Archive for the "Press Releases" Category
MEDIA ALERT
CONTACT:
Contact: Cathryn Swan #646.713.7281
Susan Celia Swan #917.865.6603
NEW YORK CITY DECLARES TODAY ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE DAY
FIRST LADY OF NEW YORK CITY, CHIRLANE MCCRAY, DELIVERS OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION TO EVE ENSLER AT “JUSTICE IS CARE: SAY SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL” EVENT IN THE BRONX
WHO:
The First Lady of New York City delivered official proclamation to Award-winning playwright and V-Day Founder, Eve Enslerdeclaring February 14, 2014 One Billion Rising for Justice Day. Award-winning playwright and V-Day founder Eve Ensler, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence Rose Pierre-Louis and Tatiana Graves, founder Bronx-based Project Bully Free Zone, spoke about domestic violence, homelessness and issues most affecting women in New York City.
WHAT:
Justice is Care: Say Something Beautiful was a free two hour event organized by Project Bully Free Zone, the Bronx Borough President’s Office and V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls founded by Ensler. The event is part of the global One Billion Rising for Justice campaign, with events happening simultaneously on this day in 200 countries.
More information on One Billion Rising for Justice:
One Billion Rising for Justice is a project of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls founded by Tony award-winning playwright Eve Ensler. One Billion Rising for Justice events are now planned in 200 countries worldwide on February 14th, 2014.
The campaign builds upon the energy and momentum that was created on February 14, 2013 when one billion activists in 207 countries and territories came together to rise, strike, and dance, in the biggest mass action in human history, to demand an end to violence against women and girls.
Overview of New York City One Billion Rising for Justice events:
More information at: http://onebillionrising.org/nyc
DANCE FOR JUSTICE ON VALENTINE’S DAY; ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE EVENTS BRING LOVE ACROSS NYC’s 5 BOROUGHS ON FEBRUARY 14TH, EVENTS DAY & NIGHT
NEW YORK CITY JOINS WORLDWIDE ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE EVENTS IN 189 COUNTRIES TO DEMAND JUSTICE AND END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
New York, N.Y. – In 2013, on February 14th, across the five boroughs, ONE BILLION RISING events rocked New York City. In 2014, again on February 14th, the groundbreaking campaign to end violence against women and girls continues with the theme: ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE. New York City has never seen anything like it!
From “JustLove” in Manhattan featuring Dr. Christiane Northrup, Danielle LaPorte, Gabrielle Bernstein, Eve Ensler and more, a disco-themed dance party in the Bronx, Central Park’s One Billion Hearts March at Bethesda Fountain, midtown dance workshop including free therapy and hotline services, march from Brooklyn Bridge to the Supreme Court, high schools “rising,” flash mobs, and more — Valentine’s Day in New York City this year is taking on a new meaning!
More information on NYC events (list in formation):
Outline of One Billion Rising for Justice Events NYC, February 14th, 2014:
Manhattan:
All Day Event 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. JUSTLOVE
The Grand Ballroom at The Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th Street
Featuring: Maya Azucena; Gabrielle Bernstein; Eve Ensler; Rha Goddess; Dr. Hyun Kyung; Danielle LaPorte; Patricia Moreno; Dr. Christiane Northrup, and Meggan Watterson. JustLove will be a day-long event providing women and girls with the space to come together to listen, learn, be heard, supported, and held Through the guidance of top professional healers, we will release our stories and move towards a place of love and justice.
8 p.m. – 11 p.m. RISE NYC
Hammerstein Ballroom at The Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th Street
Maya Azucena, BatalaNYC, Natasha Blank, Rosario Dawson, Eve Ensler; Ramya Ramana, DJ Beverly Bond… and more participate in RISE NYC, a dance party celebration to end the One Billion Rising for Justice activities in NYC. Last years RISE NYC event welcomed 2,500 people from all five boroughs for a night of dance, music, and guest speakers and performers.)
11 a.m. THE OPEN CULTURAL MARKET, JUSTICE IS IDENTITY
122w St. Nicholas Ave, Manhattan At The Harriet Tubman Statue in Harlem
The Speaking Wombs organization is inviting women to come together in freedom of releasing their true selves, sharing their cultural identity with each other and the world. Whatever that looks like — rocking your natural hair, expressing your original state of being, wearing your cultural clothes, singing your childhood songs, telling cultural stories, the list goes on.
2 p.m. ONE BILLION HEARTS MARCH IN CENTRAL PARK
Meet at Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain (mid-Park)
March from Bethesda Fountain to Columbus Circle, concluding around 4 p.m.
4:30 p.m. EMPOWERING DANCE
500 Eighth Avenue, 12th Floor
4-hour dance workshop with NYC’s top teachers and choreographers. Proceeds from the classes will be donated to CAMBA’s Rape Crisis Center, a non-profit that offers free therapy, hotline services, and group therapy support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse.
5:30 p.m. ENUF IS ENUF PERFORMANCE
La Guardia High School
High school women of La Guardia, PCS, and PPAS in New York City will be performing monologues and testimonies in defiance against rape culture and slut shaming. There will be a live-feed of their #haveyouever and #questionofthemonth campaigns which encourages open dialogue and sharing in an effort to bring as many voices and identities into the conversation.
7 p.m. ONE BILLION HEARTS PARTY
79 St Mark’s Place
Dance Party and Fundraiser featuring super fun valentine’s day-themed activities, tons of dancing, a few hot cupids and cupidettes, raffles with awesome prizes, and of course the chance to rise for justice with someone new!
Bronx:
11 a.m.-1 p.m. JUSTICE IS CARE: SAY SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
Fordham University, Collins Auditorium, 441 E. Fordham Road, 2nd floor
Presented by Project Bully Free Zone, The Bronx Borough President’s Office, and V-Day, “Justice is Care: Say Something Beautiful” is a free two-hour event focusing on the issues most impacting women and children in the Bronx today. The event will provide a platform for women, and those who love them, to come together in solidarity, break the silence and release their stories through art, dance, video, ritual, song, spoken word, and testimonies.
