Zonta Club of Cebu II and Golden Z Club of USPF organize digital advocacy video competition

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To mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Cebu II, Philippines, partnered with its student club, the Golden Z Club of the University of Southern Philippines (USPF), to organize a digital advocacy video competition.

The competition is divided into four categories:

  1. Poster-making.
  2. Animation videos.
  3. Storytelling.
  4. Literary Pieces.

For each category, the clubs asked the contestants to focus on topics such as violence against women, cyberbullying, cyber pornography, teenage pregnancy and the importance of literacy.

Due to COVID-19, the student club had to be creative with their Zonta Says NO activities. With the rise of digital apps, social media and mobile browsing amongst their peers, they decided to hold a contest to develop their classmates’ creativity, digital competence, communication, understanding and leadership skills.

The student club also sought to increase student educational research and explore and engage with women and girls’ issues. 

The judging panel was composed of members of the Zonta Club of Cebu II. The club donated cash prizes for the winners.

Zonta Club of Madison’s 16 Days of Activism activities

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The Zonta Club of Madison, USA, launched its 2021 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence on Facebook on 25 November. This year’s campaign focused on domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse. Not only was the campaign heavily featured on the club’s and club members’ Facebook pages, but it was marketed on District 6’s profile as well.

Throughout the 16 Days of Activism, the club also initiated several other activities.

16 Day of Activism Proclamation

The Madison Common Council presented a 16 Day Resolution recognizing 16 Days of Activism on 16 November. A press conference was held on 17 November to present a proclamation signed by local law enforcement and representatives and Club TerriJo Saarela. 

Lighting Madison in orange

The club successfully got two buildings lit orange: the Madison Municipal Building and the Dome on the Overture Center for the Arts. They also distributed orange ribbons in baskets to area businesses with information cards promoting the Umbrella Walk. 

First annual Orange Umbrella Brigade Walk

The campaign concluded on 11 December at the club’s first annual Orange Umbrella Brigade Walk at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Participants joined in to tell their vision of a future without domestic violence. Wisconsin State Assemblyperson Lisa Subeck presented a proclamation from Governor Tony Evers. 

The club’s activism and public demonstrations received coverage on the local CBS and Fox News stations during the campaign.

Zonta Club of Hervey Bay brings back Orange Ladies

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During the 2021 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Hervey Bay Inc, Australia, hoped to run two separate projects. The first project was to repeat their efficacious Orange Ladies in the Workplace Project, and the second was an inaugural Business Briefing Boho Breakfast. However, due to various circumstances and time constraints, the club focused on the tried, tested and proven Orange Ladies in the Workplace Project for 2021 and planned to launch the Boho Breakfast in 2022.

The club decided that increasing their social media presence would be more beneficial to bring the Orange Ladies further into the public limelight. To achieve that goal, the club deemed it was necessary to ensure that the first sourced and secured as many business hosts as they had Orange Ladies. They incentivized local businesses by approaching a patron of previous functions, Go Rail Retail, who kindly provided 10% vouchers for each participating business as thank-you-raffle prizes.

With Go Rail Retail’s support, the club managed to position all 16 full-sized and an extra two desktop-sized Orange Ladies. In fact, they ended up having to wait-list a few businesses should any participant pull out. Thus, the club successfully secured and increased their future coverage of workplaces for their Orange Ladies. The workplaces that featured the Orange Ladies ranged from police stations, medical centers, vet and pet care, personal care and much more, with all the Orange Ladies front and centered. Employees were briefed on the reason behind the Orange Ladies, and business owners and managers also provided employees’ names for the raffle prizes.

The 2021 Orange Ladies in the Workplace Project plan focuses on participation to the general public by running a social media campaign. The club encouraged and rewarded the public to take a photo with an Orange Lady, post it on social media and tag the club and other like-minded accounts.

The club increased its reach in Hervey Bay and internationally as well.

Zonta Club of Saffle-Amal brings awareness to gender-based violence with public displays

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The Zonta Club of Saffle-Amal, Sweden, originally planned to put up five Zonta flags in Säffle square and five flags outside the public library in Åmål to raise awareness to the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign. Unfortunately, the club did not receive the flags in time due to delivery delays, and they plan to revisit the idea for next year’s campaign. However, the club was able to find other visible ways to raise awareness on the issue.

