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Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson were among the celebrities who celebrated the 10th anniversary of V-Day, a global effort to end violence against women
By SANDY COHEN
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson were among the celebrities who celebrated the 10th anniversary of V-Day, a global effort to end violence against women and girls.
Alba, who made her stage debut performing Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” offered a poem at a private luncheon Thursday sponsored by Glamour magazine. But first the 26-year-old actress warned that she was “popping out” of her dress.
“If you guys don’t know, I’m pregnant,” Alba said as her fiance, producer Cash Warren, beamed. “You’re all women. I think you understand your breasts are engorged and your stomach is getting bigger by the second.”
Ensler founded V-Day, which now reaches 119 countries and has raised $50 million to increase awareness about violence against women.
“It literally started from one woman’s voice … and it’s exponentially grown,” Dawson, 28, said. “It’s about embracing being a female and reclaiming that.”
V-Day will celebrate its anniversary with a two-day event at New Orleans’ Superdome in April.
Dawson, who is a V-Day board member, performed a poem about New Orleans, calling it “the vagina of America.”
Katie Holmes, Val Kilmer, Kerry Washington, Ali Larter, Gina Gershon, Judith Light and Jennifer Beals also attended the event. Cindi Leive, editor in chief of Glamour magazine, said last year’s V-Day luncheon raised over $200,000.
Holmes said her friend Paula Wagner — a longtime business partner of Holmes’ husband, Tom Cruise — inspired her to become a part of V-Day.
“It’s important for women to support each other and communicate with each other and be each other’s friends,” the 29-year-old Holmes said. “We should be working on stopping violence for people, for everyone.”
Welcome to 2008!
Welcome to the celebration!
Welcome to the next step!
Welcome to the next ten years of ending violence!
Welcome to V TO THE TENTH!
We are now in the second week of 2008, the year that marks one decade of women and men, boys and girls in over 120 countries working together, dedicating their lives to ending the violence that affects one in every three women worldwide.
In just ten years V-Day has raised over $50 million, educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama movement in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 5000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Kenya, South Dakota, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Iraq.
Each and every one of you has been instrumental in making V-Day into the incredible movement that it is today. And so we invite you to join us for the V-Day event of the decade, V TO THE TENTH at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome. We hope you will join us in ushering in the next ten years where together we will go deeper, increase the power and CHANGE THE STORY OF WOMEN!
For tickets and more information please visit www.vday.org
Happy V-Season! Happy 2008! Happy V TO THE TENTH!
See you in New Orleans!
Sincerely,Salma Hayek, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Hudson, Glenn Close, Julia Stiles, Ali Larter, Sally Field, Marisa Tomei, Calpernia Addams, Rosario Dawson, Kerry Washington, Common, Eve, and Charmaine Neville*
P.S. Don’t forget to read the Times-Picayune article on V TO THE TENTH The Big ‘V’-easy
V TO THE TENTH WEBSITE LAUNCHES!
Visit V-Day’s new V To The Tenth website for information on the V-Day event of the decade at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome, Friday – Saturday, April 11 – 12, 2008.
Visit www.vday.org and be taken into our virtual V-World were you can:
- Buy Tickets for V To The Tenth
- Get all the latest V To The Tenth news and updates
- Watch exclusive videos of some of V-Day’s fantastic activists from all over the world
- Read about the Katrina Warriors Network and the 2008 V-Day Spotlight Campaign on the Women of New Orleans
- Find out how YOU can get involved in V To The Tenth in your own community and in New Orleans
- Sign up for V To The Tenth and SUPERLOVE e-mail blasts
- Review all of V-Victories over the last ten years in the new Ten Years of V-Day Timeline
- Sign up to hold a V-Day event
- Search for a V-Day in your area
- Read the new V-Men Blog curated by Mark Matousek
- And much more!
Over the next few months we will be adding more new and exciting features so stay tuned!
Be A Part of V-Day’s Largest V-Season!
