Archive for the "Press Releases" Category
Dear President Bush:
We the undersigned women leaders and women’s rights organizations ask you to take emergency action to protect the lives and secure the future of Afghan women.
- Unlike most wars, U.S. women supported the war against the Taliban in unprecedented numbers — in large part because they believed your promises that it would liberate Afghan women from abuse and oppression.
- Your refusal to expand the size and scope of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan — as requested by Afghan women leaders, and also by the Afghan Interim Authority and the United Nations — has left the women of Afghanistan in great danger. There are alarming reports of rapes, lootings, beatings, kidnappings and other intimidation in Afghanistan. This insecurity is compromising teh reconstruction of Afghanistan and the delivery of aid promised to the Afghan people to help them feed, clothe, house, educate, heal and rebuild their country.
Mr. President, your refusal of responsibility for peacekeeping in Afghanistan is a betrayal of teh hope that your own words have inspired. It will haunt you on election day and in history. The war against terrorism will only be successful if the struggle for peace and democracy succeeds. September 11th taught American women that the safety and security and well-being of Afghan women is the safety of us all. We will not, we must not, remain silent.
Please act now before it is too late.
Sincerely,
Jessica Neuwirth, President
Equality Now
Gloria Steinem, Founder
Ms. Magazine
Eve Ensler, Founder/Artistic Director
V-Day
Eleanor Smeal, President
The Feminist Majority
Sima Wali, President
Refugee Women in Development
Kim Gandy, President
National Organization for Women
Meryl Streep
Jane Fonda
Alanis Morissette
Marie C. Wilson, President
Ms. Foundation for Women
Robin Morgan, Founder
Sisterhood is Global Institute
Susan Sarandon
Kathy Rodgers, President
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
Adrienne Germain, President
International Women’s Health Coalition
Masuda Sultan, Coordinator
Women for Afghan Women
Vivian Stromberg, Executive Director
MADRE
Martha Burk, Chairperson
National Council of Women’s Organizations
Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder
Women’s EDGE
Mary Diaz, Executive Director
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
EQUALITY NOW WORKS FOR THE CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD.
Local Community Group Tasaru Ntomomok to Run The Safe House Which Will Open On Monday, April 8:
V-Day Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler to attend at the Grand Opening
April 5, 2002 – New York and Narok, Kenya
V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, today announced the opening of the first V-Day Safe House in Narok, Kenya on Monday, April 8. The Narok Safe House will have 40 beds and is intended as a safe haven for young girls seeking refuge from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early childhood marriage. Noted Kenyan activist and V-Day beneficiary Agnes Pareyio, one of the founders of Tasuru Ntomonok will oversee the V-Day Safe house there.
Tasaru Ntomomok is a community-based, non-profit organization that educates the community on the dangers of FGM and early childhood marriages and also provides an alternative to the ritual of FGM. When she began her work 2 1/2 years ago, Pareyio would walk from village to village with a replica of the female genitalia both cut and uncut in order to illustrate the effects of FGM on the young women. As a result of the group’s awareness campaign, girls started saying “No” to FGM and turning to the group for refuge.
On the group’s work and Pareyio, V-Day Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler stated, “Two years ago, I met Agnes Pareyio in the field educating a group on the dangers of FGM. By simply educating girls and their relatives, both male and female, she was enacting revolutionary change, she was saving girls from the cut.”
Immediately following that visit, V-Day purchased a Jeep for Agnes so she could cover more territory and reach more people and also began fundraising for the first V-Day safe house where girls could seek refuge. The importance of the Safe house lies in the fact that once educated about the cut, girls require a safe place to seek refuge. Without a safe haven, many of the girls will be forced to undergo FGM.
Pareyio stated, “Eve and V-DAY started by donating a jeep that has enabled me to reach my people – the Maasi – who are deeply rooted by their traditional cultures and who still hold their beliefs that girls can not be a woman without the cut. With the opening of the Safe House, girls who have escaped the cut can undergo an alternative ritual which I hope my people will grow to understand and adopt.”
For the alternative rite of passage without the cut, Tasaru Ntomomok takes girls into a 5-day seclusion during which they teach them to know themselves and empower them to make informed decisions about their own lives. This education intentionally reflects the Masai culture, where women start teaching their girls immediately after forced FGM when they are still in seclusion. Tasaru Ntomomok believes the teachings are important and should continue, but without the pain of the cut.
