District 17’s Area 6 held a parade that marched through a famous shopping mall in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand, as part of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

Students from Asa Witthaya School Z Club and Bangkok University Golden Z Club joined Zontians in the parade, carrying handmade signs.

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In the U.S., less than 5 percent of college students who are victims of sexual assault report the crime. Violence on campus is a global issue that needs to be addressed.

Speak up for women who are too afraid to speak.

Luke Howarth, Federal Member for Petrie, holds one of the Zonta Club of Redcliffe Area Inc’s signs with Gail Symons, the club’s vice president.

The Zonta Club of Redcliffe Area Inc, Australia, in District 22, is involving its community in the 16 Days of Activism.

The club had Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women signs installed on the doors of each cubicle in female public toilets in the Redcliffe Region.

The signs are a prominent orange color and list the toll-free phone number for DVConnect Womensline, the only statewide telephone service in Queensland that offers women who are experiencing domestic or family violence 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  

The Moreton Bay Regional Council installed 100 signs for free during the 16 Days of Activism last year. The Zonta club is extending the initiative this year and has begun installing the signs in sporting clubs and a hotel.

“I am proud to support the Zonta Club of Redcliffe,” says Luke Howarth, Federal Member for Petrie. “They are a great support network for our community.”

He continued: “Real men don’t hit women. Real men don’t abuse women. I am calling for men in our community to be real men and take responsibly for their thoughts, their words and their actions.”

Zonta club members also marched in a local White Ribbon Day march on Friday, 24 November, and held a free breakfast on Saturday, 25 November.