Members of the Zonta Club of Bangkok 1, Thailand, have been actively supporting the 16 Days of Activism by posting Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women banners and posters along the fence of the Montri Transportation Corporation, one of the leading transportation companies in Thailand. Members also created a digital poster that is shown throughout train stations across Thailand. Members hope these posters and banners raise public awareness to the issues regarding gender-based violence.

Members of the Zonta Club of Alessandria, Italy, in cooperation with their local chamber of commerce, passed out  5,000 Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women coasters to 31 local bars, restaurants, pubs and pizzerias.

Each coaster is decorated with the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women logo as well as the number to the national domestic violence hotline. The purpose of the coasters are to prevent and to educate the public about violence against women and girls.

Background of Topic: 

Education plays a significant role in changing harmful gender stereotypes that promote or condone violence against women and girls. Many girls, particularly the most marginalized, continue to be deprived of the right to education. Some are targeted with violence for their efforts to complete their education.

In Vietnam, gender-based violence in and around schools is highly prevalent and is one of the main barriers to girls’ empowerment and gender equality. During the 2014-2016 Biennium, Zonta is partnering with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women to support Gender Responsive Schools in Vietnam. The goal of the project is to create a school environment for adolescent girls and boys across Hanoi, Vietnam that is free from gender-based violence. Read the full project description.

Ideas for the Day:

• Organize a public discussion on violence against women and girls in and around educational institutions and discuss the importance of educational programs in shaping respectful relationships and changing harmful gender stereotypes early in life.
• Organize discussions on your social media pages about issues related to gender stereotypes in schools using the hashtags #ZontaSaysNO and #16days
• Educate someone about Zonta’s International Service Project “Gender Responsive Schools in Vietnam” and start a discussion with them about why this project is so important.
• Donate to the Zonta International Service Fund to support Zonta International’s Service Projects.
• Share the below images and video on your social media pages

Hashtag: #ZontaSaysNO #16Days

Images and Videos to Share:

• UN Women Executive Director speaks with Vietnamese high school students about gender-based violence on a recent trip to Vietnam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfuZzZwtrg8
• Download the below image at:
  http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/images/UN_SRGBV_INFOGRAPHIC_Eng.jpg
  
  

Background of Topic:

Today is Giving Tuesday, a global day dedicated to donating to charities. (http://www.givingtuesday.org/). This Giving Tuesday, support projects like Respecting the Rights and Responding to the Needs of Adolescent Girls in Niger Project (Delaying Early Marriage in Niger) and join Zonta in saying NO to violence against women.

What is the Respecting the Rights and Responding to the Needs of Adolescent Girls in Niger Project?
Child marriage is a gross human rights violation that keeps girls out of school, endangers their health and sentences them to a lifetime of poverty. According to UNICEF, more than 64 million girls worldwide are child brides. Early marriage results in early and unwanted pregnancies poses life-threatening risks for adolescent girls; worldwide, pregnancy-related complications are the leading cause of death for 15-to-19-year-old girls. If the trend continues, 142 million children will be married by 2020.

During the 2014-2016 Biennium, Zonta International is supporting “Respecting the Rights and Responding to the Needs of Adolescent Girls in Niger” in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The goal of this project is to reduce early marriage and early pregnancy in a critical mass of communities and departments in four regions of Niger. Read the full project description.

Organization Tie-in:

https://www.unfpa.org/public/home/adolescents/pid/6485
See what http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/ is doing to support measures to end child marriage.

Ideas for the Day:

• Read UNFPA’s report on child marriage which offers new findings, analysis and recommendations to end child marriage.
• Follow @UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook and track their efforts to reducing early marriage around the world.
• Are you a teacher? Inform your students about child marriage, its impact and what can be done using these helpful resources provided by Girls Not Brides.
• Participate in Giving Tuesday by donating to the Zonta International Foundation to support projects that empower women and girls worldwide.
• Share the below infographic and video to your social media pages to increase awareness of child marriage.