V-Season 2008 is V-Day’s largest V-Season to date with 1243 events already signed up to take place all over the world from Shenzhen, China to Stockholm, Sweden from Canberra, Australia to Lagos, Nigeria, not to mention events taking place in all 50 United States.
V-Season is from January 1st – March 31st and will culminate with V-Day’s mega two-day anniversary celebration in New Orleans Friday – Saturday, April 11-12 at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome – V TO THE TENTH!
www.vday.org
Each year V-Day increases awareness by focusing on a specific group of women in the world who are resisting violence with courage and vision. In 2008, the spotlight is turned to New Orleans and the Gulf South. The spotlight will highlight the daily ongoing work of women in their communities who have steadfastly kept New Orleans and the Gulf South alive with little to no resources. These women – “Katrina Warriors” – will be honored for their strength and resilience in the face of devastating loss. The spotlight will bring global attention and funds so that women may be safe and empowered in a region whose pulse beats like no other.
It’s not too late to join the thousands of other V-Day activists and become a 2008 V-Day Organizer!
Join the movement and bring V-Day to your city, your community, your college, your university or your high school!
Click here for more information and to apply!
V TO THE TENTH TO TAKE PLACE AT THE NEW ORLEANS ARENA AND LOUISIANA SUPERDOME FRIDAY – SATURDAY, APRIL 11-12, 2008
V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2008 with women and men from the U.S. and throughout the world.
Founded by playwright Eve Ensler on February 14, 1998 at the first benefit of her award winning play The Vagina Monologues, the global non profit has raised over $50 million for local anti violence groups with events taking place in over 120 countries to date and thousands more planned during the upcoming anniversary year.
To celebrate the last ten years of ending violence against women and girls and welcome the next ten years, thousands of V-Day activists will stage their annual benefits beginning in January. V-Day’s 2008 season will culminate with V-Day’s mega two-day anniversary celebration in New Orleans Friday – Saturday, April 11-12 at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome – V TO THE TENTH. V-Day’s anniversary events are made possible by the generous support of the NoVo Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles is creating a branding and messaging campaign pro bono for the anniversary.
Each year V-Day increases awareness by focusing on a specific group of women in the world who are resisting violence with courage and vision. In 2008, the spotlight is turned to New Orleans and the Gulf South. The spotlight will highlight the daily ongoing work of women in their communities who have steadfastly kept New Orleans and the Gulf South alive with little to no resources. These women – “Katrina Warriors” – will be honored for their strength and resilience in the face of devastating loss. The spotlight will bring global attention and funds so that women may be safe and empowered in a region whose pulse beats like no other.
“V to the Tenth will celebrate our victories and usher in the next ten years where together we will raise the stakes, go further, go deeper, increase the power and CHANGE THE STORY OF WOMEN. What happened in New Orleans and the Gulf South after the flood and storm represents the challenges that women face worldwide- violence, global warming, racism, lack of healthcare and education, financial insecurity, and the failure of local and national governments. All these are pieces of the story of violence that continues to impact women in the United States and around the world. V to the Tenth is a celebration, it is the call, the decision, the next step,” stated V-Day Founder/Artistic Director Eve Ensler.
Two invitation only fundraisers are in the works – on the West Coast in January and a special NYC celebration on Valentine’s Day, February 14. Throughout February and March, thousands of V-Day benefits are scheduled throughout the U.S. and the world from Shenzhen, China to Stockholm, Sweden from Canberra, Australia to Lagos, Nigeria. To coincide with these events, Ensler will embark on a nationwide 20-city V To The Tenth speaking tour. In February, Random House will release the 10th anniversary edition of The Vagina Monologues and the paperback edition of Ensler’s most recent book, Insecure At Last.