After noticing the many empty display windows in their area, the club decided to stage multiple window displays showing what happens to female abuse victims. The exhibits were put up throughout the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Base Violence, and a Swish number was available for those who wished to donate to the campaign. The window displays gained so much attention that the local papers Säffle Tidningen and Provinstideningen Dalsland wrote a feature on the campaign and the club’s letter to the editor explaining Zonta Says NO.

Club members also spoke out about Zonta and brought awareness to gender-based violence in Säffle and Åmål while wearing Zonta vests, in which they received 2,720 Swedish Krona.

Due to the number of people wanting to know how many assaults are reported in Saffle and Amal, the club also added a window display featuring orange shoes that symbolized the number of assaults reported in the cities for the fourth year in a row. A Zonta Says NO exhibition was also held at the Saffle library to spread information about violence against women.

Throughout the campaign, the club used social media to spread knowledge, developed new relations, and in Åmål, they cooperated with a woman who works with female victims of abuse.

For next year’s campaign, the club plans to cooperate with Kvinnojouren Frida – Säffle-Åmål, a local women’s shelter, to create a more thorough event that focuses on solutions to gender-based violence issues.

Zonta Club of Dhaka IV speaks out on cybercrimes and violence against women

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On 9 December, the Zonta Club of Dhaka IV, Bangladesh, conducted a webinar event on cybercrime and violence against women in Bangladesh and how to prevent it. Female students, their peers, friends and family were encouraged to join in the discussion. 

The club invited three panelists to speak on the topic:

  • The first speaker was Sabah Moyeen, a Senior Social Development Specialist and Gender Focal point for Bangladesh and Bhutan at the World Bank. Sabah talked about the types of cybercrimes prevalent in Bangladesh and their impacts on society. She also instructed the attendants on building awareness around these issues to end the crime.
  • The second speaker was Amirul Haque, an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Amirul shared his vast knowledge and experience in the cybercrime field and spoke about the legal implications and punitive actions victims can take.
  • The third speaker was Moloy Shaha, who is also an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Moloy is highly experienced in family law and has been a human rights activist since his youth. He discussed the legal aspects of cybercrimes and violent acts and how to speak justice against perpetrators.

Zonta Club of Fredericksburg walks in her footsteps

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The Zonta Club of Fredericksburg, TX, USA, had big plans again to promote the awareness of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

This year, the club wanted to raise awareness of the campaign in the schools of Fredericksburg and by contacting our local and state government representatives. Zontian Lisamarie Williams met with Dr. Joe Rodriguez, the Fredericksburg Independent School District (FISD) superintendent, to discuss the campaign awareness.

The club aimed to raise awareness in the elementary and middle schools, with the staff’s aid, and in the high schools with the student body. As a young boy, Joe was personally affected by domestic violence, so the campaign was a subject near and dear to his heart.

The theme A Walk in Her Footsteps was proposed for the high school campaign, and orange paper footprints lined up the main hallway for a visual impact for the students to see during the 16 Days of Activism.

The club also placed a table in the foyer with a banner that says Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women and an eye-catching orange table cloth. Various student clubs were enlisted to manage the table during break time and before and after school to hand out pre-cut footprints for students and staff to write words of encouragement on and post them on the walls.

Many students participated in the event, and the wall was full of orange footprints.

The club also handed out orange ribbon stickers for everyone who posted a footprint. Informational cards were available as well.

The campaign was a grand success, and the club is proud of the efforts that the students, student clubs and its members put forth to make the event happen.

Zonta Club of Dhaka II holds movies screening to fundraise and Say NO

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The Zonta Club of Dhaka II, Bangladesh, teamed up with its Golden Z Club of Young Leaders to arrange a movie screening of Rehana Maryam Noor at a cineplex in Dhaka as a part of its fundraising. The event also aimed to create awareness of gender-based violence on 10 December.

The movie is about an assistant professor and single mother who one day happens to witness the sexual assault of one of her students by her superior. The film was nominated at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and received numerous accolades.

