In 2020, together we will RAISE THE VIBRATION through Action, Art, Connection, Imagination, and Love as survivors, activists, youth create V-Day benefits, One Billion Rising and Raise the Vibration creative resistance events across the planet.
Together, we RISE to free all women (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities) from sexual, physical, racial, economic, political, socio-cultural, ideological and climate crisis violence. RISE to end rape, battery, incest, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, sexual slavery and trafficking, child marriage, femicide, sexual, gender and reproductive oppression, and violence towards LGBTQIA+ communities. RISE to end capitalism, colonization, racism, imperialism, war and climate catastrophe.
WE ARE RISING – New Liberation Anthem & Accompanying Video Released
Welcoming in the New Year, we are thrilled to share the NEW “We Are Rising” music video. Directed by social justice artist Taína Asili – who also wrote and performed the song – the video features studio footage from the recording session and activist footage from One Billion Rising actions all over the globe. It is a call to action, to dance, to RISE.
The song celebrates our collective energy, creative resistance, and solidarity as we RISE against the tides of violence against all women, climate crisis, racism and corporate greed.
31 December is the last day to make charitable donations in order to claim them on your 2019 tax return. V-Day is a California 501(c)(3) public charity and is one of the Top-Rated organizations on both. Charity Navigator and Guidestar.
2019 was a powerful year in our movement that saw grassroots activists pushing boundaries and engaging in dialogue through an intersectional lens, with art and activism always at the forefront.
V-Day, One Billion Rising, and City of Joy activists around the world escalated the urgency to fight for gender, climate, economic and racial justice while tirelessly working to end harassment, rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex slavery. Activists are Rising against a rising tide of right-wing nationalism, white supremacy, fascism, tyranny, hatred of and fear of immigrants, misogyny, femicide, homophobia, transphobia, corporate greed, and climate destruction.
Your friendship, activism, and support has powered an unstoppable movement supporting grassroots anti-violence organizations and activists, opening safe houses, and sustaining domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. It is also bringing about legislation supporting women and girls. Active in over 200 countries, having raised $120 million, V-Day is a global phenomenon.
V-Day Thailand; Youth Rising India
In 2019: Eve’s latest work, The Apology, a best seller, sparked a necessary dialogue on sexual assault, accountability, and transformation. It has engaged media across the globe and sparked a great deal of dialogue about what the anatomy of a true apology is. In the new year, its reach will grow as it’s released in France, Germany, Brazil, Taiwan, and in Arabic. We created three new songs for the movement this year. “Dismantle,” by Duo Charity Croff And Jacob Denzel Of Archduke (Featuring Taylor Iman And Jenee Jones) invited Men – and everyone – to dismantle the patriarchy. On International Women’s Day, we released “Like a Woman” by Ryan Amador (produced by Hannah Rubinstein, a music video directed by Sekou Luke) calling men to recognize and celebrate women’s leadership, and to join the movement to end gender-based violence. And just this month, we released “We Are Rising” by Taina Asili – a liberation anthem – calling us to RISE against tides of violence against women, climate crisis, racism, and corporate greed. Thousands of One Billion Rising actions and V-Day benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues and A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer amplified the epidemic of global sexual abuse and efforts to end it across the globe. At City of Joy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the 16th class has just graduated, turning their pain into power that will surely spark change on the grassroots level. In Kabul, women at the City of Knowledge are breaking barriers as they educate themselves to create better futures for themselves, and in turn their families. Through all of these campaigns and actions, men are grappling with patriarchy, engaging in dialogue that once seemed impossible.
City of Joy 16th Graduation; Eve at TEDWomen 2019
Support #VDay, the global activist movement to end violence against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender based violence).
As we move into 2020 and enter a new decade, we are filled with gratitude for all that you have given and all that you do.
We stand together in solidarity, ready to Raise the Vibration through Action, Art, Connection, Imagination and Love.
P.S. If your gift is already on its way, thank you!
V-Day is a California 501(c)(3) public charity and is one of the Top-Rated organizations on both. Charity Navigator and Guidestar. 31 December is the last day to make charitable donations in order to claim them on your 2019 tax return
Yet again, our criminal justice system is failing black women and girls.
Chrystul Kizer, a black teenager from Milwaukee, Wisconsin is facing life in prison for defending herself against her abuser, Randall Volar, III, a 34-year-old white male. When Chrystul was 17, Volar began sexually assaulting and trafficking her and made child pornography of her, as well as other girls. Despite the fact that the local police was investigating Volar for abusing other girls at the time of his death, Chrystul is currently facing the prospect of living the rest of her life behind bars. She is being held on a million dollar bond.
As a movement of anti-violence activists we must support Chrystul and pressure the District Attorney on the case – Michael Graveley – to drop these charges. Chrystul acted in self-defense against a man who preyed on her. She is currently a 19-year-old teenager. Our justice system must not punish girls like Chrystul; instead we must look at her situation holistically, and understand the institutional racism and inequity that underpins her experience and that of other black girls and women like her. Chrystul deserves the space and time to heal from her abuse. She should not be punished for defending her life.