8 p.m. 1 BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE @BAAD!
2474 Westchester Avenue
Bronx Academy fun disco-themed dance party.
Brooklyn:
10:45 a.m. BROOKLYN INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL RISING
49 Flatbush Ave. Extension
The entire Brooklyn International High School, with 350 students, will be rising together! Workshops will focus on raising awareness about issues of injustice and the entire student body will Rise together and dance the One Billion Rising “Break the Chain” Dance flashmob.
12 p.m. ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE MARCH OVER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO THE SUPREME COURT!
March Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, walking over to the Supreme Court on 360 Adams Street for a nonviolent, peaceful demonstration.
High Schools in New York City will be Rising!:
Brooklyn International High School
Workshops will incorporate the “Respect for All” week theme to encourage students to rise for justice. Students will fill out and post peace signs and their image of what justice looks like.
Long Island City High School
Workshops in all social studies/history classes. Students will be knitting/crocheting garments to donate.
John Adams High School
Screen printing party to create t-shirts for the school to wear the shirts on February 14th honoring One Billion Rising for Justice.
Other activities:
Other events and activities will include: indoor mixed media locations where independent artists will create/show/contribute art for One Billion Rising as well as a choreographed pre-planned public performance location involving dancing and music. Snaking will connect arts events and connect NYC starting at the outer ends of each subway line and migrating into Manhattan to convene. In addition, an art walk/dance will take place throughout the city, murals in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn, street art throughout the five boroughs, a poster campaign highlighting statistic of violence against women and celebrating the local activists who are working to end it, subway take-overs, protests, marches, and much more!
* * *
About V-Day
V-Day is a global activist 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” and other artistic works. The V-Day movement has raised over $100 million; educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it; crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns; reopened shelters; and funded over 13,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, and Iraq. V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements and awards and is, one of the Top-Rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar. V-Day’s most recent global campaign, ONE BILLION RISING, galvanized over one billion women and men on a global day of action towards ending violence against women and girls. www.vday.org
One Billion Rising web site: http://onebillionrising.org
NYC: http://onebillionrising.org/nyc
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@vday.org (917) 865-6603
WATCH 25+ LIVE STREAMING EVENTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
FOLLOW #RISE4JUSTICE & #1BILLIONRISING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
ONEBILLIONRISING.ORG TRANSFORMED INTO DIGITAL HUB, BROADCASTING RISINGS, VOICES AND VICTORIES IN REAL TIME. VIEW ALL THE LIVESTREAMS AS THEY COME IN AT http://www.onebillionrising.org
MEDIA ALERT
CONTACT:
Susan Celia Swan, Cathryn Swan/media@vday.org/917-865-6603 or 646-713-7281
PINK RELEASES NEW VIDEO IN SUPPORT OF GLOBAL ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE CAMPAIGN
AS PART OF GLOBAL “ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE” CAMPAIGN, PINK AND HER DANCERS RELEASE NEW VIDEO SHOWCASING THEM DANCING TO ACTIVIST ANTHEM “BREAK THE CHAIN”
Internationally Acclaimed & Award Winning Singer/Songwriter PINK Joins Activists in 186 Countries on 14 February 2014 with the Release of Video & Personal Statement
February 12, 2014 – Internationally acclaimed, award winning singer/songwriter Pink, along with her Truth About Love World Tour dancers and crew, join activists in over 186 countries (and growing) in the “One Billion Rising For Justice” campaign to demand justice and an end to violence against women and girls.
Pink has just released a video featuring her tour crew dancing to the One Billion Rising anthem “Break The Chain” written and produced by Tena Clark, and featuring choreography by award winning choreographer Debbie Allen.
(http://www.onebillionrising.org/8986/pink-rising-us-equally-deserving-respect-personal-space/)
Says Pink, “I have never liked bullies of any kind. Whether it’s someone picking on the “fat” kid, the “retarded” kid, the “short” kid, the “black” kid, the “Asian” kid, the “gay” kid, the “girl”, cause she “hits like a girl” or is the “weaker sex”…You name it. Different “reasons”, same “bully”. The bully is the problem. The bully needs a hug, a lesson, enlightenment. The bully is the one that really feels inferior, so he/she picks on someone else to make that person feel inferior too. When I read about this organization, how people get together of their own free will and dance, use their bodies, to express their rage- outrage- around the injustice that women feel all over the world, every day- I was inspired. I am a woman. I know women. I have sisters, strong and less strong, small and less small, Asian and black, gay and straight, Indian and Native American… We are all equally deserving of respect and personal space. I will fight for that right for all of us. And we come together to do so on our stage, with our brothers and menfolk- where we express our freedom every night. And that freedom inspires others to be free. We hope this video helps. And we hope for that one day when all women and girls are able to have respect, and personal space, and to be able to express themselves in whatever way THEY feel is right for them.”
Last February 14, 2013, ONE BILLION RISING was the biggest mass action in human history when people in 207 countries came together to dance, and RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, demanding an end at last to violence against women. Tens of thousands of events took place produced by activists on the ground and the campaign took over media and social media worldwide for 48 hours, trending in 7 countries – 4 times in the US and UK alone.
As a result, laws were drafted and passed, women were empowered in places of disempowerment and grassroots networks of women sprung up worldwide. Marsha Lopez, a V-Day activist since 2001, stated, “the most important result of One Billion Rising in Guatemala was the creation of a law for the criminalization of perpetrators who impregnate girls under 14 years old. The law also includes penalties for forced marriage of girls under 18.”
