During the 16 Days of Activism Campaign, the Golden Z Club of UAFS (University of Arkansas Fort Smith) joined to place a display prominently on the campus to raise awareness of the campaign and to Say NO to Violence Against Women.
The Golden Z Club of UAFS is sponsored by the Zonta Club of Fort Smith, USA, in District 10.
The Zonta Club of Bendigo Inc., Australia, in District 23, worked with the City Council, Victoria police and other organizations to organize a community response to White Ribbon Day to commence the 16 Days of Activism.
On Friday, 24 November and Saturday, 25 November, club members attended local matches where the Associations had agreed to get players to recited the oath, “I will stand up, speak out and act to prevent men’s violence against women,” prior to the game.
According to Bendigo Advertiser, “Two of the games will also feature a presentation from Bendigo Police’s family violence advisor Sergeant Margaret Singe – Kangaroo Flat v Eaglehawk at the QEO and United v Sedgwick at Ewing Park.”
Club members attended the “Bendigo Walks Against Violence” event on Monday, 27 November, and sold white ribbons beforehand.
Before the walk, a crowd of about 500 people listened to Taran Chawla’s account of his sister Nikita’s murder by her husband and the impact of domestic violence on their family. Click here to read Chawla’s editorial in the Bendigo Advertiser.
Following the speaker, the crowd assembled behind their banners for a group photo, then walked through town to the civic gardens for a lunchtime BBQ. A notable feature in the Bendigo gardens was a bed featuring white petunias planted in the classic “white ribbon” pattern.
On Wednesday, 29 November, during the busy rush hour, members of the Zonta Club of Cape Coral, USA, in District 11, held signs and waved to commuters at the intersections of Cape Coral Parkway and Del Prado Boulevards in Cape Coral , Florida.
Thousands of cars passed, many drivers waving and some exclaiming “thank you” as they drove by. The club’s goal is to raise awareness of the initiative and also for their club, perhaps inspiring new members to join.
The club will follow up with additional action by having a table at the Cape Coral Bike Night on Saturday, 9 December.
They plan to have membership materials, meeting information, Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women materials, and information about a local shelter for women who are being abused available at our table that evening. The club also has a plan to get a potential victim to safety, if the need should arrive that night.
The Zonta Clubs of Luxembourg, Luxembourg-Multiculterel, Eisleck and Esch-Sur-Alzette partnered with local leaders to organize an orange week in Luxembourg. Buildings and monuments were lit up orange in support of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign and the United Nations Unite project.
From 19 to 26 November, the Ministry of Equal Opportunities and the Zonta club encouraged community members to light up public buildings, monuments, tourists sites, private companies and more to symbolize the commitment the community has toward ending violence.
Read more about the initiative here.
On the fourth day of the 16 Days of Activism, the clubs of District 4, Area 2 in Canada presented two local advocates with the 2017 Zonta Says No Award for their efforts to raise awareness for the issue of gender-based violence.
At the meeting of the Zonta Club of Hamilton 1 on 28 November, the award was presented to Doreen Nicoll and Brandon Braithwaite. The two led the way for a local newspaper in the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada area to focus specifically on violence against women.
The November 2016 issue of The Anvil, a Hamilton-based newspaper, was devoted to the topic of gendered violence. The special edition was titled “This Is Not a Woman’s Issue.”
In 2016, Nicoll, who was a volunteer for the Anvil, approached her managing editor, Braithwaite, with an idea to create an entire issue dedicated to Women’s Abuse Prevention Month. Her passion for the topic came from her own experience in an abusive relationship. The issue included articles from experts, doctors, and different area services, as well as hard-hitting stories about survivors. The goal was to provide as much information as possible in one accessible place.
After it was published, over 8,000 copies were distributed to apartments and homes across downtown Hamilton, Ontario, as well as at coffee shops, universities and colleges all over Hamilton and Burlington.
Nicoll was also recognized for her efforts in creating an online platform to provide additional information. Along with a team of friends, she developed the online resource 1infour.ca. The website was developed to help women identify important services in the area. It was born out of a frustration at the complexity of knowing and taking advantage of programs that exist in Hamilton.
Braithwaite, the second award recipient, was raised by a single mother and says it is the strength of his mother that shaped him to be the person he is today. Now, he says, it is his wife Rachel, and two daughters, Abigail and Emily, that drive him to make the world a better place.
When taking on the Anvil publication project, it was his passion to reach as many of his neighbors as possible with information pertaining to the challenges of violence against women. Braithwaite and his team hoped that by providing the information to people, they could help equip them with the tools they need to combat, confront and support themselves and others facing gender-based violence.
To stop human trafficking, it takes action from everyone, at all levels. Click here to learn what you can do with these tools from the Anti-Trafficking Convention.
The Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley is working with local organizations to organize a “Red Dress” project as part of the 16 Days of Activism and Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.
Through the display, seven red dresses will be displayed in different local buildings to symbolize the six women and one girl who lost their lives because of domestic violence in Santa Clarita Valley.
The dresses will be displayed in the courthouse, community center, and a few high schools, among other buildings.
Click here to read more details about the project.
The Zonta Club of Matera will display red shoes in a popular area to raise awareness of gender violence as part of the Zonta Says NO campaign. The installation will be in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele in Matera, symbolizing violence against women and girls.
The club members hope the display will have an impact on people passing by and on the many visitors that come to the area. The shoes will be on display until 10 December.
On 3 December, the Zonta Club of Matera will also recognize two minutes of silence in memory of women victims of violence.
Members of the Zonta Club of Austin gathered supplies to create bags to support survivors of domestic violence.
The bags included items such as basic toiletries and items for kids. The completed bags will be given to the Crime Victims Resource Center in Austin, Minnesota to be distributed.
Read more about the bags here.
Since 2013, Zonta International has worked to end child marriage, a form of sexual and gender-based violence, in Niger.
Join with Zonta and say no to child marriage during the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.
Click here to learn more about Zonta’s project in Niger.
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