On 25 November, the Zonta Club of Montevideo, Uruguay, attended the march “Women in Black” during the 16 Days of Activism.

Women in Black is a global movement that has a favor to have wide spread and impact.

The Zonta Club of Gaylord Area partnered with the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan in asking local high school athletes to “Say No to Violence Against Women” during the 16 Days of Activism.

These men at St. Mary Cathedral School listened to the club’s call to action and took the white ribbon pledge, “I promise to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.” They also talked about their unique opportunity and responsibilities as athletes and role models.

The Zonta Club of Darmstadt, Germany, held a presentation in Darmstadt’s mall, Luisencenter, for the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

Artist Karina Wellmer-Schnell used images to help visualize two emotions: the feeling of being deeply hurt as a woman and what it means to go hand in hand without fear.

The club also informed people with statistics about violence against women in 2015 in Europe. This event informed the public about violence, visualized it and gave information for help against domestic violence.

Club members were joined by social workers of the institution called Frauenhaus Darmstadt. The Frauenhaus gives abused women a secure place to live, to get out of domestic violence.

The Zonta Club of Upper Hudson Valley, New York, purchased Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women wristbands for all members, plus 35 additional to be distributed to caring women.

The club asked its members to wear them during the 16 Days of Activism and longer, if desired. The wristbands encouraged many conversations. We photographed club members with their wristbands at their December meeting.

Thanks to a successful year of fundraising, the club was able to purchase many holiday gifts for the residents of domestic violence shelters in both Columbia and Greene counties. Shelter staff were given a budget and they did the shopping for all residents.

The Zonta Club of Punta del Este-Maldonado, Uruguay, organized a free drawing competition with the theme “Violence in Society” for the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women. The activity took place at four special schools devoted to children with different capabilities.

A Zonta 2017 calendar was created with children’s drawings to show off the most important Zonta dates and also those related to health and human rights, each month showing the artistic pieces of drawing made by the children themselves.

The club has found this to be a great way to make people conscious about violence against women and child abuse.

The Zonta Club of Hamm/Unna, Germany, worked with local businesses to turn buildings in their community orange for the 16 Days of Activism.

Club members were also out wearing orange and displaying Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women banners to bring awareness to the campaign.

The two Zonta clubs of Dunedin, Metropolitan Dunedin and Dunedin-Otago, joined forces to make a strong visual impact at the local farmers market and at a shopping centre on 26 November.

Club members handed out bookmarks and gingerbread men while collecting funds for the Sophie Elliot Foundation. The bookmarks and gingerbread men were designed by members and the orange doll in the photo below was made by the husband of a member.

The Zonta Club of Beziers mobilized by calling on deputy Elie Aboud, Member of the National Assembly of France for 6th Constituency of Hérault, to discuss the French state budget allocated to fight against violence.

In 2016, the budget allocated to the Ministry of Women’s Rights within the framework of the program “Equality between women and men” is € 27 million or 0.0066 percent of the general budget, when the estimated cost of violence against women is 2.5 billion a year. Per capita 0.33 euros, while in Spain, by way of comparison, it is 0.54 euros per capita. (Report of 15 September 2016 of the High Council for Equality between Men and Women)

Where is money for women’s rights ? The Zonta Club of Beziers thus complements its efforts over the past several years in favor of women by helping with literacy, access to care, equality between women and men, combating gender-based violence, intra-family violence, and the creation of an emergency relief fund for victims of domestic violence in the Beziers region.

Zonta Club Zagreb, together with the Croatian Nurse Association and DORA- the female part of the Rotary Club Zagreb, hosted a European House event dedicated to the International Day to end Violence against Women.

The club had two presentations:

1. Medical Emergency Insight in Violence against Women in Zagreb: Period 2011 – 2015 presented by  Slobodanka Keleuva, MD, Emergency Medicine Specialist.  This presentation showed that almost 1000 women experienced violence for which they needed medical care.
2. Violence in the Workplace over Nurses presented by  Josipa Bišćan. This presentation focused on workplace harassment directed at nurses and technicians

Bišćan researched the prevalence and forms of violence against nurses employed in health activities: the means of the occurrence and severity of violence; intensity that respondents recognize; and perceived where there are similarities and differences between health care institutions. Respondents (n=792) were nurses from six Croatian, which made the occasional stratified sample of 33 percent of nurses of the total number working at each medical institution. Methods used in the survey were anonymous. Results showed that the violence was largely carried out by the patient more toward nurses (82.9 percent) than against other health professionals (13 percent). Significant differences are: the scope of work that should be done for the unrealistically short time, stress from work – which is carried on the family and private life, lack of institutional support after the attacks, insufficient material remunerated for their dedication to the work, as well as the inability to use adequate knowledge and skills on the job, unsafe work environment, inadequate equipment and resources, exposure to attacks, insults, threats and complaints by colleagues.

Discussion, which followed the presentations, was very productive and the main conclusion was that Croatia needs specific national protocols in violence resolution. The club resolved to contact relevant state institutions.

On 25 November, the Zonta Clubs of Montferrier Olympe de Gouges and Montpellier Castelnau hosted a demonstration at Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, France.

The purpose of the event was to spread awareness of violence against women and girls. In 2015, 122 women died at the hands of their partner in France.

Associations that help abused women gave people information about emergency care, hotlines and helplines, shelters, mentoring and support programs. Many questions were asked and answered.

The best way to prevent violence against women and girls is to teach children gender respect and equality. T-shirts promoting this concept were offered for sale.

People gathered by live music were invited to fix yellow roses on a big cartoon Z. There were 122 flowers for the deaths of 122 women.

After speeches by politicians and Zonta members, 122 orange balloons were released in the sunny sky.

Local press and radio stations covered the event.