In 2014, One Billion Rising for Justice will build upon the energy and momentum that was created in 2013. This year’s campaign is a call to women, men, and youth around the world to gather on Friday, February 14, 2014 outside places where they are entitled to justice– court houses, police stations, government offices, school administration buildings, work places, sites of environmental injustice, military courts, embassies, places of worship, homes, or simply public gathering places where women deserve to feel safe but too often do not.
The campaign is a recognition that we cannot end violence against women without looking at the intersection of poverty, racism, war, the plunder of the environment, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. Impunity lives at the heart of these interlocking forces.
The call to RISE for Justice has received resounding response from activists in over 186 countries on six continents, including the newest additions Albania, Benin, Bolivia, Georgia, Jamaica, Lesotho, Luxembourg and Slovenia.
The 2014 One Billion Rising events kicked off with the world premiere of a new short film entitled ONE BILLION RISING at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 19 January. The short film, directed by Eve and Tony Stroebel and shot by amateur and professional cinematographers, features footage from activists in 207 countries and showcases the radical awakening of body and consciousness that took place in 2013. The film already won its first recognition and an award from the nonprofit Women in Film.
To get involved with V-Day and ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE:
For more information, visit http://www.onebillionrising.org.
# # #
About V-Day
V-Day is a global activist 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” and other artistic works. The V-Day movement has raised over $100 million; educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it; crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns; reopened shelters; and funded over 13,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, and Iraq. V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements and awards and is, one of the Top-Rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar. V-Day’s most recent global campaign, ONE BILLION RISING, galvanized over one billion women and men on a global day of action towards ending violence against women and girls. www.vday.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media(at)vday.org (917) 865-6603
“ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE” CAMPAIGN ESCALATES AS ACTIVISTS IN 169 COUNTRIES PLAN EVENTS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES
SHORT FILM “ONE BILLION RISING” WORLD PREMIERES AT THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
State of Female Justice Event Series Continues 6 February at UCLA
JANUARY 23, 2014 – V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, today began the countdown to One Billion Rising for Justice that will take place on February 14th, 2014 in more than 169 countries worldwide.
The campaign will build upon the energy and momentum that was created on February 14, 2013 when one billion activists in 207 countries and territories came together to rise, strike, and dance, in the biggest mass action in human history, to demand an end to violence against women and girls. Tens of thousands of events took place on the ground and the campaign took over media and social media worldwide for 48 hours, trending in 7 countries – 4 times in the US and UK alone. Media in all corners of world including The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, Reuters, Times of India, Corriere della Sera and many more covered the hugely successful grassroots campaign widely.
As a result, laws were drafted and passed, women were empowered in places of disempowerment and grassroots networks of women sprung up worldwide. Marsha Lopez, a V-Day activist since 2001, stated, “the most important result of One Billion Rising in Guatemala was the creation of a law for the criminalization of perpetrators who impregnate girls under 14 years old. The law also includes penalties for forced marriage of girls under 18.”
This year, we will focus on the issue of justice for all survivors of gender violence, and ending the rampant impunity that prevails globally. ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE is a call to women, men, and youth around the world to gather safely on 14 February 2014 outside places where they are entitled to justice – court houses, police stations, government offices, school administration buildings, work places, sites of environmental injustice, military courts, embassies, places of worship, homes, or simply public gathering places where women deserve to feel safe but too often do not.
The campaign is a recognition that we cannot end violence against women without looking at the intersection of poverty, racism, war, the plunder of the environment, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. Impunity lives at the heart of these interlocking forces.
The call to RISE for Justice has received resounding response from activists in over 169 countries on six continents, including the newest additions Albania, Benin, Bolivia, Georgia, Jamaica, Lesotho, Luxembourg and Slovenia
The 2014 One Billion Rising events kicked off with the world premiere of a new short film entitled ONE BILLION RISING at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 19 January. The short film, directed by Eve and Tony Stroebel and shot by amateur and professional cinematographers, features footage from activists in 207 countries and showcases the radical awakening of body and consciousness that took place in 2013. In celebration of the Sundance screening and to continue building momentum to One Billion Rising for Justice 2014, V-Day released the short film online with activists holding viewing parties worldwide. The film already won its first recognition and an award from the nonprofit Women in Film.
The King Center presented One Billion Rising with the 2014 Coretta Scott King A.N.G.E.L. Award on 18 January. The annual award is given in honor of and in keeping with the spirit of Coretta Scott King. It recognizes a youth or young adult, and a youth organization/initiative which exemplifies exceptional leadership in the areas of peace, social justice and nonviolent social change. One Billion Rising is honored to join Sughar Founder & Director Ms. Khalida Brohi in accepting the 2014 A.N.G.E.L. Award. V-Day Founder/Artistic Director Eve Ensler accepted the award on behalf of the campaign.
The campaign has received widespread coverage in global media. Interviews with Eve and Monique Wilson have appeared on CNN International; BBC Newshour, Worlds News and HardTalk; in The Times of India, Agence France Presse, Buzzfeed, Guernica, ORIGIN magazine among many more.
Early this month, Eve penned her most recent commentary for The Guardian newspaper stating, “This year we are escalating and deepening the campaign with One Billion Rising for Justice. Justice is about restoring the primacy of connection so that we understand that violence against women is not a personal problem, but connected to other systemic injustices whether they be patriarchal, economic, racial, gender, or environmental…this year we will go further, releasing, dancing, putting our bodies on the line with specific demands and visions that through our numbers, solidarity and energy cannot be denied. Come rise with us.” Upcoming media appearances are scheduled on Democracy Now, All In With Chris Hayes, Melissa Harris Perry, and many more.
Continuing to highlight the power of art to convey messages and uplift and inspire, the campaign produced its first animated film “And Then We Were Jumping.” Created by artist Jordan Bruner based on a poem written by Eve Ensler, the film is going viral and has already been highlighted by both Upworthy and Vimeo. The film and poem highlight the theme of the campaign that ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE is about envisioning justice for all survivors of gender violence which can take many forms, it can be an apology or reparations, taking legal action. It can be about making the truth visible. It can be about transformation. Activists are invited to share their personal vision of “this is what justice looks like” online as video, text, or photo.
