The Zonta Club of Gladstone, Australia, District 22, is advocating to end violence against women with a powerful display.

The club attached 44 orange wooden cutouts, which represent the 44 women who have been murdered by intimate partners in Australia this year, to a fence in their community.

Robyn Liddell, the club’s advocacy chair, told the Gladstone Observer that the number of women who had died was startling but was slowly improving.

“This time last year the tally was 68 so we are making progress in Australia,” she said. “But one death is still one too many.”

Liddell said the Gladstone club invited people to join members to standtogether to say no to violence against women and bring about change.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Zonta Clubs of St. Catharines, Fort Erie Area and Niagara Falls, Canada in District 4 launched their Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign on the evening of 24 November.

To mark the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism, the clubs held a candlelight walk at the Niagara Falls. After the walk, the American and Horseshoe Falls were bathed in orange.

There were several speakers at the event, including District 4 Governor Lori Robinson, the president of the Zonta Club of Niagara Falls, the representative from the parks commission and the head of the Women’s Centre. In addition, a local drumming and singing group performed.

“The Zonta Clubs of the Niagara peninsula are proud to be involved,” said Nicki Inch, advocacy chairwoman with the Zonta Club of Niagara Falls, told Niagara Falls Review.

In honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Zonta Club of Saarlouis, Germany, District 28, made a visible statement.

The first part of the program was a poetry slam performance with self-penned texts from Andrea Maria. Poetry Slam means hands-on literature: an irresistible mix between public reading and performance.

The second part of the evening was a film event with a screening of the German film, Kriegerin. Before the movie started Zontians marked a signal in front of the screen to say no against violence.

Kriegerin is a forcible directorial debut from Berlin-born film graduate David Wnendt. The theme is uncomfortable – the subculture of East-German neo-Nazism, focusing on two female protagonists. Kriegerin is set in a provincial East-German town, where right-wing radicalism and testosterone-fueled violence is the norm.

To enter the event, Zontians requested donations toward a women’s shelter.

The Zonta Club of Vantaa II, Finland, District 20, put up an exhibition in a suburban commuter train station at the start of the 16 Days of Activism. Club members took two-hour shifts and wore orange sashes to distinguish themselves from the commuters.

The club members handed out leaflets to those in need of a shelter home or support to break off of a violent partnership. They also distributed facts on domestic violence on a national level that many found dumbfounding, as this is a problem some people are not aware of.

The Zontians had interesting, poignant and fruitful encounters. They talked to ladies who softly spoke of their personal experiences and to young women who figured one of their group would statistically be a victim (as every fourth woman is supposed to face domestic violence in Finland), and also to rowdy youngsters who started out being obnoxious but changed their attitude after a friendly talk, and in the end gave them thumbs up.

This Zonta Club of Vantaa II had an excellent experience. They felt we empowered others and likewise got empowered themselves. They helped a woman who still had nightmares 20 years later to seek support, they rose awareness among young people and they said out loud a problem that normally is hushed.

The Zonta Club of Porterville, USA, District 9, created a display to advocate for the elimination of violence against women during the 16 Days of Activism.

The club set up a table for the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign at a local movie theater. The display included shoes with women’s stories, orange female cutouts and more.

The Zonta Clubs of Akureyri and Akureyri-Thorunn Hyrna, Iceland, District 13, joined for a candlelight walk on the evening of 25 November as part of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

The walk began at a church and continued through the center of town toward the town square. There, Thora Akadottir addressed the group and everyone sang a song about peace.

Determine your focus. Identify and select the most important aspect of violence against women and girls in your country/community. Then, determine the focus of the advocacy action. Work on: prevention, protection and/or prosecution and involve all members of your community.

Click here to view our Zonta Says NO Advocacy Tools page.

Trafficking in persons is a form of violence that affects mostly women and is in nearly every region of the globe. Many victims are exploited as they look to start a better life. Zonta International says NO to violence against women and stands to empower women by giving them opportunities, a chance, a voice.

Trafficking in persons is not a foreign issue. Trafficking for sexual exploitation and for forced labor is reported nearly everywhere. Trafficking for various types of marriage has been sporadically reported in the past, but is now emerging as a more prevalent form. And, trafficking for forced labor in the fishing industry is commonplace in several parts of the world, carried out in large companies or in on-land processing facilities.

Find more information on why humans are trafficked in the UNODC report on Trafficking in Persons.

Violence against women is not just a women’s issue. It is a worldwide pandemic that crosses every social and economic class, every religion, race and ethnicity.

Zonta International has contributed to help achieve a world free of violence against women and girls for nearly 100 years. Fittingly, we begin our sixth Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Click here to read more in President Sonja Hönig Schoug’s blog post.