The Zonta club of Jyväskylä I arranged their ZONTA SAYS NO event on October 10, 2013; a day before International Girls Day. The title of the event was “WE SPEAK FOR SAFETY OF GIRLS AND WOMEN”. In a city like Jyväskylä the audience of close to 70 was a success, thanks to the visibility, they succeeded to get in the main newspapers in advance, and thanks to our four professional speakers!

They are truly proud of the competent and wise presentation of our their club member Eeva Gröhn, who has decades of professional experience in health sector, covering both on her presentation topic “YOUNG GIRLS AND SEX”, as well as on various problems of women, including violence done by their own husbands.

Also the three other speakers were experts of their own fields. Eila Koivuniemi, the local Head of Criminal Police – and a female – gave the club a comprehensive speech with reality and facts about “CRIMES TOWARDS WOMEN IN MIDDLE FINLAND”.

Also the presentation of a female Therapist and Photographer Riitta Piltonen was of great interest. She shared her knowledge and experience on “METHOD OF EMPOWERING PHOTOGRAPHY”. With this method she has helped women to survive from the violence caused by their husbands and to start a new life. She has also guided young girls to build their identity to right direction using photograghy.

A presentation was given also by Esa Linna who is a Youth Counselor and Inernet Expert. We got a good overview on how teenagers use Internet – from informative channels to image galleries and chat forums. Web plays a significant role for young girls when building their identity. It can also cause troubles, if leading to wrong kind of relationships or too early dating – or even exploitation.

Between the presentations the club also introduced the Area 20 –project SUPERSISKOT, which also is an internet forum for young girls in Finland. And encouraged people to support this project, and in December the club donated a reasonable amount to the project.

Zonta Says No! Panel on Violence Against Women Direct service experts from three Snohomish County human service agencies answered questions about violence against women at the Zonta Club of Everett breakfast meeting on August 8, 2013.

The panelist were Lisa Nicholson, director of legal advocacy for Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County, who shared a legal perspective on violence against women; Elysa Hovard, outreach supervisor at Cocoon House, who spoke about violence against teen and young adult women; and Nathalie Gauteron, outreach manager for Senior Services of Snohomish County.

Nathalie Gauteron shared her professional knowledge and experience with elder abuse.
Key points made by the panel were:

• The primary factors common to violence against women are poverty, lack of a support system, and perceived vulnerability of the victim by the perpetrator.
• Teens and elderly women are especially vulnerable if they are isolated, dependent, and without family support. Caregivers are often the perpetrators of elder abuse and teens and young women often become victims of sexual and physical violence, including forced prostitution, because they are trying to survive and meet their basic needs of food, shelter, and protection. Pimps and other perpetrators are experts and identifying vulnerable women who have a weak or no support system.
• Many victims refuse to pursue legal action or recant. In the case of prostitution, women and girls are often jailed, while the pimps stay on the street where they continue to exploit vulnerable women. Sometimes women believe they are in love with their abuser or are dependent on the abuser for support. 1 to 5 years of jail time is contrary to their survival.
• The victims choice is often between violence, abuse and survival. Fear of retaliation is also a factor. As a result, victims deny, recant, or refuse help.
• In elder abuse, the victim is often isolated and dependent on their abuser for very basic care needs. Financial exploitation is a form of elder abuse. Ways to help are to: Contact your legislator now. October is the month that legislators decide what bills to put forth; Educate yourself and others about violence against women and victim rights; Help identify victims. Check on your elderly neighbors. Report anything that makes you suspicious to the police, child protective services, or adult protective services; Trust your gut; Be careful in directly intervening – your good intentions may result in more harm to the victim, or to yourself.        

By donating €32,000 to the Zonta Club of Tartu, Estonia, the Finnish Clubs of District 20 made it possible for the Tartu Club to launch their club project, “Prevention of Violence against Women in Estonia”, and operate it for 15 months.

This project was managed by the Tähtvere Avatud Naistekeskus – the Tähtvere Open Centre for Women – and it was completed at the end of 2012. To wind up their work, the committee in charge published a book about the project, “Real-life Stories”.

Ms Meeli Lokk of the Zonta Club of Tartu reports: “A book of real-life stories, ‘ The Brides of Bluebeard’ was published on 8 March, 2013. In it, seven women tell their individual stories of living in a violent relationship. The publication of this book marks the end of the Yellow Rose Campaign Project of ZI District 20, Area 6, and the Zonta Club of Tartu.

This project enabled us to give counselling to women, children and mothers, to arrange a camp-meeting in the country for women and children, to publish brochures and booklets, to arrange an inter-Estonian campaign against family violence and to publish this book.