Back by popular demand, “Break the Chain” will remain the official anthem of One Billion Rising. Written and produced by legendary music dynamo Tena Clark, and choreographed by dance ICON and award winning choreographer Debbie Allen the song is played in stores and Zumba classes across the US. In Mexico and Peru well-known artists have performed the song in Spanish. Other countries are developing their own localized songs and dances to be performed for 2014.
Eve and One Billion Rising Director Monique Wilson have taken the One Billion Rising For Justice message on tour to Bali, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In city after city, the response is the same. The OBR4J campaign has provided an opportunity to escalate grassroots efforts and give visibility to the issue as well as reach out to newer constituencies. Reaching out to young men has been a very positive outcome of this campaign. Everywhere Eve’s presence, deliberations and performances have received thundering success with a very large number of audiences for each and every event. In Delhi, India, Eve premiered and performed her new monologue IN THE BODY OF JUSTICE. Upcoming visits include Washington DC for a pre-Rising reception with Members of Congress and a focus on the International Violence Against Women Act.
In addition, The State of Female Justice panels have taken place in New York and Santa Fe in the US; Manila, Philippines; Delhi, India, Johannesburg, South Africa and London. Speakers from the incarceration movement, from the indigenous community, the youth sector, the migrant and immigrant community, and leading activists from an economic and environmental justice context have discussed the intersectional issues that are at the core of violence against women. Panel discussions continue with an event in Los Angeles on February 6 at UCLA.
Risings Around the World
As momentum is building globally, communities come together, building coalitions, through media outreach and grassroots organizing. Some examples of risings:
In the Caribbean a lack of support and issues about laws being changed are foremost in their work for seeing justice met across many of the islands. OBR4J is providing a platform in which St. Lucia will be working on creating a bill that will go to Parliament on the Sexual Abuse Act, which they currently do not have. Activists in Trinidad are looking at sexual harassment within the University. Guyana has many women dying and disappearing and efforts are being made to create a Missing Person’s Act that can help families with their cases. In Haiti, activists have created Top 20 Actions to Rise for Justice and Fight Sexual Violence in Haiti that include: supporting the introduction in Haiti’s Parliament of a bill to outlaw domestic violence and spousal rape; mandating a course in sexual violence for all judges, judicial and protection officers and police overseeing prosecution of sex crimes; and improving monitoring and reporting of sexual violence in both private foster homes, orphanages and child “restavek” live at home domestic employment situation.
In Mexico City, a team of three lawyers have begun working on cases that have since come forward through raising awareness of violence against women during One Billion Rising 2013 – one for human trafficking, one for incarcerated women for petty crimes, and one that is revising all the cases that have been submitted through their Facebook page.
In Peru, DEMUS, a local organization that has been fighting for years for justice for the hundreds of thousands of indigenous women who were sterilized during the Fujimori regime and for the tens of thousands of women who were raped during the armed conflict, produced a very intense, powerful mock trial – the Court of Conscience For Justice. It was a call to the State to fulfill their obligation to provide justice and reparation to the women.
Women’s groups all over Southeast and South Asia protested the recent WTO conference held in Bali Indonesia, where OBR Southeast and South Asia had a huge presence in the global peace camp, representing the Philippines, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand in the call for developmental, economic, and environmental justice for women in the global south – as well as a call to end militarization and foreign intervention in the Asia Pacific region.
In Taiwan, “women/child-friendly justice” is their theme, emphasizing the environment of the legal system and court, educating those in the justice system to understand more about gender violence and treat victims of gender violence with dignity. They launched the first press conference of ‘One Billion Rising for Justice- Stories of Women/girl Friendly Justice ” and invited prosecutors, lawyers, women organization activists, social workers to share positive stories of judicial officers (judges, prosecutors, lawyers) who use their power wisely to empower women in the lawsuit process. The story sharing not only broadened the images of women/girl-friendly justice, but also created understanding and communication between the government and NGOs.
In the Philippines, groups are creating a multi-sector task force to organize events outside embassies, courthouses, mines (led by the indigenous women), corporations, government institutions and universities. On the morning of February 14, a large protest, march and rally to will take place outside the presidential palace, and in the afternoon, there will be a parade, an One Billion Rising fair and a concert on the grounds of the University of the Philippines. The events highlight, in drama, dance and costume, the long history of the women’s movement in the Philippines and their fight for justice
In Southern Africa, from Swaziland to Zimbabwe, from Lesotho to Malawi and South Africa One Billion Rising For Justice has reenergized the women’s movement, mobilizing women in rural communities, those living with disabilities and youth to hold story circles, dance and sing, build photographic exhibits and poetry anthologies. The collaboration of activists in rural and marginalized areas with those in urban areas, farmworkers uniting with mine workers and domestic workers, lawyers with physician groups, artists with teachers unions and municipalities, university students with grassroots community organizers, township dwellers with suburbanites, commercial sex worker groups with safe houses will bring about risings that will demand justice for women, hold perpetrators accountable and call for an end to impunity across the region.
In South Africa, Germany and South America, “This is What Justice Looks Like” art exhibitions are bringing communities together with photography, paintings, speeches and dance.
In India, every state is planning an event with flash mobs, dances, speeches and other public displays calling for an end to violence against women. All across the country, groups are creating posters, banners and t-shirts in different languages to rise for justice, and the events fall on the heels of a 3-day One Billion Rising for Justice campaign that focused on land, environmental and economic injustices.
