Each of the 127 pairs of shoes represents a woman killed.

127 pairs of shoes without their proprietresses. This is what remains of the women murdered by their men (husbands, partners, ex-fiancés, relatives) in Italy in 2012. Every pair of shoes is accompanied by a signpost, indicating the victim’s name, age and who killed her.

Zonta Club Casale Monferrato has seized the suggestions made by the artist E. Chauvet with his “Zapatos Rojos”, creating an installation approved by the artist himself. With this initiative, the Club brings the message ZONTA SAYS NO to the squares of Northern Italy. This initiative is part of the campaign HANDS OFF OF WOMEN promoted by District 30, Area 03.

The Municipality of Alessandria has chosen the installation as the closing event of a month dedicated to Women.

On Saturday, 23 March, in Alessandria’s central gallery Guerci, local government, Zonta Club Casale Monferrato and Zonta Club Alessandria, in cooperation with Anti-violence centre me.dea, have provoked people with 127 pairs of shoes, silently denouncing feminicide, a crime which cannot be ignored, neither in Italy nor worldwide. The shoes chosen for this representation are of every kind of style and make, because there is no single “model” of woman as victim of violence. This phenomenon hits indiscriminately: housewives, mothers, students, female employees as well as businesswomen.

 “It doesn’t make any difference which kind of shoes the victims wore, heels or ballerinas, sneakers or flip-flops. They were women who have been killed because they refused someone or because they made a choice which differed from what their partner wanted. Violence against women is often steeped in prejudices and stereotypes, a form of violence in themselves. Zonta clubs use these silent manifestations to say NO to violence against women and they do this not only on 8 March or 25 November; they do it all the time, because violence against women has no schedule,” said District 30 Governor Nadia Biancato during the event hosted in her city.

The community has been invited to bring other shoes, red shoes, to condemn feminicide, domestic violence, stalking, and any kind of psychological abuse and economic violence women have to suffer just because they are women.

On 23 March 2013, the Municipality of Alessandria, North West Italy will close a month of events dedicated to women by dedicating the last day to the “Zonta Says NO!” campaign.

This special event will feature a special installation to say “NO!” to violence: 127 pairs of shoes will show the silent march of 127 women killed last year in Italy by their partners.

This show takes idea by the suggestions of Zapatos Rojos by the artist E. Chauvet. This action, promoted by the Zonta Club of Casale Monferrato and Zonta Club Alessandria in District 30  – will show different kinds of shoes in different colors as the women victims were very different: young and old, students and manager, housewives and retired.

The Zonta Club of Luxembourg, with support from the Dutch Embassy in Luxembourg, held a “Violence Against Women During War Time”  film festival showing three documentaries filmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

More about the films (Fighting the Silence, Justice for Sale, Weapon of War): Trilogy_Guide_Discussion.

More on the festival: ZC flyer

In the news: Dutch Documentary Films Help Zonta Says No

Zonta Club of Bad Soden-Kronberg in Germany donates to their local Women’s Shelter and Says No to Violence Against Women in Germany.

Following the slogan, “Music Helps”, the Zonta Club of Bad Soden-Kronberg in Germany welcomed approximately 260 guests to their annual charity concert on 31 January. The principle of “Music Helps” is pre-set. All those involved (musicians, location owners, technicians, support staff, etc.) donatde their time and talent free of charge in order to ensure that 100 percent of the money raised on the evening was donated for a good cause.

Zonta Club Bad Soden-Kronberg members run this annual event in cooperation with the well-known and respected musician from Frankfurt, Sabine Fischmann, and her colleague, Birgid Groscurth, an experienced music event organizer and a dedicated supporter of young musicians.

Sabine and Birgid plan the musical concept and ensure the concert comprises a mix of outstanding artists from a multitude of genres and different levels of stage experience.

“After years of supporting a school for girls in Tansania, we agreed with Sabine and Birgid to support a local project this year, as we have plenty of local needs that require our support as well. We chose the Women’s Shelter in Hofheim because it is a community service that is tremendously important and that suffers from tightening government budgets.” said the President of Zonta Club Bad Soden-Kronberg, Fiona Ruff.