The book contains seven stories of women who got help from the Women’s Centre. They each tell their own story by starting from their childhood until they left their violent partner. What is important about their stories is the happy end. It was also important for these women to tell their stories, since, by doing so, they hope to be able to help other women facing the same situation. The book is also a myth-buster, as most of these women are highly educated and can manage their lives very well. When women, who are in the same situation, read this book, they might recognize the signs of danger and take action. The women in the book often say that had they known how to read the signs, they would have understood the situation and reacted sooner. The editor of the book is Krista Kivisalu, who also interviewed the participants.”

Race Car drivers at the Bandimere Speedway in Colorado, USA joined the Zonta Club of Lakewood Golden on a sunny Saturday in July to support the “Zonta Says No” campaign to raise awareness concerning domestic against women and girls.

With the slogan “Real Men Hit the Track, Not Women and Children”, Bandimere and the racers devoted a full day to helping local Zontians spread the word. A booth was set up with literature offering a menu of options available with local resources for all aspects of domestic violence and abuse.

Orange wristbands with the ZONTA SAYS NO logo were distributed to racers and spectators who were all very supportive and interested in the program. Drivers also displayed banners on their cars in support of the program and offered photo ops for spectators and other drivers.

Zonta Club of Lakewood Golden serves S. Jefferson County, including, Golden, Lakewood and Littleton Colorado. Our club has been active in advocating to prevent violence against women and girls since its organization in 1977. We were instrumental in helping our local legislature endorse CEDAW a few years ago as well as working with Victim Outreach Information of Golden CO promoting their ACT against Violence menu of options program.

Central Oklahoma achieved new heights in advocacy in the campaign to end violence against women and girls in their local community. Following Zonta International’s lead with the “Zonta Says No” billboard campaign, Central Oklahoma is very pleased and excited to announce the new “Zonta Says No” billboard that now adorns a key Oklahoma City street.

The Zonta Club of Hamilton 1, District 4 in Canada, joined many other women’s organizations on Thursday, 12 September 2013 at their annual Take Back the Night march.

Hundreds of women rallied, then marched. Zontians handed out Zonta Says No postcards and ribbons as they all advocated for safe streets for women.

The Zonta Club of Wellington continued its focus on the Zonta Says NO campaign at its August meeting when it hosted Sue Lytollis, from Women’s Refuge to be its guest speaker.

Sue is passionate about defending women’s rights especially the right to safety and a life free from violence. Sue reminded the club that as adults, they need to be very careful about the messages they send girls when discussing violence. Members need to encourage girls to talk with an adult if they are concerned about their safety, rather than have them be afraid to tell adults how they are feeling.

Sue not only talked about violence against women, she demonstrated some women’s self defense skills, which the members eagerly practiced! Throat releases and the punch were some of the techniques.

A great occasion which combined fun, and some practical skills! 

Below: Members practice the punch self defense move.

The Zonta Club of Kansas City II, MO, USA recently presented a Zonta Says No to Violence.

In addition to offering information about Zonta International and the local club, orange Zonta Says No T-Shirts were sold to event participants.Against Women information booth at the 2013 Women’s Equality Week of Greater Kansas City Kickoff Rally.

A great way to spread the word about Zonta and the Zonta Says No campaign!

From the Magazine of Santa Clarita:

Zonta “Says NO!” This 2013 campaign is to raise awareness of violence and increase actions to end violence against women and girls around the world. During the 16 Days of Activism, November 25 to December 10, Zonta International’s goal is for over 30,000 members in more than 1,200 clubs, in 64 countries to work simultaneously to prevent violence against women and girls in their communities.

For the 16 days of Activism in the community of Santa Clarita, Zonta will display a visual “mountain of shoes” in Westfield Valencia Town Center. Each shoe will represent a local victim of domestic violence – male and female.  Red shoes will represent those individuals who have died as a result of domestic violence.  Each shoe  will represent an individual who has suffered domestic violence abuse; this “mountain of shoes” will be secured to a frame and have an attached tag to identify the age of each.  Zonta, partnering with Domestic Violence Center, will provide educational information to those who view the “mountain” about the signs, symptoms and impact of domestic violence and abuse on victims and others.

Zonta’s annual Celebrity Tribute “Awesome Elegance” will honor Marlee Laufer, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications for Newhall Land, a contributor of community support and involvement extraordinaire. This event will be held November 8, at the Hyatt Valencia.

For more information about the Zonta Club of Clarita’s activities and the full article, click here: The Magazine of Santa Clarita