As we near the end of the year, our hearts are full with the abundance of love that fuels our movement, led by survivors, youth, artists & activists in countries everywhere. Together, we are united in our fight to end violence against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender based violence) and we stand side by side in global solidarity until the violence stops.
In breathtaking solidarity, women leaders in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya are pushing boundaries and creating spaces born from the vision of local women survivors where women and girls turn their pain into power. They are creating a world where women can thrive rather than merely survive.
To send a V-Card on the donation pages, check the box next to “I’d like to make this contribution in honor or memory of someone” and then “I’d like to notify someone of this contribution,” then fill in the rest of the information to finish designing your gift.
Support their work this season. Give the gift of JOY, donate today:
Raise the Vibration, Educate a Generation! City of Knowledge in Kabul
City of Knowledge (CKO), – formerly Promoting Women’s Capability by Education Center –is an education center for girls and women in Kabul, Afghanistan where women turn their pain to power. Rising in the face of four decades of war that has left a huge population of Afghan women illiterate and several generations of women deprived of education, City of Knowledge is an education center for girls and women that offers courses in Computers, Science, Literacy, Arts, English, and Women’s rights. Graduates go on to pursue university and the careers of their choice, becoming the future doctors, engineers, lawyers, scientists, artists, and technical experts of Afghanistan, and inspiring countless others to do the same.
View the video (above) to get to know City of Knowledge. Donate today.
Changing Culture, Educating Girls; the V-Day Safe House for the Girls in Narok, Kenya
Led by Agnes Pareyio, the founder of Tasaru Ntomonok, Chair of the Anti-FGM Board of Kenya, and UN Person of the Year for Kenya (2005), Agnes and her team bravely confront the cultural practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Maasai community in Kenya and have won many hard-earned victories, influencing community members to take on alternative rite of passage rituals, and educating women and men alike about the power of an educated girl.
Each year, hundreds of girls’ lives – and that of their families – are transformed because of their work and vision.
The City of Joy is a revolutionary leadership center for women survivors of gender violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is place where women turn their pain into power, a place that restores women’s sense of agency over their lives as they learn real, practical life skills to feed their futures, and connects them to the global V-Day movement, one billion strong. From the return of warmth and joy into women’s lives, to a reconnection to their bodies, to the feeling of empowerment each woman feels when she masters a new skill or acquires life-changing knowledge, the City of Joy gives women a platform to transform their pasts into fuel for a revolution of the mind, body, and community.
Over 1380 women have graduated to date. Over 1380 women have been educated, healed, and nurtured. Since the beginning of the program, these women have released massive trauma and horrific memories. And they have experienced pure joy – dancing, singing, learning and leading in community, no longer stigmatized for being raped but instead acting as forces of energy and determination. Today, graduates are teachers, journalists, business entrepreneurs, initiators of collectives, restaurants owners, and farmers. They advocate on sexual violence, volunteer in a self-created recruiting network for new candidates at City of Joy. Some are students, immigration workers, tailors, and herbalists. And other graduates are employed in the V-World Farm. The list goes on.
A woman who comes through the City of Joy is forever changed by it. She laughs more, she leads more, she gives more.
JOIN US, support the urgent work to end violence against women and girls in Kabul, Narok and Bukavu. Your trust, generosity and vision make our movement possible!
P.S. If your gift is already on its way, thank you!
V-Day is a California 501(c)(3) public charity and is one of the Top-Rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar. 31 December is the last day to make charitable donations in order to claim them on your 2019 tax return.
For our 2020 season, we’ve released the a cappella arrangement of “Like A Woman”, by the Grammy award winning producer Ben Bram (Pentatonix). The song was first released as a single and accompanying music video in celebration of International Women’s Day 2019.
“‘Like A Woman’ invites men to actively recognize women in the face of the violence and systemic injustices they experience. In the [music] video, men (cisgender, transgender and those who hold fluid identities) challenge themselves and act in gratitude towards, uplift, and give due praise to the women who take on revolutionary and critical roles in their lives.” – Susan Celia Swan, Executive Director of V-Day
“Like A Woman” is now available to be performed by a cappella groups either on its own (at your annual jams, concerts etc.) or in conjunction with your local V-Day (The Vagina Monologues, A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, and/or Raise the Vibration) and/or One Billion Rising event.
Get creative with adding this new piece into your event. Have someone introduce the song, host a discussion panel to look at the ways that men can actively become a part of the movement and RISE in solidarity.
“Two years ago, inspired by my involvement with V-Day and amidst the horror of our political shift, I wrote ‘Like a Woman’ to proclaim, from a man’s voice, my devotion to womankind. The song is a call to men to actively celebrate women and stand up against those who restrict women’s rights and/or perpetuate patriarchal abuse around the world. I am so happy to partner with One Billion Rising to bring this message far and wide.” – Ryan Amador, singer/songwriter of “Like a Woman.” This release was part of V-Day’s 20th anniversary initiative to create disruptive art pieces that inspire people to RISE.