To date, the organization has been able to rescue many girls who are staying with well-wishers until the V-Day Safe House opens. V-DAY has also facilitated 2 seminars where 150 girls graduated without the cut. On Monday in Narok, 40 more girls will graduate with Ensler handing out their certificates.
The V-Day Safe House in Narok is the first V-Day Safe House to open. On April 20 in Rapid City, SD, USA, V-Day will hold a fundraising event for the second V-Day Safe House which will be built Native Sioux Land to serve Native American women.
About About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.
V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine’s Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003…). In 2002, V-Day has evolved from one day – Valentine’s Day – into a 13-week calendar of events and social action campaigns. From January 24 – April 20, 2002, more than 800 benefit productions of Ensler’s play, “The Vagina Monologues,” are taking place in theatres, community centers, houses of worship, and college campuses around the world.
V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine’s “100 Best Charities”.
V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners:
To date, V-Day’s 2002 corporate sponsors include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne, Marie Claire, and Tampax. V-Day’s 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day’s exclusive retailer: http://www.eziba.com/vday), Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas), SUNDÃRI, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.
The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.
Contact:
Susan Celia Swan for V-Day +1 212 4453288, press@vday.org
Proceeds to Build First V-Day Safe House on Native Land.
Rate of violence against women in Indian Country is the highest in the nation: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average annual rate of rape and sexual assault among Native Americans is 3.5 times higher than for all other races
March 15, 2002, Rapid City, SD
V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, is honored to present a star-studded, gala benefit V-Day Rapid City 2002: “On Sacred Ground…A Safe Place,” on April 20, 2002. Proceeds from the event will go to Cangleska, Inc., a private, nonprofit tribally chartered organization, which provides domestic violence and sexual assault services to the people of the Oglala Lakota Nation on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, for the building of a V-Day Safe house. The Safe house will act as a model for other organizations serving Indian Country.
The centerpiece of the benefit evening will be the Rapid City premiere of V-Day Artistic Director and Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler’s world renowned play “The Vagina Monologues,” starring Ensler with special guests Jane Fonda, Tantoo Cardinal, and musical guests ULALI. The opening ceremony will be presented by Cangleska with members of the Pine Ridge Reservation. Held at the Ramkota Hotel and Convention Center, a sumptuous private dinner, and a post-performance reception and art exhibit will round out the evening. PBS (Public Broadcasting System) Head Pat Mitchell will be among the V-Day supporters attending the event.
Throughout the world, V-Day benefits are shaped by their organizers and the local community. V-Day events range from 5000-seat theatrical productions featuring local stars, actresses and activists to 100 person ‘rallies’ in the town square.
In Indian county, the rate of violence against women is the highest in the nation. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average annual rate of rape and sexual assault among American Indians is 3.5 times higher than for all other races. As an event, V-Day Rapid City 2002: On Sacred Ground…A Safe Place will reflect the spirit and culture of the surrounding community and the money raised will help to stop violence against women and girls by addressing a critical need.
Suzanne Blue Star Boy of the Ihanktonwan Dakota people and Cangleska representative states, “At Cangleska, Inc. we have been struggling to maintain a shelter and provide services in an area with very little resources. Our lease expires next year and we desperately need another shelter. So that we do not go back to the days of women and children hiding in abandoned cars and trailers to hide from their aggressors, we need your help and support. The V-Day Safe House will be a beacon of hope for Indian women on the poorest reservation in America. A building that provides Indian women cover at their most vulnerable moment would stand as a powerful statement to them, that there is kindness and respite in their otherwise harsh world.”
V-Day’s Eve Ensler comments, “V-Day’s mission is to raise funds and awareness for anti-violence groups around the world. From Kabul, Afghanistan to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, women are in danger. V-Day Rapid City 2002 and the Safe House are truly inspiring examples of women effectively and creatively working together to help one another, to empower one another, to stop violence against women and girls.”
This will be the second V-Day Safe House. The first V-Day Safe House will be opening in Narok, Kenya on April 8, 2002. The Narok Safe House will have 40 beds and is intended as a safe haven for young girls seeking refuge from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Noted Kenyan activist and V-Day beneficiary Agnes Pareyio, one of the founders of Tasuru Ntomonok (a non-profit organization established to aid in the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation) who works to provide an alternative to the ritual of FGM will oversee the V-Day Safe house there.
Tickets for V-Day Rapid City 2002 are available as follows:
$250 (for the dinner, performance and reception) and $150 (for the performance and the reception) are available through Wild Women Productions at (505) 310-2911 or at wild@cybermesa.com.