In Germany, activists across the country are preparing RISING events with dance flash mobs, marches, V-Day performances and other forms of creative actions. They are writing songs, poems and blog articles. In Berlin, due to the expected huge crowd, the street behind the landmark Brandenburg Gate will be blocked for the RISING. In many cities, mayors and other senior politicians and celebrities have confirmed their support and participation in the RISINGs. On-site counseling will be available at RISING events for women who release their stories. All major groups that work on ending violence against women at the federal level – including federations of rape crisis, women’s shelters, advocacy groups, the women lawyers federation, and the federation of local government equal opportunities officers – have come together and formulated joint political demands for OBR for Justice in Germany.
In the United Kingdom, London will host One Billion Rising for Justice 2014 in Trafalgar Square, one of the most popular, recognizable, historically rich and vibrant open spaces in the UK. Organizations are rising to demand the approval of amendments to the Children and Families Bill that will make Sex and Relationship Education compulsory in UK schools, the repeal of visa laws that tie domestic workers to their employers and put them at serious risk of exploitation and abuse, and for sweeping improvements in immigration detention centers to ensure that vulnerable women are not subject to violence.
In the United States, dozens of cities are rising. In Washington, DC, activists are rising at the Supreme Court and on Capitol Hill; in San Francisco, groups are organizing events in Oakland, Berkeley and around Golden Gate Bridge; in Santa Fe, over two dozen organizations are hosting a day-long event to discuss sex trafficking, give testimonies and participate in flash mobs and marches; and in New York City, over a dozen events are taking place that are inspiring women and men to RISE, RELEASE and DANCE. Over 30,000 came out to RISE in Atlanta in 2013. The campaign escalates this year on February 14, 2014 to include a gathering at Ebenezer Baptist Church, a historic site of Martin Luther King Jr., and culminating in a STOP TRAFFIC MARCH beginning at The King Center and ending at Freedom Park with a flash mob to the 2013 One Billion Rising Anthem, Break the Chain. The groups are placing a special emphasis on ending human trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls in Atlanta, which has become known as a sexual tourism destination. The gathering at Ebenezer Baptist Church features speakers on the issue of violence against women and girls, and One Billion Rising Atlanta will honor local individuals and organizations working to empower women and girls in 14 key intersectional justice areas for 2014.
As we approach 14 February, 2014, V-activists will continue to shine a spotlight on the darkness of injustice and make the connections between their visions of justice and the ultimate goal of eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls by RISING, RELEASING and DANCING in the light.
To get involved with V-Day and ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE:
For more information, visit http://www.onebillionrising.org.
# # #
About V-Day
V-Day is a global activist 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” and other artistic works. The V-Day movement has raised over $100 million; educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it; crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns; reopened shelters; and funded over 13,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, and Iraq. V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements and awards and is, one of the Top-Rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar. V-Day’s most recent global campaign, ONE BILLION RISING, galvanized over one billion women and men on a global day of action towards ending violence against women and girls. www.vday.org
With your generous support, V-Day ROSE to extraordinary heights in 2013!
Our call to take to the streets and STRIKE, RISE and DANCE was heard, and in over 207 countries, women and men gathered in the largest mass global action to say NO MORE – we are ONE BILLION and we demand an end to violence against women and girls.
We thank you from the depths of our hearts, we could not have done it without you. We wish you all a Happy, Joyous, Safe and Healthy New Year!
As we all gather this coming 14 February for One Billion Rising For Justice, may your stories be released and may violence against women and girls end!
On New Year’s Eve, One Billion Rising Director Monique Wilson has written a beautiful piece recapping her activist journey:
“Looking at the people, dancing and rising, led by the grassroots and marginalised women’s groups, was overwhelming. I saw, like a picture, every step of our thirteen year journey in their fierceness, in their courage, in their generosity and love of our women and our country – as well as in their joy and insistence on hope. Every tear, every challenge, every deepening of love and sisterhood had come to this moment…” continue reading >
If you’d like to send your own personal V-New Year Card to someone special, we’ll gladly send it for you.
As the year draws to its close, we hope you will consider a generous year-end donation to V-Day as we continue to blend art and activism to end violence against women and girls.
READ Monique’s Piece >
DONATE to V-Day or SEND a New Year’s card & Support our work >
WATCH the trailer for our One Billion Rising short film that will premiere at Sundance in January! >
VIEW our 2013 Photo Gallery and SHARE yours!
READ V-Day’s 2013 Annual Report >
Together we created the largest mass action to end violence against women and girls in history.
With your support, we moved the needle on the issue of violence against women and girls, bringing it front and center globally. Your generous year-end donation will ensure that on 14 February 2014, ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE will bring the need for accountability and the end of impunity to the table.
As activists in 128 countries escalate their efforts and plan local One Billion Rising For Justice 2014 events, our core team continues to create path breaking resources, toolkits, & short films; connect networks; and use social media to activate and engage the dialogue of justice.
- Peru is Rising for the hundreds of thousands of indigenous women who were sterilized during the Fujimori regime and for the tens of thousands of women who were raped during the armed conflict and have never received justice.
- Farmworkers in the US and Mexico are Rising for immigration reform, farmworker women’s rights and an end to sexual harassment in the workplace.
- South Africa is Rising to end ‘corrective rape’ against lesbians.
- Guatemala is Rising in support of laws to protect women and to highlight indigenous women and their vision of justice.
- Bangladesh is Rising to lobby political parties to bring legislation to protect women.
- Los Angeles is Rising to promote rape awareness and sexual assault in the military, engaging courts, local police and sheriff departments.
- Haiti is Rising to bring a State of Female Justice to Haiti as defined by Haitian survivors and women’s groups.
- The Philippines is Rising against militarization, corporate greed, mining, economic injustice and labor exploitation, and the plundering done by a corrupt government that severely impacts women and girls.
- Mexico City, Atlanta, Miami and San Francisco are Rising to Stop Sex Trafficking.
- College students in the US are Rising to stop sexual assault on campuses and to hold administrations accountable to properly prevent or adequately respond to the needs of college survivors.