These events will lead up to V TO THE TENTH, the V-Day event of the decade, on April 11 – 12, 2008 at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome. On Saturday evening, April 12, V-Day will stage a once in a lifetime event featuring international performances of The Vagina Monologues, musical guests, V-Day activists from across the globe including Kenya, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, Democratic Republic of Congo and Eastern Europe, men standing up for women and much more. Salma Hayek, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Hudson, Glenn Close, Julia Stiles, Ali Larter, Sally Field, Marisa Tomei, Calpernia Addams, Rosario Dawson, Kerry Washington, and musicians Common, Eve, and Charmaine Neville have already signed on.* The evening will open minds and hearts and raise much needed attention and funds for groups working to end violence against women and girls around the world, and in New Orleans and the Gulf South.
Tickets from $25-$1000 are on sale now. Visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B003F5EC8C97006?artistid=1172255&majo…
Over the weekend, Friday – Saturday, April 11 -12, the Superdome will be transformed into SUPERLOVE. Activities will strengthen the V-Day model of empowerment by linking art and activism; building bridges across class, nationality and racial divides; and providing a center of caring, learning and healing for the local community. During the two days V-Day will reclaim the dome, transforming it into a place of empowerment and action.
Special wellness programs are being planned for the women of the Gulf South free of charge throughout the two days. The space will feature events and programming – open to all – with international and local speakers (Carole Bebelle Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Suze Orman, NYC Council Speaker Chris Quinn, Rha Goddess, Kerry Washington and more), spoken word and performances, art installations, and more. V-Day activists from around the world can meet at the Superdome to network and connect with each other, and the women of the Gulf South.
V-Day will announce the SUPERLOVE schedule in the coming weeks with tickets available online. Sign up for V-Mail to receive information and program schedules for the Superdome, as well as the latest updates on V TO THE TENTH.
Over its ten years of art and activism, the V-Day movement has educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama program in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 5000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Kenya, South Dakota, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Iraq.
For the latest updates on V To The Tenth, sign up for V-Mail. Visit www.vday.org/vmail.
To download the event poster with the first TBWA/Chiat/Day design, visit www.vday.org/contents/v10/getinvolved.
About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler’s award winning play The Vagina Monologues. In 2007, more than 3000 V-Day events took place in the U.S. and around the world. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $50 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama program in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 5000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina. http://www.vday.org
The war on women in east Congo.
The sexual violence towards women in an area that borders Rwanda has been called the worst in the world by a top United Nation’s official. To get a better understanding of why we’re seeing an escalation in violence and what’s being done to help the victims, WHYY Radio talks with CHRISTINE KARUMBA, who was born in the Democratic Republican of Congo (DRC) and is now the country director there for Women for Women International. She is currently visiting the United States. Also hear from STEPHEN LEWIS, who is a former United Nations Envoy on Aids in Africa, is calling for the creation of a UN Women’s Agency to devise a plan to stop the violence in eastern Congo
Listen here >>
Democratic Republic of Congo
Appearing on Democracy Now this morning, Christine Schuler Deschryver describes how women continue to be the victims of “sexual terrorism” in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country beset by war that has already killed over 4 million people. John Homes, the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, called the sexual violence in the Congo “the worst in the world.”
To stream the show please visit http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/08/1340255.
To read Eve Ensler’s GLAMOUR magazine article on her May trip to Eastern Congo, “Women Left for Dead, and The Man Who Is Saving Them”, visit
http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2007/08/reallifedrama
To read about V-Day and UNICEF campaign – Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource – visit http://www.vday.org/drcongo
Wangari Maathai, Kenyan Laureate, hand-delivered statement to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Saturday
On Saturday September 29, Wangari Maathai hand-delivered a statement from six of the seven women Nobel Peace Laureates to Ban Ki Moon, calling for the immediate release of their sister Nobel Laureate – Aung San Suu Kyi, imprisoned in Burma.
The seventh remaining woman laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi herself, has been silenced by years of house arrest and repression by the military junta. “In calling for her release, and the release of all political prisoners in Burma, we women Laureates are doing as Aung San Suu Kyi has asked of people everywhere: using our freedom to promote theirs,” said Betty Williams, 1976 Nobel Laureate for her work for peace in Northern Ireland.