$50, $40 and $30 general admission tickets (for the performance only at the Ramkota) are available through the Rapid City Civic Center box office at 1-800-GOT-MINE or on-line at www.gotmine.com
About Cangleska, Inc.:
Cangleska, Inc. (pronounced Chan-Glay-shka) is a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) and tribally chartered organization, serving the Oglala Sioux Nation (Lakota) on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in Kyle, South Dakota. Cangleska’s purpose is to provide domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention services to the people of the Oglala Lakota Nation. Cangleska, Inc. is nationally recognized as the leader in Indian Country in response to domestic violence and sexual assault. Their shelter and outreach advocates provide services to over 800 women per year and thousands of children. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is in a state of emergency regarding the violence within the family and the present facility used as a shelter for women who are battered and their children is inadequate to meet the need.
About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.
V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine’s Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003…). In 2002, V-Day has evolved from one day – Valentine’s Day – into a 13-week calendar of events and social action campaigns. From January 24 – April 20, 2002, more than 800 benefit productions of Ensler’s play, “The Vagina Monologues,” are taking place in theatres, community centers, houses of worship, and college campuses around the world.
V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine’s “100 Best Charities”.
V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners:
To date, V-Day’s 2002 corporate sponsors include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne, Marie Claire, and Tampax. V-Day’s 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day’s exclusive retailer: http://www.eziba.com/vday), Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas), SUNDÃRI, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.
The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.
V-Day Expands Its Focus On Women And War as Sponsor of Kabul Talks and Sponsor of NYC Special Performance of “Necessary Targets” for the UN Commission On The Status Of Women.
Founder/playwright Eve Ensler, Equality Now Founder/President Jessica Neuwirth, Afghan Women’s Organization Founder/Director Adeena Niazi, and V-Day Special Representative Hibaaq Osman join 30 grassroots Afghan women leaders on March 9-10 in Kabul
Contact: Susan Celia Swan for V-Day, (212) 445-3288, press@vday.org
March 7, 2002
Eve Ensler (V-Day Founder/Playwright), Jessica Neuwirth (Founder/President, Equality Now), Addena Niaza (Afghan Women’s Organization), and Hibaaq Osman (V-Day) are holding their first meetings in Kabul with Afghan women leaders since the defeat of the Taliban to discuss historic next steps for Afghan women. More than 30 prominent Afghan women leaders have traveled against all odds from Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat, and other regions for the roundtable discussions scheduled to take place in March 9-10. A follow up to the Afghan Women’s Summit For Democracy (held in Brussels in December), the Kabul talks will focus on their current conditions, women’s rights progress, and strategies for reconstruction. Talks will coincide with International Women’s Day (March 8).
For Ensler, who traveled underground in Afghanistan two years ago, her return to Afghanistan is timely on many levels, “From Kosovo to Kabul, women are often the targets of war but in order for peace to be restored, they must be at the center of the solution. We are focusing on bringing the stories of these women to the world. These stories must be told if we are going to stop this from happening again.” In Afghanistan, V-Day has partnered with Broadcast News Network’s in-country team, who will provide a broad range of logistical, operational, and editorial support service designed to permit the group to securely meet and to film the talks for future broadcast in the U.S. and around the world.
The Kabul talks coincide with the opening of Ensler’s play “Necessary Targets” Off-Broadway in NYC (www.necessarytargets.com). Based on interviews with numerous women who survived the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, “Necessary Targets” provides a timely reminder of the effects of war on women in America and overseas. This Sunday, March 10, the matinee will be a special performance for participants in the UN Commission on the Status of Women meetings, followed by a panel discussion “No Women, No Peace: The Urgency of Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325”, moderated by Cora Weiss, Hague Appeal for Peace. (Play 3:00-4:30PM, Panel Discussion 4:30-5:30PM, General public is welcome, for reservations contact Judy Corcoran (212) 315-2449).
While in Kabul, Ensler will also deliver the much-needed first phase in the development of a working telecommunications infrastructure for the Afghan women leaders with the delivery of state of the art satellite phone systems outfitted with solar chargers and free airtime. At this time, there is no traditional phone service in Afghanistan and satellite phones remain both scarce and expensive. This infrastructure will allow Afghan women in all regions of the country to communicate with each other, and with their advocates in the west.