Hashtag: #ZontaSaysNO #16Days #GivingTuesday

Images to Share:

• UNFPA, Zonta’s partner in Niger, released a startling video showing the struggles of child marriage in Niger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb6yaY4BYgs&feature=youtu.be&list=UUUK1tpLKyul8ptY9cxcltXw
• Click images below then right click to save:

Background of Topic:

Female genital mutilation (FGM) encompasses all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

Despite extreme progress in reducing incidents of cutting, in the next decade, UNICEF predicts that 30 million more girls will be affected by FGM if action is not accelerated.

Ideas for the Day:

• Educate yourself. Read a comprehensive statistical overview of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in the 29 countries where the practice is most common.
• Read about Zonta’s partners’, UNFPA and UNICEF, collaboration on the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Accelerating Change in 15 countries in West, East and North Africa.
• Follow @UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook.
• Share the below infographics and videos to your social media pages.

Hashtag: #ZontaSaysNO #16Days
Images and Videos to Share:

• FGM: Where does it happen? Provided by UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/00-FMGC_infographiclow-res.pdf
• Watch “No Time to Lose”, a video created by UNICEF about their efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation. Where do we stand today? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7xQ6dqCWY&list=PLAE0A046C4A21B639
• Click the image below to open; right click to save.
  

Members of the Zonta Club of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia launched the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women Campaign by branding a city commuter bus with the campaign logo and slogan. The bus will carry the Zonta Says NO message until the 16 Days of Activism are over on 10 December.

Picture caption from left to right: Jasmin Musa, Jemiliah Rouse (President of Kelab Zonta KL),Norliza Khan (Chairman, Service Committee), Aida Melly (Secretary), Farrah Vivien-Raguet(Vice-President), Zaharah Adnan.

Background of Topic:

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS, show their support for people living with HIV/AIDS and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day starting in 1988. HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 39 million lives so far. According to the World Health Organization, in 2013, 1.5 million people died from HIV-related causes globally.

Rwanda is currently on track to receive an HIV-free generation by 2015.

Zonta International has been working with UNICEF to combat mother-to-child transmission of HIV-AIDS and gender based violence in Rwanda since 2008, providing 2.2 million USD towards these efforts. According to UNICEF, gender based violence is a widespread problem in Rwanda and has direct links to higher HIV transmission rates among women and young women in particular.

Ideas for the Day:

• Wear a red ribbon in support of World AIDS Day. Share a picture on social media with the hashtag #PutARibbonOnIt
• Learn about HIV and AIDS. Know the facts so you can look after your own health, and so you can educate. (Click here to read a fact sheet provided by the World Health Organization.)
• Talk about HIV. Talking about HIV is a powerful tool against misinformation and stigma.
• Attend a World AIDS Day event in your community or near-by community.
• Read about Zonta’s partnership with UNICEF and the project “Working Towards an HIV-Free Generation Effective Prevention and Response to Gender Based Violence in Rwanda”.

Hashtag: #ZontaSaysNo #16Days

Images/Videos to Share:

• Print off multiple copies of Zonta International’s World Aids Day fact card and pass it out to members in your community. Download the World AIDS day pdf.
• See the impact. UNICEF thanks Zonta International for its support over the years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM5zEyEEgjQ

Background of Topic:

The magnitude of human trafficking and related forced labor practices are hard to assess because these crimes often go undocumented. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), victims of human trafficking suffer from physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and rarely have access to an education or to proper health care.

Ideas for the Day:

• Visit http://www.polarisproject.org/resources-by-topic/international for links to international organizations working to combat human trafficking.
• Learn how to spot trafficked children and learn how to help with these UNICEF resources.
• Support UNICEF’s efforts to end child trafficking by writing a letter to congress. http://www.unicefusa.org/help/advocate/take-action-end-child-trafficking.
• Members in the US: Add the National Human Trafficking Hotline to your phone today-+1-888-373-7888. If you see something, say something.
• Follow @EndTraffick on Twitter to stay up-to-date on statistics, advocacy efforts from around the world and how to help

Hashtag: #ZontaSaysNO #16Days #ShutOutHT
Images to Share:

• Video: UNICEF USA: A Mother’s Story- 5.5 million Children are Victims of Trafficking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e90jtNa-_SQ
• Global Modern Slavery Directory: http://globalmodernslavery.org/
• Click the image below to open and right click to save