The Laureates’ call comes as a military crack-down against the peaceful protesters in Burma is on the rise, with arrests and attacks of marchers increasing daily. “We are horrified by the rising violence in Burma, and the attacks and arrests of peaceful protesters.” Said Shirin Ebadi, awarded the Nobel Prize in 2003 for her work to defend women’s rights in Iran.
The Laureates condemned the lack of action from the Security Council, and China in particular. They called for an immediate arms embargo against Burma, and urged the UN Security Council to pass a strong resolution requiring an end to the violent response to the protests and national reconciliation.
“China is a major backer of this repressive regime,” said Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Laureate for her work to ban Landmines. “As host of the 2008 Olympics, China can’t afford to stand behind a regime that brutally suppresses its people. Now is the time to test if ‘One World, One Dream’, the Olympic slogan, applies to the people of Burma.”
Only 12 women in its more than 100 year history have been recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. Of these, 7 women are still living. In 2006, sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire formed the Nobel Women’s Initiative- a united effort for peace with justice and equality. Aung San Suu Kyi is the only woman laureate who is not free to join the group.
Click here to read the statement
Contact: Erin Simpson 1-613-513-9741 (mobile) email
email
Liz Bernstein 1-613-262-1969 (mobile)
Eve Ensler and activist Christine Schuler Deschryver talk to journalist Michele Kort of Ms. Magazine about the horrors of sexual violence and its aftermath in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Listen here: http://www.pbs.org/pov/lumo/special_ensler.php
Dame Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop and a former V-Counsel member, passed away on Monday at the age of 64. Roddick was an incredible and influential supporter of V-Day, taking part in many V-Day events including V-Day UK and Jour V, held in Brussels in 2005.
V-Day would like to extend our deepest sympathy for her family and friends. Dame Anita’s life work on behalf of women and the environment will never be forgotten. Her spirit, her vitality and her humor will be sorely missed.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Deaths.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/09/10/roddick.obit/index.html
V-Day, the Global Movement to End Violence Against Women and Girls, and UNICEF
in collaboration with The Culture Project
present
Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Ending Femicide in the DRC with Eve Ensler and Christine Schuler Deschryver, Congolese-born human rights activist
V-Day and the Korean Council for Women Drafted into Military Sexual Slavery by Japan proclaim a new victory for the ‘comfort women’ survivors in their struggle for justice.
On Monday, July 30, 2007, the US House of Representatives passed a formal resolution calling on the government of Japan to apologize for the abduction and serial rapes of tens of thousands of girls and young women across Asia and the Pacific, forced into ongoing sexual slavery in ‘comfort stations’ serving Japanese soldiers between 1932 and 1945.
One of the most horrendous war crimes and crimes against humanity of the 20th century, these atrocities nevertheless remained silenced until the early 1990s. Since then, groups such as the Korean Council have supported the former ‘comfort women’ in their struggle for justice, survival, and their demand for apology and reparations despite the increasing revisionism of nationalist politicians in Japan, some of whom deny that the ‘comfort stations’ ever existed.
In response, every Wednesday for more than 15 years, elderly survivors have demonstrated in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, Korea, demanding a formal apology and legal reparation from the Japanese government.
Their struggle shines a spotlight on the absence of justice for wartime sexual violence in every era, experienced by women today in Congo, Sudan, and Iraq, to name just a few.
When V-Day turned its focus on the issue of redress for former ‘comfort women,’ a research gathering period was the first step in order to proceed with absolute respect for the survivors and their own steps already at work. Given that the issue has been controversial and painful, V-Day’s strategy from the very beginning has been:
1. To go slow, to listen, and to support the efforts of the activists on the ground
2. To explore the possibilities of doing something that would give maximum exposure to the issue, only if the activists felt it would make a difference
3. To meet with the activists and advocates to discuss how to proceed.
V-Day joined efforts with the Korean Council in 2004 to create a Global Campaign for Justice to ‘Comfort Women,’ bringing together advocates for the survivors from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Timor L’este. Together with these partners the Korean Council and V-Day launched the campaign at the UN in 2005 and mobilized a Global Day of Action around the world.