Sponsored by V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls and a long-time advocate for Afghan women, the immediate goal for the talks are fourfold: (1) To provide a forum for Afghan women leaders from all regions and ethnic groups to discuss the issues facing their country; (2) To aid in making the Brussels Proclamation a living document for Afghan women; (3) To assess immediate needs to determine V-Day funding efforts for Afghan women; (4) To bring the message of Afghan women back to women in the west, and around the world, through the “Afghanistan is Everywhere” campaign and the video documenting the Kabul roundtable discussions.
The Kabul talks will address progress towards enacting the Brussels Proclamation, the blueprint that outlines in detail the Afghan Women’s Summit’s comprehensive vision for the future and their immediate, and still pending, reconstruction needs. The document carried the message that significant portions of any international aid should go to projects benefiting women, as well as a full restoration of women’s rights as citizens and the participation of women in drafting new laws and a future constitution and addresses four central components of Afghan society: education and culture, healthcare, refugees and human rights. Following the daily talks from 8:00AM-5:00PM, the evening sessions include traditional dinner, dancing, entertainment and art programs.
# # # #
About The Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy:
The Afghan Women’s Summit was a two-day global gathering of Afghan women held in Brussels December 4-5, 2001. Over 40 grassroots Afghan women leaders, broadly representative of women in Afghanistan, took part in the Summit and issued the Brussels Proclamation. The goal of the Summit was to bring the voices of the Afghan women into the current international political discourse, ensuring that their message is heard and that women have equal say and rights in the new government. Following the Summit, a delegation of six Afghan women from the meeting carried their message to key political decision-makers around the world, including the United Nations, Congress, the State Department, European Parliament, and key media and cultural leaders. The Afghan Women’s Summit was organized by women’s rights organizations from around the world – European Women’s Lobby, Equality Now, V-Day, the Center for Strategic Initiatives of Women, and The Feminist Majority, in collaboration with the Gender Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNIFEM.
About V-Day:
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls. The concept for V-Day was borne out of two of V-Day Founder Eve Ensler’s plays: “Necessary Targets” and “The Vagina Monologues.” V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine’s “100 Best Charities”. http://www.vday.org
About Equality Now:
Equality Now is an international human rights organization working to end violence and discrimination against women. Issues of concern include rape, domestic violence, trafficking of women, female genital mutilation, denial of reproductive rights, equal access to education and employment, and political participation of women. Through its Women’s Action Network, which has 25,000 members in more than one hundred countries around the world, Equality Now highlights human rights violations against women and girls and mobilizes public pressure to stop them. http://www.equalitynow.org
About “Necessary Targets”:
“Necessary Targets,” the new play by Eve Ensler, is directed by Michael Wilson and stars Tony and Emmy Award-winner and two-time Oscar nominee Shirley Knight and film and stage star Diane Venora. In “Necessary Targets,” two American women, a Park Avenue psychiatrist and an ambitious young writer, travel to Bosnia to help women refugees confront their memories of war. Based on interviews conducted by Eve Ensler with numerous women who survived the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, “Necessary Targets,” is a timely reminder of how America struggles to define its relationship to the rest of the world. At the Variety Arts Theatre, 110 Third Avenue at 14th Street, NYC. http://www.necessarytargets.com
About BNN:
Since 1983, BNN, the largest independent producer of news and documentary has been at the forefront of both production and innovation. The company has produced hundreds of hours of news documentary programming for clients that include A&E, CNN, CBS, CourtTV, NBC, RTL and the BBC. Most recently, the company produced the first ever High Definition TV reports from a warzone, with Chief Correspondent Peter Arnett and a series of programs that took an extraordinary look at the destruction of the World Trade Center — 24 Hours at Ground Zero for MSNBC and Voices from Ground Zero for TLC. Visit the company online at http://www.bnntv.com.
Produced by Actors LisaGay Hamilton and Rosie Perez at the World Famous Apollo Theatre, Saturday, March 30
Benefit Proceeds to Go to Community Groups Dedicated to Stopping Violence Against Women and Girls
Cast To Include Naomi Campbell, Rosario Dawson, Denyce Graves, Amel Larrieux, La Chanze, Angie Martinez, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Lynn Whitfield And V-Day Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler, Among Others.
Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster; In association with HBO, CR Enterprises, Inc., and People En Español.