Your participation on 14 February means everything to us! And your generous support helps us and billions around the world RISE! Please consider donating today!
With gratitude,
V-Day core – Eve, Susan, Cecile, Christine, Monique, Purva, Shael, Tony, Kate, Amy, Laura, Carl, Joliz, Noelle, & Kristina
V-Day is excited to announce that our newest short film, ONE BILLION RISING, will world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival beginning January 19th!
ONE BILLION RISING features footage from activists in over 207
countries and showcases the radical awakening of body and
consciousness that took place in 2013.
To mark the premiere Sundance screening, V-Day will release the film
online to the world. We invite all of our activists to screen it on
that day, and in the days leading up to 14 February to inspire your
communities to RISE for JUSTICE!
So gather your friends and family in houses, dorms, movie theaters,
stadiums, auditoriums, parks, malls, everywhere, and get ready to
RISE!
Going to Sundance? Here’s where it’s playing:
* Sunday, 19 January, 11:30am – Prospector, Park City
* Tuesday, 21 January, 3:00pm – Yarrow, Park City
* Wednesday, 22 January, 6:00pm – Broadway 6, Salt Lake City
* Thursday, 23 January, 9:00pm – Temple Theatre, Park City
* Friday, 24 January, Noon – Sundance Resort, Provo
* Saturday, 25 January, 10:00am – Holiday 4, Park City
Tickets required in advance >
The 2014 Short Film program at Sundance is comprised of 66
films selected from a record 8,161 submissions. ONE BILLION RISING is directed by Eve Ensler and Tony Stroebel, with activists in 207
countries, and is produced by Eve and V-Day.
WATCH the trailer, “Rising” >
READ the full announcement & line up >
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Susan Celia Swan/Kate Fisher: media(at)vday.org
+1 917 865 6603
Eve Ensler and One Billion Rising Director Monique Wilson to Visit India and Nepal as part of ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE tour
with Global Coordinators On The Ground
Ensler To Make Special Appearance at The Times of India Literary Carnival in Mumbai, Emotional Creature to be Performed at The Festival
Short Video about One Billion Rising Released Featuring Never Before Seen Footage
6 December 2013 – Eve Ensler, award-winning playwright and founder of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, with One Billion Rising Director and renowned activist and actor Monique Wilson, embark on a multi-city tour of India and Nepal as part of the ongoing ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE tour with Global Coordinators Khamla Bhasin and Abha Bhaiya and other extraordinary Indian and Nepali artists and activists. Following stops in France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Ensler and Wilson will visit Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Dharamsala, and Kathmandu over the next two weeks. The tour began today in Mumbai.
The One Billion Rising for Justice campaign is rapidly building upon the energy and momentum that was created in 2013 when one billion activists in 207 countries came together to strike, dance, and rise to end violence against women and girls. To date, One Billion Rising for Justice activists around the world in over 120 countries have signed up to plan their risings.
This year’s campaign is a call to women, men, and youth around the world to gather on 14 February 2014 outside places where they are entitled to justice including court houses, police stations, government offices, school administration buildings, work places, sites of environmental injustice, military courts, embassies, places of worship, or other public spaces for justice, marking the call to end the rampant impunity that prevails globally.
Ensler will debut a new monologue written for India at the events. Also, coinciding with the tour, V-Day is debuting a new short film entitled India Rising, by South African filmmaker Tony Stroebel (Rising, One Billion Rising, The Man Prayer, Break The Chain) and Eve Ensler. The film features never before seen footage from Ensler’s 2012 One Billion Rising tour throughout India, as well as new footage from One Billion Rising events in February. To view the video, visit www.vday.org/indiarisingfilm
Events have been coordinated by Sangat and One Billion Rising for Justice activists. Indian singer Katie Gray will be performing at many of the events along the tour. Following is a schedule:
Mumbai
December 7:
Rise For Justice India – A dialogue between Eve Ensler and Indira Jaisingh on the progress and obstacles faced in the fight for justice for survivors and victims of violence. Organized by Akshara and Pravin Gandhi College of Law.
The Times of India Literary Carnival “A Fractured Freedom” panel discussion with Eve Ensler, Urvashi Butalia Shereen el-Feki and Poorna Jagannathan.
December 8:
The Times of India Literary Carnival keynote address by Eve Ensler. 10am
Performance of Eve Ensler’s “Emotional Creature,” 8pm
Chennai
December 10:
One Billion Rising For Justice Chennai for International Human Right Day. Hosted by Asian College of Journalism.
One Billion Rising For Justice Chennai Cultural Event, hosted by YWCA Chennai. Featuring speeches by activists and performances by local and international artists. Eve Ensler will read pieces from her new work “In The Body of the World, ” followed by the premier of a brand new piece by on justice and the body.
Delhi
December 12:
One Billion Rising For Justice Delhi Cultural Event, hosted by Sangat. Featuring speeches by activists and performances by local and international artists. Eve Ensler will read pieces from her new work “In The Body of the World.”
December 13:
Apne Aap Rising for Justice with Eve Ensler and Prof. Ruchira Gupta, 12pm – 2pm
One Billion Rising For Justice Event at Jamie Milia University, at 3pm
December 14:
Cultural event at Delhi University.
Panel discussion on “A Feminist Dialogue On Envisioning Justice,” hosted by the Centre for Policy Analysis Jagori & Sangat, moderated by Seema Mustafa (Director, CPA) and featuring Kamla Bhasin (Advisor, Sangat), Eve Ensler, Shabnam Hashmi (Founder, Anhad), Kumkum Sangari (Vilas Prof. of English and Humanities University of Wisconsin), and Vimal Thorat (Co-Convenor, NCDHR).
Dharamsala
December 16:
Press conference on the 1 year anniversary of the attack on Jyoti Singh Pandey.