V-Day culminated the campaign in an International Spotlight on ‘comfort women’, featuring information about their struggle and adding the monologue “Say It” by Eve Ensler in more than 2000 benefit performances of ‘The Vagina Monologues” in 2006. To increase the impact, V-Day and the Korean Council held a speaking tour of ‘comfort women’ survivors and advocates, who visited US colleges and gave testimony at a Congressional briefing in February 2006. The Capitol briefing was attended by key Congressional legislative aides, broadening support for the Resolution from two co-sponsors to 39.
With Nancy Pelosi’s ascension to Speaker of the House, and Congress’ transition from Republican to Democratic, the Korean Council doubled their efforts to get the long-standing resolution to the floor of the House for a vote in 2007. Through grassroots fundraising by the US-based Support 121 Coalition, to which V-Day belongs, Korean ‘comfort woman’ survivor Yong Soo Lee was able to testify at the hearing, together with Ms. Jan O’Herne and Ms. Gun Ja Kim, and to be present in the Capitol on July 30 for the historic moment when the voice vote resounded in favor of the long-sought resolution, now supported by 165 co-sponsors.
House Resolution 121 calls for “the Government of Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its (Japan) Imperial Armed Forces’ coercion of young women and girls into sexual slavery during World War II.”
V-Day and the Korean Council commend the US Congress for passing this resolution. But much work remains to be done, in order to secure justice and to document the immeasurable crimes committed against untold numbers of women 60 years ago. The long shadow of violence is still felt in many parts of the world today.
Toward that end and the struggle forward from today, V-Day announces a donation of $50,000 for the Korean Council and other advocates working tirelessly on behalf of the ‘comfort women’ survivors and their legacy. The Korean Council seeks to build a permanent exhibit in a Museum of Women and War in Seoul, to secure inclusion for the ‘comfort women’ in Japan’s history textbooks, and to press for the long-awaited official apology and reparations. In light of this great victory in the US Congress, acknowledging that what happened to the ‘comfort women’ did in fact happen, together we want to memorialize the history so it is forever remembered and never repeated.
Ms. LEE, Yong Soo (born on 13 December 1928, in Taegu, Korea):
At the age of 15, Yong Soo Lee was forcibly drafted by the Japanese soldiers. It was autumn 1943. She was transported through Kyung Joo to Taiwan, where she was kept for 2 years in sexual slavery for the Japanese soldiers until the end of WWII. When she was 17, the war was over. At the age of 18, she was able to return to her home, it was 1946. She lives alone in Taegu.
“Although filled with agony, I’ve constantly been searching for the truth and justice for the past 60 years of my life. The passage of H.Res.121 is proof that truth and justice do prevail. All sexual crimes against women and any human rights violation against children must not be tolerated anywhere in the world. … Everyday, I remember the victims that are not with us any longer. Again, I think of those precious 200,000 teenage girls who had been abducted and forced into sexual slavery for Japanese Army. I’d like to share today’s victory with them.” – July 30, 2007
To read the remarks of Chairman Lantos on H. Res. 121, regarding Comfort Women please click here
To read ‘Say It’ By Eve Ensler, please click here
For more background and information, please visit:
Korean Council for Women Drafted into Military Sexual Slavery by Japan
please click here
Support 121 Coalition
http://www.support121.org
ABC News:
House Seeks Japan’s Apology on ‘Comfort Women’
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3429549
Los Angeles Times:
Wartime Victim Makes Heartfelt Plea For Redress
http://www.vday.org/contents/vday/press/media/0707211
V-Day Brings ‘Comfort Women’ to the U.S. for Speaking Tour as Part of the 2006 Global V-Day Campaign for Justice
http://www.vday.org/contents/vday/press/release/0602141