CONTACT: Susan Celia Swan for V-Day (917) 538-8366, press (at) vday.org
February 28, 2002 – New York, NY
V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, today announced its 2002 benefit show in NYC – V-Day Harlem 2002, presented by ESSENCE, in association with HBO, CR Enterprises, Inc. and People En Español, at the world famous Apollo Theatre on Saturday, March 30 at 7:00PM. V-Day Harlem 2002 is the passion of actors LisaGay Hamilton and Rosie Perez, who have both performed in V-Day benefits, including last year’s sold-out V-Day 2001 event at Madison Square Garden, as well as in commercial productions of “The Vagina Monologues” throughout the country.
Produced by Hamilton and Perez, V-Day Harlem 2002 will feature a performance of V-Day Artistic Director and Founder Eve Ensler’s play, “The Vagina Monologues,” music, and dance by a diverse cast including: LisaGay Hamilton, Rosie Perez, Naomi Campbell, Lynn Whitfield, Mary Alice, Kim Coles, Rosario Dawson, Sully Diaz, Eve Ensler, Takayo Fischer, Cynthia Garrett, Hazelle Goodman, Denyce Graves, bell hooks, LaChanze, Amel Larrieux, Joie Lee, Angie Martinez, Tonya Pinkins, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Tamara Tunie, Lauren Velez, Lorraine Velez, and Kerry Washington, among others.
Proceeds from V-Day Harlem 2002 will benefit the African American Task Force on Violence Against Women In Central Harlem; The Dominican Women’s Development Center, the Violence Intervention Program; and Sakhi; all are community-based organizations dedicated to stopping violence against women.
On the announcement, LisaGay Hamilton and Rosie Perez stated, “After witnessing the effect of V-Day 2001 last year at Madison Square Garden, we were compelled to bring V-Day to Harlem. We invite everyone in the community to join us at V-Day Harlem, to come together to stop violence against women and girls.”
Eve Ensler, V-Day Artistic Director/Founder and Playwright, noted, “V-Day’s mission is to end violence against women and girls by raising awareness and funds. This year, over 800 V-Day benefits will do just that in cities from Cebu City, Phillipines, to South Central, LA, from Paris, France to Juarez, Mexico. It is so very exciting to see V-Day come to Harlem in 2002 and we thank the community for its support.”
Dr. Camille O. Cosby and Susan L. Taylor of Essence Communications Partners are Honorary Chairs of V-Day Harlem 2002.
“ESSENCE magazine has a proud history of tackling the tough social issues confronting Black women,” says Susan L. Taylor, ESSENCE editorial director and V-Day Harlem honorary chairwoman. “V-Day Harlem is a powerful event we are presenting to focus our community on ending violence against women and girls.”
Tickets are available now at Ticketmaster – #(877) 870-4929 and http://www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be available at the Apollo Box Office at at 253 West 125th Street, #(212) 531-5305, beginning March 1. Ticket prices are $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 and $1000.
For additional information, visit: http://www.essence.com/vdayharlem and http://www.vday.org
In 2002, V-Day has evolved from one day – Valentine’s Day – into a 13-week calendar of events and social action campaigns. From January 24 – April 20, 2002, more than 800 benefit productions of Ensler’s play, “The Vagina Monologues,” are taking place in theatres, community centers, houses of worship, and college campuses around the world.
Throughout the world, V-Day benefits are shaped by their organizers and the local community. V-Day events range from 5000-seat theatrical productions featuring local stars, actresses and activists to 100 person ‘rallies’ in the town square. All V-Day benefits feature a performance of “The Vagina Monologues.” All donate their proceeds to local organizations that work to stop violence against women and girls.
About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.
V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine’s Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003…).
V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine’s “100 Best Charities”.
About ESSENCE:
With more than 8 million readers, ESSENCE is the preeminent magazine for Black women. Published by Essence Communications Partners, it is the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women’s lives. For 31 years, ESSENCE has celebrated personal achievement, chronicled social movement, documented struggles, showcased beauty, defined and set trends, and illustrated the incredible journey of a resilient and splendid race. Additional information about ESSENCE is available at http://www.essence.com.
V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners:
To date, V-Day’s 2002 corporate sponsors include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne, Marie Claire, and Tampax.
V-Day’s 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day’s exclusive retailer: http://www.eziba.com/vday), Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas), SUNDÃRI, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.
The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.
# # #
About the V-Day Harlem 2002 Beneficiaries:
African-American Task Force On Violence Against Women In Central Harlem:
The Task Force is dedicated to eradicating violence against women in Harlem by bringing together all of the stakeholders in the community to develop a comprehensive community response. The Task Force believes that all segments of the community are touched by the violence inflicted upon women. To increase the community stakeholders, their work is implemented through strategies of advocacy, outreach, education, and technical support to community organizations, all of which are designed to address the problem of violence against women.
