From the Logan County Herald:
http://logancountyherald.com/454/53836/a/lincoln-zonta-donates-to-sojourn-shelter

Lincoln Zonta donates to Sojourn Shelter

October 30, 2013,  The Zonta Club of Lincoln recently gave donations to the Logan County Court Advocate’s office for Sojourn Shelter to support local domestic violence victims. So far in 2013, the Court Advocate’s office has assisted 70 clients with Emergency Orders of Protection and provides ongoing assistance. The club collected used cell phones which can be re-programmed and given to women to call 911 in an emergency. Zonta Club of Lincoln also used $800 of last year’s turkey dinner profits to set up a fund at Lincoln IGA.

Many domestic violence victims have no choice but to “grab the kids and run.” They often have no formula, food, or diapers or any means to buy them. Charlie Lee at Lincoln IGA has often quietly provided items to these families at no cost to them. Zonta Club of Lincoln chose to support his efforts to help local domestic violence victims. Access to this fund will be given only by the Sojourn Court Advocate to the neediest clients. The community’s ongoing support of the annual Zonta Turkey Dinner allowed this generous donation.

Zonta Club of Lincoln is part of Zonta International, which has 30,000 members in 65 countries worldwide. Zonta recently launched “Zonta Says No,” an international campaign to raise awareness of and increase actions to end violence against women and girls both locally and around the world. More information can be found at http://www.zontasaysno.com or http://www.zonta.org.

Dr. Susan Harmon, President of Zonta Club of Lincoln presenting cell phones to Carrie Gave, Logan County Sojurn

To make the International Campaign “ZONTA says NO” visible, the Zonta Clubs of France put down on change.org a petition entitled “NO to violences against women, YES for a fair justice”. This petition is addressed to the ministeress of women rights and ministeress of justice, two women!

The petition will be sent at the conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism.

In this petition, the club points to the great disparity of punishment according to north-south, east-west France and ask for a brainstorming to solve this problem.

They ask for an equal punishment for the same act of violence against women throughout France.

They ask for the same application of our laws throughout our country.

They ask for a scale to help in the evaluation of the punishment in case of violence.

PLEASE SUPPORT this ACTION by signing the petition and forward the link below > http://chn.ge/19R6fY6

Here is the petition:

Madame la Ministre des Droits des Femmes et de la Famille, Madame la Ministre de la Justice, NON aux violences envers les femmes, OUI pour une justice équitable Depuis de nombreuses années, le « ZONTA», Organisation de Service Internationale, lutte, aux côtés de l’ONU, contre toute forme de Violence dont les femmes sont les victimes. Il soutient nombre de programmes d’ONU Femme pour améliorer le statut de la femme partout dans le monde et, localement, il soutient les associations investies dans cette problématique. Pour la Journée Internationale contre les Violences faites aux femmes du 25 Novembre 2013, le ZONTA International lance une campagne Internationale : « ZONTA SAYS NO » « ZONTA DIT NON » pour appuyer les efforts de l’ONU et de nombreux Etats contre ce fléau, comme la France qui s’est beaucoup investie dans cette lutte puisque l’année 2010 a été déclarée « Grande Cause Nationale » contre les Violences faites aux femmes. A l’occasion de cette campagne Internationale, les membres des clubs Zonta de France veulent alerter les Ministres concernées par ces Violences et lancer cette pétition pour que notre juridiction française évolue. En effet, selon les régions de France, selon les Parquets et même selon les magistrats d’une même cour, les peines infligées aux coupables pour un même fait de violence envers une femme sont très variables. Soulignons que les meurtres perpétrés sur les femmes par leurs compagnons ou ex-compagnons se poursuivent au rythme de trois par semaine. Nous demandons donc que soit mise en place une véritable réflexion sur la disparité constatée dans l’application des lois dont la France s’est dotée, aboutissant à la création de critères rationnels des sanctions à appliquer. Nous demandons que les lois soient appliquées de la même façon sur l’ensemble de notre territoire. Nous demandons un véritable barème d’évaluation des peines encourues pour les différents délits de Violences. Si personnellement ou si vous, Associations soutenant les victimes de Violences, vous avez le sentiment que la justice peut mieux gérer les peines encourues suite à des faits de violences, rejoignez nous et signez cette pétition. Les Zonta Clubs de France, membres du Zonta International, sont affiliés au CNFF (Conseil National des Femmes Françaises), et à la CLEF (Coordination Française pour le Lobby des Femmes)

On October 18, 2013, over 100 stakeholders, community leaders, first responders and service providers attended the fourth domestic violence leadership summit co-sponsored by the Zonta Club of Grants Pass. With a regular presence on the Domestic and Sexual Violence (DSV) Council, Zonta participates in decision making at the monthly meetings of the Council.

Among their partners are law enforcement, community corrections, violence advocates, family nurse practitioner, Soroptimists, ACT of Southern Oregon, court mediators and others. The Zonta Says No banner greeted people as the registered. The topic this year was Human Trafficking (HT). The primary presenter was one of the three survivors of recent local trafficking, Rebecca Bender, whose book “Road to Redemption,” was written for survivors on the road to recovery. Audience members were enthralled with the first hand testimony as well as Rebecca’s authenticity as she taught Human Trafficking 101.

A review of recent changes in state law highlighted the Oregon news that finally, child trafficking is a felony for the trafficker and law enforcement must receive HT training annually. Additional information helped audience members find ways to move from bystander to advocate.

The Zonta Club of Mascoutah, IL, USA recently held some great ZONTA SAYS NO EVENTS:
• Hosted a table at the Mascoutah Fall Festival where club members posted a banner & handed out ZSN bookmarks and club brochures
• Participated at the Violence Prevention Center’s “Ladies Night Out,” where they handed out bookmarks & hung ZSN banners
• Made the campaign very visible at their club’s Zonta Fashion Show on 2 November, where they hung ZSN banners & bookmarks and hosted a speaker from Violence Prevention Center
• They are also requesting that their Mayor sign a proclamation on 25 November, the start of the 16 Days of Activism

“Domestic violence happens to everyone: All races. All religions. All income and education levels. It’s everywhere.” 

Click here to listen to Leslie Morgan Steiner’s message via Ted Talks: http://www.ted.com/talks/leslie_morgan_steiner_why_domestic_violence_victims_don_t_leave.html

Zonta International District 22 recently held a walk in Queensland, Australia to bring awareness to their community about violence against women. All members wore bright orange t-shirts to show their support for the Zonta Says NO Campaign.

Click here to see the great invite: Zonta Says No Walk Invite

On 16 October, the Zonta Club of Puget Sound’s delivered 50 personal care kits (nail/pedicure kits, purse size make-up bags, small mirrors,individual hair brushes,medium, small size mouth wash,personal journals with pens, information about the Zonta Club of South Puget Sound and $20 gift card) as part of their service project for Zonta Says NO.

Great work!

The Zonta Clubs in Stockholm organized a conference that aimed to stop all forms of violence against women by increasing awareness, knowledge and activities that strengthen women in the world.

Read more about this conference below.