As part of its Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women campaign, the Zonta Club of Southern Black Hills, South Dakota, USA, hosted an educational and informational forum. Held on 14 November, the “Empowering Women and Teens for Violence Prevention” event included guest speakers, videos, presentations and discussions.

On 21 October, when the Zonta Club of Kaohsiung Yu-Hsiuan presented awards to merit students in Kaohsiung Municipal Girls’ Senior High School, the principal, winners and members of Kaohsiung Z Club took a group photo with the Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women banner to raise awareness and increase actions to end violence again women and girls.

On 25 October, during a meeting of the Zonta Club and Kaohsiung American School Z Club, members raised their right fists and showed their support for ‪#‎ZontaSaysNO‬

The Zonta Club of Bunbury Inc., Australia has had a set of orange high visibility “Zonta Says NO Vests” donated and club members are pictured here, ‘trying them on’ at a Zonta meeting!
The club plans to wear the vests during their ‘Zonta Says NO’ campaigns.

photo by: http://www.frostillustrated.com/

On Saturday, 3 October, five Zonta Clubs of Indiana (Columbus, Fort Wayne, Frankfort, Indianapolis, and Lebanon) along with about 100 walkers, met in Indianapolis at Monument Circle to stage a walk to give voice to the Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women campaign.

Zontians, their family, and friends gathered to hear Linda Majors, Director of Domestic Violence Initiatives from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office speak on the issue of violence against women. After, the group walked to the Indiana State House where attorney and former Bartholomew County Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Benjamin spoke. The group then returned to the Circle for more interactions. The walk was free and open to the public.

The most important lesson learned is the tremendous power of women working together and what can be accomplished when this happens. The clubs partnered with like-minded such as Agape Alliance, which works with sex workers. The club also passed out flyers about Zonta and water bottles with Zonta Says NO labels.
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The Zonta Club of Stara Zagora held the first of three events, as part of their project “Sport Against Violence”. The event for the general public was full of joy and happiness and supported from a lot of people, including whole families who learned about Zonta Says No and are waiting to learn more.

Watch a short film about this event below: (English subtitles)

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“Say No to Violence Against Women” Mirco-Film Project was sponsored by the Zonta Club of Hong Kong East and organized by Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Jockey Club M21.  The project aimed to raise the awareness of the subject among the young generation and to nurture their creativity in spreading the message via the internet platform.  It commenced in early 2014, and was in several phases.

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On 8 March, the Zonta Club of Central Oklahoma, USA, in partnership with YWCA’s sexual assault nurse examiners, Beautiful Dreams Society, and other local women’s programs, held a rally at the SkyDance Bridge in Oklahoma City to say NO to violence against women.

Oklahoma ranks third in the nation for the number of women killed by domestic violence. Members sent a message of unity to raise awareness of and increase actions to end violence against women and girls.  All participants were encouraged to wear orange in support of the event and the SkyDance Bridge was lit in orange lights for the cause.

The death of 4 –year-old girl believed to have been subjected to a violent beating by her stepmother and biological father has caused great concern among the Mongolian public. On Saturday, 28 February, thousands of people were crowded at Chinggis Square to light a candle for the memory of the little girl and expressing their condolences. This vigil was initiated by the Facebook group and Zonta Clubs in Mongolia actively participated in the event along with representatives of NGO’s, clubs and thousands of city residents.

The aim of the event was to honor the memory of the little girl who died as a victim of violence and to and to protect the rights of children living with domestic violence, calling for state attention to the violation of children’s rights.

Written by Karl Etters, Tallahassee Democrat staff writer

A local chapter of an international women’s organization is urging all employers to develop workplace policies against domestic violence and sexual assault. The Zonta Club of Tallahassee pushed its message on Tuesday, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the federal Violence Against Women Act. Club members were joined by representatives from county and city government, top officials at Florida A&M and Florida State universities and Tallahassee Community College, private sector businesses and the legal community for a discussion about awareness of domestic and workplace violence and options in assisting victims. Sooni Raymaker, Zonta Club of Tallahassee’s president, said Tuesday’s event was about promoting a culture of workplace violence policies and programs to help employees with domestic violence issues.

“As with anything with violence against women, or violence generally against citizens, is becoming more and more prevalent,” Raymaker said. “There are victims of violence they’ve been suffering in silence and this is to raise awareness of that and get them assistance.”

Raymaker added that employees with domestic issues often affect productivity in the workplace through absenteeism, others having to share in work responsibilities and a feeling of insecurity in the workplace. It is estimated that domestic and workplace violence cost U.S. businesses almost $36 billion annually.

“If there is a workplace that will support a victim of violence, you will have a better return on your productivity, it’s a safer environment and it’s economic security for the victim,” she said.

Domestic and workplace violence is not limited to women, said lawyer Robin Hassler Thompson, who specializes in violence against women issues. “So even though we talk about women being victims,” Thompson said, “we know that men are victims in same-sex relationships and in heterosexual relationships but at a much smaller percentage.”

Thompson said one in three women will become victims of domestic violence and one in five female students will be a victim of rape. With three major institutions and more than 65,000 students in Tallahassee undefined FSU, FAMU and TCC undefined those numbers are alarming, she said.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare President and CEO Mark O’Bryant said the hospital sees about 125,000 domestic violence cases a year, but few patients seek assistance after their initial visit. The effects of domestic violence can linger and have an effect on quality of life.

“We oftentimes think of the immediate (physical) impact, but there is the whole lingering effect of secondary conditions,” including behavioral, emotional and mental health, O’Bryant said.

“When we talk about domestic violence and the impact that has on emotional health, we need to recognize that we cannot have a high quality of life without embracing this issue and addressing it in a very proactive way,” O’Bryant added.

The Zonta Club is an international women’s organization focused on improving the status of women and girls and holds a seat on the United Nation’s High Commission on the Status of Women.

The Tallahassee chapter has worked with the city and county in developing their workplace violence policies and implementing programs for employees experiencing domestic violence.

The fight to end violence takes the involvement of large community, Raymaker said.

“It’s not just one voice,” she said. “We have 38,000 members so we think advocating change takes an entire community and with that many voices and many more voices joining we can effectuate change.”

“If there is a workplace that will support a victim of violence, you will have a better return on your productivity, it’s a safer environment and it’s economic security for the victim.”

SOONI RAYMAKER, Zonta Club of Tallahassee