The Dominican Women’s Development Center:
The Dominican Women’s Development Center supports “Nuevo Amancer” a domestic violence program which includes counseling, advocacy, a 24 hour hotline, crisis intervention, support group & law enforcement personnel training which addresses the particular needs of battered Latina women.
Sakhi:
A community based-organization in the metropolitan area, Sakhi is committed to ending exploitation and violence against women of south Asian origin. When Mohammed Moshin, a batterer, doused his wife with gasoline and set her on fire in September 1995, Sakhi was there to provide ongoing counseling and support for the survivor who spoke little English.
Violence Intervention Program (VIP):
Located in East Harlem, VIP provides a dozen Latina and African-American families with safe dwellings in non-disclosed apartments after severe and violent encounters with spouses and boyfriends. VIP is providing technical assistance to the prosecution in the case of a prominent Latino activist who is charged with the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend, Gladys Ricota, as she stood on her lawn on her wedding day. Through these efforts, along with counseling and advocacy, VIP has raised awareness and encouraged more women to seek help before it is too late.
Proclamation establishing San Francisco as a Rape Free Zone and formally welcoming “V-Day” a global movement to stop violence against women and girls to San Francisco, February 12, 2002:
WHEREAS, “V-Day” is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to raise money and to transform consciousness generating a broader attention for the fight to stop worldwide violence against women and girls; and
WHEREAS, Violence against women does not distinguish between class, race, age or locality. Women are beaten in thatched huts, back alleys, plush hotel suites, college dorms high-rise apartments and trailer parks. Women are sold into sexual slavery, burned with acids and mutilated as little girls. Although the particular form of violence may vary from culture to culture, as a result women spend most of their lives recovering from, resisting or surviving violence rather than creating and thriving; and
WHEREAS, the money raised through “V-Day” and on its behalf, is directly donated to grassroots, national and international organizations and programs that work to end rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery; and
WHEREAS, “V-Day” showcases the creativity of women through theatrical events and performances, “The Vagina Monologues” being at the centerpiece of these events; and Now Therefore, Be It
RESOLVED, That the San Francisco Board of Supervisors declares San Francisco a Rape Free Zone and formally; welcomes “V-Day” to San Francisco, February 12, 2002.
In Recognition whereof, I have here unto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City and County of San Francisco to be affixed.
Supervisor Tom Ammiano
Women artisans from around the world work with Eziba to create a line of beautifully handmade V-Day products; Retailer to be Exclusive Merchant for V-Day Goods.
North Adams, MA – February 7, 2002 – Help Stop Violence While You Shop: Eziba, leading retailer of handcrafted goods from around the world, and V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, founded by “The Vagina Monologues” playwright Eve Ensler, announced today a multi-level marketing partnership. Under the terms of the agreement, Eziba will be the exclusive merchant for all goods related to V-Day fundraising, including those merchandised at the numerous productions of Eve Ensler’s play around the world. A percentage of proceeds will go directly to V-Day to help fund groups working to end violence against women and girls.
“The partnership with V-Day is particularly resonant for us,” said Bill Miller, Eziba President and CEO. “Their goal of empowering women around the world mirrors our mission of increasing opportunities for our artisans, most of whom are women. And because a majority of our customers are women, we believe the V-Day program will find a natural audience with the Eziba consumer.”
Acting as the exclusive merchant for V-Day, Eziba will research, develop, stock and fulfill all orders for V-Day merchandise, including products related to “The Vagina Monologues” play. Staying true to the V-Day mission, Eziba will develop products produced exclusively by women and women’s cooperatives around the world. The majority of products will be jewelry incorporating the V-Day logo.
“Our affiliation with Eziba will help us to bring V-Day to a new, far-reaching audience,” said Eve Ensler, V-Day Artistic Director and Founder. “Eziba’s design, merchandising and marketing expertise will help us expand our fundraising efforts. With V-Day products by Eziba, nyou can help stop violence while you shop”
V-Day Executive Director Willa Shalit added, “Eziba and V-Day are a great fit in terms of philosophy and design. And, Eziba’s incredibly strong online presence enables V-Day to offer products worldwide to V-Day’s wide-spread audience, from NYC to Cebu City, Phillipines.”
