Zonta clubs in Austria joined together to raise awareness for violence against women by distributing specially produced fair-trade chocolate.

The chocolate from renowned Austrian chocolatier Zotter not only tastes delicious, but is also a great means to inform people about Zonta and the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign (on the inside cover).

The chocolate bars are sold at Zonta charity events and through Zonta club members. Proceeds fromare donated to local projects that fight violence against women.

Violence against women has been used in conflicts throughout the known history of man. In modern times, it has often been met with denial and silence. Zonta International calls on the United Nations and its Member States to commit to stopping violence against women in conflicts, and to find effective short-term and long-term working methods.

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Zonta Club of Parker County, Texas, USA, received a proclamation from their city mayor Craig Swancy declaring 25 November as Zonta 16 Days Of Activism in the City of Weatherford and urged citizens to join to end violence against women and girls.

This year, the club placed eight new banners in the downtown square as well as at six different locations in Parker County to spread the work of the Zonta Says No To Violence Campaign. Club members tied orange ribbons around the trees and banners to bring awareness to the 16 Days of Activism. The club has made it a goal to create hope and to give help near and far to those who are in need. 

Members of the Zonta Club of Kungälv, Sweden, have knitted orange articles in different shapes and patterns during the past two 16 Days of Activism campaigns. These works of knitted art made the local people aware of the message of Zonta and Zonta Says NO. This year, the club cooperated with the municipality of Kungälv. The arts are displayed at the city hall, in Mimers High School and in the shop window of Goopy By Spot.

Multiple Zonta clubs in France coordinated a special day to work together. The Zonta Club of Mâcon is just one of the many clubs in District 27 Area 02 that illuminated monuments or town halls in orange light to raise awareness against violence against women and to spread the Zonta Says NO message in their communities.

Whether migrant women are fleeing their countries of birth to escape conflict, exploitation, the after effects of natural disasters or humanitarian crises, or migrating by choice in search of greater economic opportunities, women migrants face a multitude of risks.

Nepal has long been a country of origin for labor migration and trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, for the purposes of sexual, labor and other forms of exploitation. Trafficking often takes place as part of undocumented migration and is a serious violation of human rights.

In the aftermath of the April and May 2015 earthquakes, Nepal faces a heightened risk of human trafficking and unsafe migration. Zonta International has committed US$1,000,000 to UN Women to create sustainable foundations for addressing the nexus between human trafficking and foreign labor migration of women and girls in Nepal.

Learn more at http://foundation.zonta.org/Nepal.

Zonta Club members on Kauai show off their banner saying no to violence against women. From left are Edie Ignacio Neumiller, Marge Akana, Laura Cristobal Andersland, MaBel Fujiuchi, Dimples Kano, Josie Cortez, Neva Olson, Sue Kanoho and Laura Peters. Back row from left, Carla Kaser, Jeanette Bonilla, Jo Grande and Marg Navarro. | The Garden Island

At the Zonta Club of Kauai’s General Membership meeting, the members supported the ZONTA SAYS NO to Violence Against Women by unveiling their new Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women banner.  (The below article was published in The Garden Island Newspaper, Kauai Hawaii.)

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Twice a year the Zonta Club of Geelong  displays four large signs  at different locations around the city. The four signs are more than 1-meter square and are designed to be used on municipal notice boards which are strategically placed on the verge of high volume roads around the municipality.

The signs are put up for a month in March and April and then again in November and December to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism as well as a local Month of Action to end men’s violence against women. Each time the signs are erected, the locations are changed so that over a period of time they appear in all areas of the municipality.

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Members of the Zonta Club of Bunbury participated in their local community’s White Ribbon Day March and Memorial Service. They presented 19 silhouettes that represented the number of deaths from domestic violence in Western Australia from 1/1/16 until now.

The Zonta Club of Basel invited to a public lecture and panel discussion about the Istanbul Convention and its ratification process in Switzerland. The event took place at the University of Basel on 30 November during the 16 Days of Activism for the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

A legal expert from Women Lawyers Switzerland, and a consultant from TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland, a counseling organization, provided legal and practical insight. Club President Petra Kitschmann presented Zonta to the audience.

Some of the key learnings

• On the political level, the ratification process is well advanced and expected to happen during the next two years, no action is required to accelerate the process, it just takes its time.
• On the practical side, there is still a lot of room for improvement, e.g.

o   There are many laws and too many authorities involved when filing a suit as a victim of violence; the process becomes complicated, lengthy and expensive. This prevents people from taking legal action and allows perpetrators continuing to do evil.

o   The status of migrant woman has to become independent of her marital situation in order that she is not forced to leave the country in case of a divorce from a violent man.

o   Financial resources for counseling, women’s shelters, etc. are under constant threat and hence it is very difficult to work on real improvements.

Therefore, it is important that we as Zontians take all the opportunities to raise all voices for improvements and ensure that Zonta becomes visible as a stakeholder in women’s rights on all levels (local, regional, national).