In total, the club raised €6.800 (about US$8790), which will be donated fully to the women’s shelter. This financial injection will be administrated as a fund and will enable them to provide a bit more than the basic help they offer the women and their children who look to them for support. The event was flanked by a number of articles in the local press which strengthened our visibility and credibility and increased awareness for the problem of Violence Against Women.

The Zonta Club of Mankato’s, Minnesota Service Committee has planned a series of events in Mankato publicizing the Zonta Says No campaign.

Thursday, 21 March  The club will unveil a doll similar to the dolls in the Safe Cities for Women in Honduras story that was published in the Zontian Magazine.  This doll will represent stories of violence against women, as well as healthy relationships.  The speaker for evening will tell the story of Josselyn Bishop, a college student at Minnesota State University, Mankato who was stabbed to death and left on the side of the road by her ex-boyfriend two years ago.  Josselyn’s mother will also speak about a self-defense class that she started facilitating to help give women the tools to protect themselves in the event of an attack.

More information here: Josselyn Bishop Story – with description

Monday, 22 April –  Rubber wristbands and t-shirts with the Zonta Says NO logo will be sold  as well as Denim Day buttons at Women’s Night Out in Mankato.

Wednesday, 24 April – Celebrate Denim Day by wearing jeans and getting the word out.

Thursday, 25 April – The Rural Action AIDS Network in Mankato is having an event called “Dining Out for Life”.  The club will have a presence by wearing the above mentioned wristbands and t-shirts.

Friday, 26 April – Doll Vigil at Pub 500, one bar that gets a lot of college-aged traffic on Friday nights. The goal is to reach as many college-aged women and men as possible.  Pub 500 has offered to put information about this vigil in their advertising for that weekend.

More information on the doll here: Doll Information- Dates

Saturday, 27 April – YWCA’s Girls on the Run 5K. The club will have a table set up with the doll and a running team. There will be coloring pages with similar dolls on them for the girls to color.

Sunday, 28 April – Not Me! Self Defense Class.  The club is sponsoring the self-defense class that Josselyn Bishop’s mother is facilitating.  This will be the first Not Me! Class held in Mankato.

Zonta International District 31 organized a bazaar and a fund-raising dinner on 9 March in the southern city of Kaohsiung to mark Zonta Rose Day. With the support of District 31 club members and the general public, 1 million Taiwan dollars (roughly US$33,000) and US$13,520 of donations were collected for advocacy programs fighting violence against women both in Taiwan and overseas.

The Rose Day events, centered on the Zonta Says NO campaign, were designed to promote Zonta’s worldwide long-time dedication to combating violence against women, protecting women’s rights and safety and elevating women’s status. District 31 Governor Huey-Er Lian said, “On this special day, the Rose Day, we call for equal rights for men and women and better protection for women against violence and abuse. Women should be treated with respect, and we ask men to be more considerate, understanding, and extend help to the opposite sex whenever it is needed.”

The bazaar was co-sponsored by Kaohsiung City Government with support from six women’s rights groups led by the Garden of Hope Foundation. Echoing “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes”, 50 men of different ages were invited to wear high-heel shoes and walk through the bazaar for a symbolic 100 meters, carrying placards which read: “Rose Day, Zonta Says NO”, “End violence. Justice without sex discrimination”, “Friendlier work place for single mothers”, and “More women for policy-making”.

Some 250 District 31 members, many bringing their families and friends, attended the fund-raising dinner which was highlighted by an auction of vases, paintings and other art works donated by Zontians.

Around 400,000 Taiwan dollars (US$15,000) was collected. Total donations in local currency , including those from the auction, by District 31 clubs, individuals and Zonta supporters amounted to around one million dollars. One third of the local currency donation will go to ZI’s Rose Fund and the rest will be used for local programs assisting underprivileged women and District 31’s advocacy projects. A separate, combined US$13,520 donation to Rose Fund was also made by clubs in the District.

Zonta International Governor Huey-Er Lian (right) and District 31 Treasurer Shu-Lan Chiu (left) pose with oil painting donated to fundraising auction.