Select items from the first collection developed jointly by Eziba and V-Day are featured in a four-page spread in Eziba’s February catalog and the full line is featured on the Eziba web site (www.eziba.com/vday). The debut V-Day collection features an array of jewelry with a “V” motif, including a Mexican-made sterling silver link bracelet with an enamel “V” charm and a glass bead necklace with sterling silver “V” inspired pendant and matching earrings from South Africa. Other hand-crafted items include a journal with Zulu beaded bookmark, Peruvian clay wind chimes, a silk embroidered scarf from India, a ceramic “goddess” sculpture from Columbia, as well as scented candles, pajamas and “The Vagina Monologues” book by Eve Ensler, among other items. A percentage of proceeds will go directly to V-Day to help fund groups working to end violence against women and girls.
Besides the catalog and online merchandising of V-Day merchandise, Eziba will also provide merchandise for sale at the numerous benefit performances of “The Vagina Monologues,” which will take place in more than 200 cities and at 600 colleges around the world during V-Day 2002. Eziba will also issue special discount codes that V-Day will distribute to its representatives for select programs.
About Eziba
Eziba, www.Eziba.com, launched November 9, 1999, as a premier retailer and global bazaar, offering via its web site and catalog an exclusive and constantly changing selection of authentic handcrafted items created by artisans from around the world. The product offering ranges from home furnishings, accessories and apparel, to art and artifacts, gifts and toys. With a blend of education, entertainment, and e-commerce, the web site and catalog are designed to inform and inspire the shopper with a presentation rich in cultural context and content that conveys the story and the people behind each object. Eziba is a pioneering company in its business model, site design, and innovative approach to corporate social responsibility (a portion of founders’ stock has been pledged to the Eziba Artisans’ Trust to improve artisans’ lives in developing countries). Eziba is a corporate sponsor of some of the most forward thinking and effective artisan related organizations, including the Crafts Center, Aid to Artisans, and the Artisan Enterprise Network. Leading online retailer Amazon.com has invested in Eziba. Other investors in the $70 million second round of funding are Rho Management (Compaq and iVillage), New Enterprise Associates (UUNet and Silicon Graphics), and Berkshire Capital Investors (Tripod). Eziba is headquartered at MASS MoCA, a center for contemporary visual and performing arts and high tech industry housed in a 19th-century mill complex in North Adams, Massachusetts, with a second office in New York City.
About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.
V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine’s Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003…).
V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine’s “100 Best Charities”.
Press Contacts:
V-Day
Susan Celia Swan
press@vday.org
212.445.3288
Eziba
Karen Peterson
kpeterson@laforce-stevens.com
Emily Grosman
egrosman@laforce-stevens.com
LaForce & Stevens
212.242.9353
Innovative, Winning Ideas Include “The Pink Coats” Safe Ride/Walk Program, “Satchel” Art Project To Raise Consciousness And Funds, and “Be Nice To Vaginas, You Came From One” Buttons.
Contact Susan Celia Swan (212) 445-3288, press (at) vday.org
February 5, 2001 — V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, has announced the winners of its first annual V-Day 2002 U.S. College Stop Rape Contest. Designed to produce innovative and effective strategies to stop rape worldwide, this contest is open to female and male college students. Strategies, which could be outrageous, daring, unconventional, funny, artistic or improvisational, also needed to be effective, inexpensive to implement, and non-violent. Through the Stop Rape Contest, V-Day hopes to bring new and creative energy to its worldwide movement to stop violence against women.
Among the 33 entries, three were chosen as Grand Prize winners and those ideas will now be funded by V-Day and implemented by those who submitted the ideas. The winners are:
The Pink Coats, submitted by Ashley Eberlein at Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA – an all-woman nighttime safe ride/walk for women living on and off campus. Working in pairs, the Pink Coats would be armed with a cell phone, whistle, flashlight, and map, and trained in assertiveness and self-defense, and available Wednesday-Saturday from 8PM until 4 AM for both car rides and short-distance walks.
Artwork – submitted by Mona Nicole Sfeir, California College of Arts and Crafts, Berkeley, CA – An art piece that deals with the crime of rape by creating a visual recorder and reminder of the enormous number of rape victims in our country and offering a place of empowerment and change. The piece will be made of 1,764 small stitched satchels, representing the number of women reported raped weekly in the US in 2000, and hung on 1,764 nails. Each satchel will contain a small rock, representing the cold hard pain inside each victim, and tied shut with a ribbon printed with rape statistics. Each satchel will be for sale for $1 and proceeds will go to a rape crisis center. As the large number of satchels of pain slowly diminishes, the piece becomes smaller as awareness and financial aid grow larger.