One Billion Rising for Justice Himachal Cultural Event. Featuring speeches by activists and performances by local and international artists. Eve Ensler will read pieces from her new work “In The Body of the World.” The One Billion Rising for Justice Himachal event will also feature actress Poorna Jagganathan performing a piece by Eve Ensler.
December 17:
V-Day India 10 year anniversary gathering with Eve Ensler and Jagori activists.
Nepal
Kathmandu
December 20 – 21:
Programs and schedule to be announced.
For more information, visit http://www.onebillionrising.org.
# # #
About One Billion Rising
One Billion Rising was the biggest mass action in human history. The campaign began as a call to action based on the staggering UN statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. On 14 February 2013, people across the world came together to strike, dance, and RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, demanding an end at last to violence against women. Over 10,000 events took place on the ground and the campaign took over media and social media worldwide for 48 hours, trending in 7 countries – 4 times in the US alone. The wildly successful grassroots campaign was covered widely by media in all corners of world including The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, and many more. www.onebillionrising.org
About V-Day
V-Day is a global activist 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 and other artistic works. The V-Day movement has raised over $100 million; educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it; crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns; reopened shelters; and funded over 13,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Egypt, and Iraq. V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements and awards and is, one of the Top-Rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar. V-Day’s most recent global campaign, ONE BILLION RISING, galvanized over one billion women and men on a global day of action towards ending violence against women and girls. www.vday.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
SAFER AND V-DAY RELEASE REPORT ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICIES IN THE U.S.
80% Received Grade of C or Lower
Primary Prevention Programming Continues To Represent Critical Area for Growth
Nearly One-Third of Policies Do Not Fully Comply with Federal Law
(NEW YORK, NY) October 30, 2013 – Today, SAFER and V-Day release “Making the Grade? Findings from the Campus Accountability Project on Sexual Assault Policies.” The study analyzed nearly 300 formal and informal sexual assault policies from colleges and universities across the U.S. The report provides a snapshot of policies from a sample of four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. during a given time frame.
“For 15 years, V-Day activists globally have worked to end violence against women and girls through art and activism,” said Susan Celia Swan, Executive Director at V-Day. “Since the inception of “The Vagina Monologues,” V-Day has worked with local volunteers and college students to produce performances of the play as a means to raise awareness about sexual violence, creating an open artistic space for dialogue, shattering taboos and raising funds for local anti-violence organizations. As part of their V-Day activities, college activists look deeply at the issues of violence against women on their campuses and around the world. This collaboration with SAFER created a forum for our activists to assess their schools’ sexual assault policies. It has also created a snapshot overview of campus policy, that we hope will shed light on what’s working and what’s not so that together we can address this critical issue at a time when we are seeing more and more young women come forward.”
Promisingly, nearly all the policies (99.7%) assessed in the database indicate that institutions offer counseling services for students and over 90% of the policies assessed in the database indicate that schools sponsor sexual violence awareness activities. Additionally, a majority of the policies (63.2%) allow survivors to report either confidentially or anonymously.
However, overall findings in the report demonstrate that schools’ policies do not comprehensively address campus sexual assault. Many of the policies in CAP lack crucial elements and are difficult for students to access. Over 80% of policies received a composite score of a C grade or below, including almost a quarter that received an F, based on SAFER and V-Day’s criteria for a strong sexual assault policy. The highest-scoring policies received a B+.
While most schools comply with the aspects of federal law measured by SAFER and V-Day’s assessment tool, nearly one-third (32.6%) of the policies assessed in the database do not fully comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, also known as the Clery Act. Specifically, over one-tenth of the policies assessed in CAP do not explain the importance of preserving evidence after an attack; one-tenth do not state that the school will assist students in notifying the local police department; and over one-tenth do not state that the school will assist survivors with changes in academic and living arrangements.
Furthermore, most of the policies indicate that schools offer risk reduction programs with a lesser focus on primary prevention. Moreover, many policies do not address reporting barriers for survivors: less than one in five (15.9%) policies feature amnesty clauses for underage survivors who were drinking or survivors who were using other drugs at the time of their assault, and less than one-third of the policies (28.6%) state that a survivor’s dress and past sexual history may not be discussed during disciplinary proceedings.
“The findings of the study, while promising, leave much room for improvement,” said Megan McKendry, MPH, SAFER’s Policy and Research Coordinator on the study. “Unfortunately, the policies included in this report prioritize reaction over prevention. However, although the report highlights several policy shortcomings, there still exist many opportunities for positive reform.” Intense public scrutiny, effective social movements, and the federal government’s commitment to ending campus sexual violence may positively influence schools’ policies in the near future.
Based on the findings of the report, SAFER and V-Day recommend the following areas for improving sexual assault policies at U.S. colleges and universities:
- Increase the availability and accessibility of survivor resources, such as free emergency contraception after sexual assault;
- Increase primary prevention efforts and create more opportunities for students to engage meaningfully with primary prevention activities;
- Ensure that sexual assault policies are accessible to students in regard to centralized placement on schools’ websites, readability, and comprehensiveness;
- Adopt amnesty clauses to encourage reporting by survivors who may have been in violation of other school policies at the time of their assault; and
- Create more opportunities for students to participate in policy decisions.
SAFER and V-Day believe that these actions will help schools develop policies that center the needs of students and challenge rape culture on their campuses. It is SAFER and V-Day’s hope that this report will further assist student activists and their allies in their efforts to reform their schools’ policies and end sexual assault at U.S. colleges and universities.
This report only reviews findings from SAFER and V-Day’s analysis of policy submissions from a sample of 299 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. Nevertheless, SAFER and V-Day encourage readers to use the online database to explore the policies of schools that were not included in this report and invite ongoing participation in CAP by students from all types of post-secondary educational institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
SAFER and V-Day will continue to support student activists through their individual programming. SAFER continues to provide students with nationwide in-person activist trainings, activist mentoring programs, and free access to their Activist Resource Center.