In 2005, the Zonta Club of Austin donated a peace statue with many symbols of Zonta’s mission to the City of Austin.  It was moved to the corner between the Court House and the new Justice Center in 2010.  It is a great little plaza with benches, a table and plenty of flowers in summer.  The Club wanted to expand this area, and it was decided that the Club would take this expansion on as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence.  The Club purchased a flag pole and an American flag to fly permanently behind the statue.  A flag with the Zonta emblem on it also flies under the American flag.  Each day, during the 16 Days of Activism, the Club placed a yellow flag at the site to bring awareness of violence against women to the community.

On 26 November, a ceremony was held at the plaza for the kick-off of the 16 Days of Activism.  The VFW color guard posted the American and Zonta flags, and two yellow flags were placed on each side to start the event.  After an explanation of the 16 Days of Activism, Mayor Tom Stiehm read a proclamation on violence against women.

On 10 December, a “Take Back the Night” event was held.  Zonta Club of Austin President, Linda Miller, welcomed guests to the Justice Center lobby, and Cheryl Retterath, Area 3 Director, shared some statistics about violence in the United States.  Tori Miller of the Crime Victims Resource Center informed guests about the different types of violence and what her organization can do to help people who are in violent situations.  Kristin Nelson, Mower County Attorney, thanked Tori for Crime Victims Resource Center’s work with victims of violence and shared her experiences inside the courtroom and in dealing with perpetrators.  State Representative Jeanne Poppe thanked the Zonta Club of Austin for raising awareness of violence against women in the community of Austin and the surrounding areas.

Everyone then crossed to the plaza for a candlelight vigil and prayer ceremony where Pastor Glen Monson prayed for the end of violence.  He asked those in attendance to keep people dealing with these issues in their prayers and also to remember those individuals who have lost their lives due to violence.  It was a meaningful way to end the event.

In November 2011 the members of the Zonta Club of Berry were chastising themselves for not doing something positive in our area for the White Ribbon day on November 25^th.  As such in March 2012 their Chair of ‘Status of Women’, Fay Lewis went in search of how our Club could advocate against Domestic Violence in our community.   Fay joined the local ‘Domestic Violence Committee’ and later recruited fellow member Megan Cleary to join her.  This committee comprised representatives of the local support agencies including the Police and a very strong Court Support & Advocacy program run by the YWCA.  They receive a small grant of $1,000 from the State Government to run awareness raising activities, but collectively came up with the idea of Cinema Ads to try to reach the general public.  A cinema director was found who responded to a tender and the committee commenced fundraising to cover the costs.  A huge voluntary effort came from the Police department and several agencies (including the Zonta Club of Berry) to project manage the programme.  The committee reached their $18,000 budget and were able to link the launch of the Ad campaign with the White Ribbon week activities to maximise publicity in November 2012.

The Ads can be viewed on YouTube –  they show three typical scenarios of – ‘Stalking’, ‘Physical Control’ and ‘Put Downs’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm0lFlBchU0&feature=youtu.be&w=320&h=240]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13kYXU_2Tek&feature=youtu.be&w=320&h=240]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3afEo8rOj_M&feature=youtu.be&w=320&h=240]

The quality of the production was exceptional due to the great fortune in having local (and also International) film director Christopher Collins implementing the brief.  The ad campaign will be shown for the first six months of 2013 for free in cinemas from Wollongong to the border and from Bega to Goulburn and the Highlands.

The Zonta Club of Berry was recognised as adding their support (actions & dollars) with other partner agencies in producing the Cinema Advertising Campaign launched at the Roxy theatre in Nowra on November 25^th 2012 (White Ribbon day).

Following an idea set forth by their governor, District 30, Area 03 Zontians teamed up with local men to say “HANDS OFF OF WOMEN” during sporting events (football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, water polo, hockey and curling matches), including athletes and fans.  Together, men and women denounced violence against women, catching the attention of the national media and eventually extending the campaign from the playing fields to shops, penitentiaries and street art.  The campaign continues in the new year.  On the first of the year, the Zonta Club of Imperia raised awareness of the issue of violence against women in the seaside town of Alassio, Italy when musicians in a local band played around town while wearing t-shirts with the campaign slogan – “HANDS OFF OF WOMEN”.  Zontians from the 22 clubs have been successful in motivating and including men in their efforts.