Tuija Kirveskari – Tähtinen (left) and Arja Ekdahl (right) attended District 20, Area 1 seminar on Zonta Says NO. Member Kirsi Nickels was also invited to speak about ZISVAW projects and funds.

The launch of The Zonta Club of Adelaide’s “Walk in my Shoes” installation was held in the Head Office of Bank SA in Adelaide South Australia. The installation celebrates the courage of women who have walked out of situations of domestic violence and begun a new life. It consists of women and children’s shoes each with their story attached. After the 16 Days of Activism the display will be moved on to suburban and rural branches of BankSA. Women will be encouraged to add their stories to the display. The stories will be collated and published.

More on this event

Zonta Club of Ibadan II branded a Town transit bus through major streets for 30 days. Zontians also rode on the bus on the 26th November stopping at major markets and the police station for drama sketches and distributing awareness pamphlets against gender violence.

From: KTVQ.com:

MTN Montana Television Network Sites – KTVQ, Billings

Eleven women expressed themselves each week in November. It was therapy. The art that followed not only provided a piece of mind, but tangible evidence of a change in mentality.

The Zonta Club of Billings paired with Angela’s Piazza and artist Julie Pederson to give 10 women the chance to utilize art therapy in the month of November.

Their pieces were on display Monday night at Billings Clinic in the No More Empty Shoes Art Show, kicking off the 16 Days of Activism aimed to raise awareness about gender-based violence.

Among the art, shoes — heels and flats — represented those who have been killed due to domestic violence. Startling statistics show every nine seconds a woman is battered and one in three experience domestic violence.

In Billings, the Zonta Club not only provides service to the community through domestic violence awareness, but grants for community agencies, scholarships for students and volunteer labor for local non-profit organizations.

Comprised of 45 members, the group also donated more than 50 blankets to the Billings Police Department to provide to victims involved in a domestic disturbance.

http://www.ktvq.com/news/club-s-art-show-takes-stand-against-gender-violence/

The Zonta Club of Hamburg, The Zonta Club of Hamburg-Elbufer, The Zonta Club of Hamburg-Alster, The Zonta Club of Hamburg-Hanse and The Zonta Club of Hamburg Hafen were recently featured in a news broadcast for their actions within the Zonta says NO campaign.

The Zonta Club of Dothan was featured in two news videos on WTVY in Dothan, AL, USA.
 Speakers at the rally included – Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz, State Senator Harri Anne Smith, DV Survivor Kathy Wells, House of Ruth Director Beverly Youse, The Exchange Center Director Pam Miles and Candidate for State House District 93 Dr. Jennifer Marsden. 

Watch the videos below:

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Marietta Meachan, a member of Zonta Club of Fort Myers, holds a sign alongside her daughter Julie. / photos by GUY TUBBS/THE NEWS-PRESS

From news-press.com:

Orange was the new black Monday for about a dozen area residents out to take a stand against violence toward women and girls.

Led by Southwest Florida Zonta clubs, the women and a few men dressed in orange and armed with orange signs, spent the morning tying orange ribbons to power poles and streetlights near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Cypress Lake Drive.

“Globally, gender-based violence is the most pervasive and least recognized human rights violation, Sanibel resident Karen Pati said. “It affects women of every race, class, culture, age, ethnicity and country.”

Zonta International, an organization with more than 30,000 members in 65 countries, is dedicated to advancing the status of women worldwide.

Pati serves as the lieutenant governor for Zonta’s District 11, which includes clubs in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Sanibel, Naples and Port Charlotte.

The event was part of the Zonta Says No campaign, a global initiative to raise awareness and help end violence against women and girls.

Zonta chose Monday and the color orange for its initiative to mirror the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

“We’d like to prevent all kinds of violence, but it’s particularly an issue with women,” she said.” Pati said

Pati said Monday’s event was about awareness, and referenced the recent arrest of a FGCU student on sexual assault and battery charges related to incidents of three FGCU students.

“A boy went to a girl’s room, and she said no, but he didn’t know no means no,” she said.

Fort Myers resident Marcie Kaveney said she attended the event because she wants victims of abuse to know there is support.

A survivor of abuse, Kaveney works at Abuse Counseling and Treatment Inc., a not-nonprofit agency that serves victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

“Our message is we will always be here,” she said.

Bill Buhler greeted morning commuters at Cypress Lake and U.S. 41 on Monday. ‘Zonta says No’ is a campaign created by Zonta International to raise awareness and bring an end to violence against women and girls across the globe. (News-Press)

http://www.news-press.com/article/20131126/VOLUNTEERING/311260021/Good-News-Southwest-Florida-campaign-against-hurting-women

Head to Facebook to discuss why you say NO to violence against women. Today, we’re using the hashtag #orangeurworld to share discussion with SayNO – UNiTE to End Violence Against Women. Click here to join in!