The mayor of Dhaka City North inaugurated the event.

Zonta Club of Dhaka II walks to say NO to violence

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As a part of its 16 Days of Activism during the Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women campaign, the Zonta Club of Dhaka II, Bangladesh, collaborated with its Golden Z Club members to hold a walk and a brief yoga session at the Justice Shahabuddin park in Gulshan. The event took place on 4 December with the support of the Dhaka City Corporation.

Zonta Club of Vienna Parking provides bags for women in need

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Due to the last lockdown in Austria, the Zonta Club of Vienna Parking extended the Zonta Says NO campaign. On 20 and 21 December, a pop-up charity store turned numerous donated bags into money under the motto “Bags Help Women.”

The club raised a respectable 4-digit sum for the violence prevention project StoP – Neighborhoods without Partner Violence in Vienna. StoP is a neighborhood project to prevent partner violence and domestic violence. It has a proven track record of success in Germany over many years, and the Autonomous Women’s Shelters Association in Vienna has coordinated the project since January 2019.

The club chose to support the StoP project, as women and children, in particular, are disproportionately affected by domestic violence. They collected bags of all kinds for the pop-up store over several weeks. The charity store accepts any handbag as long as it is intact and well-maintained. Well-known brand-name bags were especially welcome as they’re always in demand and can be sold for a lot.

The club would like to thank Boutique Hotel Altstadt Vienna and its team for their generous support for the event.

In the news: Birmingham women’s group seeks to fight human trafficking

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image.pngPhoto courtesy of the Zonta Club of Birmingham

The Zonta Club of Birmingham recently put up this billboard on I-65 South at Exit 250 to draw attention to the problem of human trafficking, especially in the run up to The World Games 2022 in Birmingham in July.
Birmingham has a reputation as a major center for human trafficking, according to law enforcement and other officials.

This is true in part because the city is at the center of several major transportation routes — I-20, I-59 and I-65.

I-20 has often been dubbed a sort of “superhighway” for human trafficking.

Now a women’s group in the area with a long history of concern over trafficking and women’s issues has put up a billboard on I-65 to draw attention to the problem.

The Zonta Club of Birmingham put up the billboard on I-65 South at exit 250 on Dec. 4, and it will remain up until Jan. 2, club member Jean Bouler told Iron City Ink. 

The billboard contains the message, “See something. Say something,” meaning that citizens should report what they consider suspicious activity, and has a phone number, 888-373-7888.

“The billboard is in response to the The World Games 2022 in Birmingham,” Bouler said.

The World Games will take place in the Birmingham area July 7-17 this year and is expected to draw about 100,000 visitors to the city from all over the world.

Club members are concerned that The World Games could cause a uptick in demand for sexual trafficking.
Other officials have expressed a similar concern, including Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

“An increase in tourists seeking entertainments, including commercial sex, increases the potential risks for exploitation and human trafficking,” Woodfin said in December 2019, according to a report at Birmingham Watch.

The Zonta Club of Birmingham will also host a virtual program about the issue, “Human Trafficking: An American Problem,” on Jan. 11, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.   

The program will be led by Amy Wagar, a human trafficking survivor advocate and trainer in Birmingham.
To register, go to Eventbrite.

The Zonta Club of Birmingham was started in 1940 by professional women who were not allowed to join the then male-only Kiwanis and Rotary clubs. The goal is to empower women through service and advocacy.

Zonta of Birmingham has long been aware of human trafficking because it is a major issue with Zonta International, Bouler said.

The international organization has chapters in 63 countries and works with the United Nations to provide financial support and technical assistance to women and children in developing countries.

The local club has about 35 members and taken on the issue of human trafficking in the past, sponsoring programs, speakers and posters in restaurant restrooms, Bouler said.

For several years, the club has funded billboards in Birmingham with the message, “Say No to Violence Against Women.”  “We also support the YWCA women’s shelter and are hopeful that the billboard message helps,” Bouler said.  

The club also promotes women’s issues online, said club member Alison Smith.

https://ironcity.ink/neck-of-the-woods/birmingham-women%E2%80%99s-group-seeks-to-fight-human-trafficking/