What better way to raise the vibration in 2020 by bringing this to your community than performing it with fellow activists using the power of song to uplift women and stand up against perpetuators of patriarchal abuse?
We feel the energy of rising up, of resistance, of bold artistic energy and creativity coming forward from V-Day and One Billion Rising activists across the globe. At the City of Joy in Congo, 1294 women survivors have graduated, and the documentary film also entitled CITY OF JOY is available on Netflix, bringing a vast global audience their message of Turning Pain to Power.
Just days after she delivered the talk, Eve Ensler’s newest TED talk “The Profound Power of An Authentic Apology” has been released, one of the first videos coming out of TEDWomen 2019. Held in Palm Springs, the annual event was founded and is editorially directed by V-Day Board member and author of Dangerous Women Pat Mitchell.
“For a few years now, we’ve been calling men out. It had to be done. But lately, I’ve been thinking–we need to do something even harder. We need to find a way, as my good friend Tony Porter says, to call them in.” – Eve Ensler
From TED: Genuine apology goes beyond remorse, says legendary playwright Eve Ensler. In this frank, wrenching talk, she shares how she transformed her own experience of abuse into wisdom on what wrongdoers can do and say to truly repent — and offers a four-step roadmap to help begin the process. (This talk contains mature content.)
Eve’s appearance at TED comes immediately following her tour of India and Taiwan where she made a series of appearances on behalf of The Apology and participated in One Billion Rising events and actions.
While in India, Eve also completed a roundtable with feminist reporters resulting in a wave of media coverage and deep dialogue within the country about the book and the issues it raises. “I honestly think if we’re going to undo patriarchy men have to lead this, because they are the people who benefit from it.” says Eve in an interview with photographer Howard Schatz. She spoke with outlets including Vogue India, Hindustan Times, National Herald, and more about the transformational quality of a genuine apology and the necessity of men to do the work of rising up against this violence and taking responsibility for their role in perpetuating patriarchal violence.
Below are some inspiring takeaways:
“What’s changing? That is a deep concern of mine. We will call out, but if men are not using this as a moment to say, ‘I’ve got to investigate how I have been created in a toxic masculine world; do I even know what rape and abuse really is’, how will we change?” said Eve to Dhamini Ratnam of The Hindustan Times.
“The 31 years that my father has been dead, I have worked day in and day out to end violence against all women and girls. In that time, we have seen women break their silence, tell their stories, risk humiliation, attack and yet in all that time there has been no public apology. So, then I thought, why don’t I write the words to myself, the words I long to hear,” said Ensler.
“I wrote The Apology because in all the years of working in this movement, in all the recent cases of #MeToo, perhaps in 16,000 years of patriarchy, I had never heard a man make a public, thorough, authentic apology for sexual or physical abuse towards girls, boys or women. My father says in The Apology ‘to be an apologist is to be a traitor to men. Once one man admits he knows it was wrong, the whole story of patriarchy begins to collapse.’ Now is the time for men to become gender traitors, and begin the apology process.” said Eve, for The Times of India
The events ‐ led by One Billion Rising’s Chi Hui-Jung, Kamla Bhasin, Abha Bahaiya, and Anthony Carlisle – were transformative and the dialogue to end violence against all women and girls is continuing throughout India.
The Toolkit – created by Farah Tanis, a transnational Black feminist, human rights activist and co-founder and Executive Director of Black Women’s Blueprint, the toolkit is designed to help survivors and their allies grapple with the idea of reckoning and apology.
The Website – Building upon years of work with survivors, activists and anti-violence groups, V-Day launched theapologybook.net as an online space for readers, activists and survivors to process and explore the themes raised in the book, for perpetrators to begin their own processes of accountability and apology, and for survivors to write imagined apologies and offer themselves healing.
Support #VDay, the global activist movement to end violence against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender based violence).
V-Day, One Billion Rising, & City of Joy activists everywhere are RAISING THE VIBRATION through Action, Art, Connection, Imagination and Love.
As we write, activists are busy rehearsing for The Vagina Monologues, readying creative resistance actions and City of Joy screenings, and planning Risings in colleges, cities, communities and countries around the globe. At City of Joy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the 16th class will graduate this month!
V-Day East Greenwich, RI
Photo Credit: Atong Atem
Activists are Rising against a rising tide of right-wing nationalism, white supremacy, fascism, tyranny, hatred of and fear of immigrants, misogyny, femicide, homophobia, transphobia, corporate greed and climate destruction. They are raising the stakes in 2020, further escalating the urgency with which we feel compelled to fight for gender, climate, economic and racial justice – and tirelessly working to end harassment, rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex slavery.
Our work is more critical than ever. Your trust, generosity and vision make our movement possible. DONATE today.
In breathtaking solidarity, grassroots activists push boundaries and engage in dialogue through an intersectional lens, with art and activism always at the forefront.
Your solidarity and support makes this movement possible!
V-Day is a California 501(c)(3) public charity and is one of the Top-Rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar.