“Be Nice to Vaginas, You Came from One” Buttons, submitted by Aysha Cromeenes, Ashley Eberlein, Megan O’Brien, LaMesha Melton, CJ Moothart, Molly Riddell, Stephanie Sanchez, Jennifer Thorne, Andrea Titterness, Laura Wolf from WEAVE (Women’s Empowerment And Violence Educators) at Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA – The buttons would be attached to cards that include “How to Be Nice to Vaginas” with Tips for Men on one side and Tips for Women on the other.
Honorable mention went to ideas ranging from presenting a bill to the state legislature requiring that information about rape and its devastating effects be taught in middle school health classes to placing plaques in bathrooms that define rape and warns about it to theater productions to raise awareness and tell stories.
V-Day also sponsors the International Stop Rape Contest with Equality Now, which works on a different time schedule. Winners in that contest will be announced on February 16th at V-Day 2002 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York
About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.
V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine’s Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003…).
V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine’s “100 Best Charities”.
V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners:
To date, V-Day’s 2002 corporate sponsors include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne, Marie Claire, and Tampax.
V-Day’s 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day’s exclusive retailer:http://www.eziba.com/vday), Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas), SUNDÃRI, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.
The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.
Save The Date! V-Day NYC Fund Raising Event Announced:
Gala, Star-Studded Evening Of Dinner And Performances to Take Place Saturday, February 16.
New York, NY — January 22, 2002 – V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, today announced its major fundraising event for 2002 — V-Day 2002 at the Hammerstein – on Saturday, February 16. A gala, star-studded evening of cocktails, dinner and performances featuring Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Cynthia Nixon, Glenn Close, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Rosie Perez, Cynthia Garrett, Swoosie Kurtz, Julie Kavner, Isabella Rossellini and V-Day Artistic Director and Founder Eve Ensler (“The Vagina Monologues”, “Necessary Targets”) will accompany the announcement of V-Day’s 2002 awardees and Stop Rape Contest winners.
Evening schedule – Doors open at 7:00PM: Cocktails, Presentations and Performances, Dinner, Music, Dancing and Dessert.
Tickets can be purchased via phone# (212) 921-9070. Tickets from $500.
**For media coverage, please contact Susan Celia Swan, press (at) vday.org**
V-Day 2002 at the Hammerstein sponsors include Bloomberg, Carole and Lisa Pittelman, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne Inc., Philip Morris Companies, Suze Orman, and Tampax
Since it began five years ago, V-Day has evolved from one day – Valentine’s Day — into a 13-week calendar of events and social action campaigns. From January 24 – April 20, 2002, more than 800 benefit productions of Ensler’s play, “The Vagina Monologues,” are confirmed in theatres, community centers, houses of worship, and college campuses around the world. In cities and provinces from Washington, DC to Shanghai, China; Harlem, NY to Nova Scotia, Canada; from Duluth, MN to Cebu City in the Philippines, an international chorus of voices will rise up to entertain and empower, as women realize V-Day’s mission to stop violence against women and girls.
About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.
V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine’s Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003…).
V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine’s “100 Best Charities.”
V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners:
To date, V-Day’s 2002 corporate sponsors include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne, Marie Claire, and Tampax.
V-Day’s 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day’s exclusive retailer: http://www.eziba.com/vday), Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas),Sundari, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.
The “V” in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.
Contact:
Susan Celia Swan #(917) 538-8366, press (at) vday.org
Jerri Lynn Fields #(914) 835-6740, jerrilynn (at) vday.org
To raise funds for V-Day, apparel marketer Liz Claiborne Inc. has designed a limited-edition sterling silver necklace. The 18-inch long box-chain necklace is highlighted by a shiny silver “V.” All proceeds from sales will benefit V-Day.
The necklace will be available throughout the months of February and March a Liz Claiborne Stores around the country. The Liz Claiborne V-Day necklace can also be ordered online at www.eziba.com/vday.
Liz Claiborne Inc. supports V-Day as part of its 11-year old domestic violence awareness and education campaign. Visit www.lizclaiborne.com/loveisnotabuse to learn more about the company?s on-going anti-abuse initiatives including billboard, TV and radio public service announcements, free educational posters and brochures, campus workshops and partnerships with community groups.