Three dozen Mexican women’s groups won a major victory last Tuesday when the Chihuahua state legislature reversed a law that would have shortened sentences for rapists judged to have been provoked by their victims.
The overturned the law – which gave some rapists lighter sentences than cattle thieves – after coming under pressure from the public and outraged women’s groups.
“We know for sure they are changing it because the pressure was humongous,” said Victoria Caraveo, director of Women for Juarez.
Women in Chihuahua had appealed to the media and feminists across Mexico to oppose the law, staged street protests, and even taken the fight to the floor of Congress.
Read the full story at Yahoo! News.
To find out how you can enter the 2002 international Stop Rape Contest and help stop rape in your community, please click here.
The Spanish translation of “The Vagina Monologues,” “Monologos de la Vagina,” is now available in bookstores from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and Borders.
If you would like a large volume of copies, please contact Planeta Publishing for wholesale prices and stock or e-mail Marla Norman at mnormanppc@aol.com. To order a large volume of copies via fax, please fax Marla at (305) 361-0054.
My Sister’s Place is currently compiling an anthology on organizing and activism around the issue of violence against women in the U.S. Submission deadline is November 1, 2001. You may email them at thirdwavevaw@hotmail.com.
To see the Physicians for Human Rights latest report on women in Afghanistan, click here.
An incredible piece of autographed memorabilia — a copy of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” signed by over 30 amazing stars, including Oprah Winfrey, Calista Flockhart, Rosie Perez, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, and many more — was auctioned for $3005. All the money was raised for the V-Day Fund to stop violence against women and girls.
The book, which came with a letter of authenticity from the producers of V-Day, was given to the auction’s highest bidder — the Reverend Audrey Gonzales from Montevideo, Uruguay.
Coverage of V-Day 2001 at Madison Square Garden can be found at Lifetime Television, Women.com and Heroine Magazine.
Sixty finalists of V-Day’s Stop-Rape Contest traveled to New York from all around the world to attend the Gathering to End Violence summit on February 10, 2001.
The 60 finalists were selected by a team of eleven regional coordinators – all activists around the world working to stop violence in their communities.
Entries to the contest were received from: Uganda, Eritrea, Sudan, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Malawi, Canada, Ghana, The Gambia, Rwanda, Cameroon, Senegal, France, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Kazakstan, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Bosnia, Mongolia, Russia, Belgium, Kenya, Costa Rica, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Jordan, Australia, Philippines, India and the U.S.
In an all-day judging match at the Gathering to End Violence, the 60 finalists presented the action plans they developed in their countries for preventing violence.
For example, a 14-year-old finalist from Guatemala proposed a 12-step program to work with sexual offenders. She has been developing the program since she was 7 years old, when her older sister was raped.
Three winners were chosen by the close of the Gathering Summit and their action plans will be funded by the V-Day Fund in 2001 and put into development in their community of origin.
The three winners are:
Jennifer Jadwero (Kenya): This 13-year-old’s idea is to start anti-rape Youth Groups in junior high schools.
Silke Pillinger and Karin Heisecke (Germany): Their idea is to print an anti-rape slogan on bread and pastry wrappings in addition to local rape crisis centers’ info. This idea is the most region centered idea since the anti-rape slogan is a play of words in German and also Western and Central Europe are regions that have an extensive bread/pastry consumption directly from neighborhood bakeries.
Regine Bandler (Brazil): Her idea utilizes street/community theater to change public opinion on violence against women.
(The V-Day Stop-Rape Contest was coordinated with the help of
Equality Now.)
Press Contacts:
Dan Scheffey
Audible, Inc.
(973) 837-2784
Mary Beth Roche
Random House, Inc.
(212) 782 9810
EVE ENSLER’S THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES DEBUTS IN E-AUDIO
EXCLUSIVELY AT AUDIBLE.COM
Random House Audible will Contribute $1.00 to the
V-Day Fund for each copy of Ensler’s Performance Sold
During February
V-Day Supports Grassroots Efforts to End Violence Against Women
If you live in the United States, ask your Senator or other Congress rep to take a stand against violence against women and girls. Click here to send them a specially designed card. This card was developed in partnership with
Lifetime Television.