Through V-Day’s college campaign, students produce benefit productions of “The Vagina Monologues” and other artistic works, films and teach-ins to raise awareness and funds for local anti-violence providers include rape crisis centers and domestic violence shelters. As part of its 2014 One Billion Rising campaign, V-Day has launched CampusRising, a campaign for college activists to connect the dots between the art and education work of their V-Day activities and the ongoing culture of rape – and accompanying policy issues – that they encounter on their campuses. Students will create and share “This is What Justice Looks Like” videos and stories with V-Day’s global community and stage CampusRising events on campus on February 14, 2014.
SAFER will be sharing key findings from the study on its blog at www.safercampus.org/blog. The full report is also available online here: http://www.safercampus.org/blog/2013/10/safer-announces-findings-of-campus-accountability-report.
# # #
Select Key Findings
| Composite Score |
- None of the policies assessed in the database scored in the A grade range.
- The highest-scoring policies assessed in the database received a B+ grade.
- Less than 1 in 5 of the policies (15.6%) assessed in the database scored in the B grade range.
- Over one-third of the policies (35.0%) assessed in the database scored in the C grade range.
- Over one-quarter of the policies (27.3%) assessed in the database scored in the D grade range.
- Over one-fifth over the policies (22.1%) assessed in the database scored in the F grade range.
- On average, the policies assessed in the database received a D+ grade.
|
| Survivor Resources |
- Nearly 7 in 10 of the policies (69.6%) assessed in the database indicate that schools provide 24-hour crisis services for survivors.
- While over half of the policies (55.0%) assessed in the database indicate that schools offer emergency contraception, only 9.7% indicate that schools provide emergency contraception to survivors at no cost.
- Very few of the policies (6.4%) assessed in the database indicate that schools offer campus services to non-school community members who are sexually assaulted by students or staff.
|
| Educational Programming |
- Nearly 40% of the policies (36.9%) assessed in the database indicate that schools employ at least one full-time staff member to work on sexual assault education and prevention.
- More than 9 in 10 of the policies (91.6%) assessed in the database indicate that schools provide awareness-raising programing.
- Half of the policies (54.7%) assessed in the database indicate that schools provide primary prevention programming.
- Very few of the policies assessed in the database indicate that schools mandate awareness-raising (17.2%) or primary prevention (12.3%) programming.
|
| Safety Initiatives |
- 9 in 10 of the policies (92.3%) assessed in the database indicate that schools provide risk reduction programming.
- Three-fourths of the policies (75.4%) assessed in the database indicate that schools equip dorms with controlled electronic access.
- Over 75% of the policies (77.9%) assessed in the database indicate that schools have installed blue lights on campus.
- Over half of the policies (51.9%) assessed in the database indicate that schools use security cameras.
|
| Formal Policy Highlights |
- One-tenth of the policies (11.7%) assessed in the database indicate that schools require students to sign a statement or otherwise attest that they have read the policy.
- Most of the policies (63.2%) assessed in the database indicate that schools allow survivors to report either confidentially or anonymously.
- Less than 1 in 5 of the policies (15.9%) assessed in the database have amnesty clauses for underage survivors who were drinking or survivors who were using other drugs at the time of their assault.
- The vast majority of the policies (88.0%) assessed in the database explicitly include the sexual assault of a man.
- Less than one-third of the policies (28.6%) assessed in the database state that a survivor’s dress and past sexual history may not be discussed during disciplinary proceedings.
- Less than one-third of the policies (31.7%) assessed in the database state procedures by which students can change the policy or raise concerns.
|
| Clery Act Compliance |
- Nearly one-third of the policies (32.6%) assessed in the database do not fully comply with the Clery Act.
- Despite Clery requirements, more than one-tenth of the policies (11.7%) assessed in the database do not explain the importance of preserving evidence.
- Despite Clery requirements, one-tenth of the policies (10.4%) assessed in the database do not state that the school will assist students in notifying the local police department.
- Despite Clery requirements, 13.5% of the policies assessed in the database do not inform survivors of interim relief measures, such as changes in academic or living situations.
|
About the Campus Accountability Project
In 2009, Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) partnered with V-Day to launch Campus Accountability Project (CAP), a national online database that allows students to submit and analyze their schools’ policies. CAP houses information about policies in an online, public and searchable database, which details what colleges and universities are doing to prevent, reduce and respond to sexual violence on campus. SAFER and V-Day developed CAP to dually function as a teaching tool for student activists looking to analyze and reform their schools’ policies and a clearinghouse for information about sexual assault policies at U.S. institutions of higher education. This online assessment tool analyzes schools’ sexual assault policies across five domains, including survivor resources, educational programming, safety initiatives, formal policy highlights, and Clery Act compliance.
About the Study
Student submissions drove sampling and outreach efforts from 2009 to 2012. In order to maximize the database’s accuracy, SAFER board members and volunteers reviewed and checked each policy submission prior to its online publication. SAFER and V-Day also generated a composite score to describe the overall quality of the policies in the database. The findings capture information about both formal and informal sexual assault policies at U.S. colleges and universities. CAP does not capture information about implementation. Examples of formal policy include student codes of conduct, official disciplinary procedures, and annual security reports mandated by the Clery Act. Examples of informal policy include written information about programs or resources located on the websites of school-affiliated health centers, police departments, equity offices, etc.
About SAFER (www.safercampus.org)
Started by Columbia University students in 2000, Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) is the only organization that fights sexual violence and rape culture by empowering student-led campaigns to reform college sexual assault policies. Run by a volunteer collective, SAFER facilitates student organizing through in-person trainings; individual support through our Activist Mentoring Program; our Campus Sexual Assault Policies Database, in collaboration with V-Day; and our Activist Resource Center, a growing online resource library and network for student organizers. SAFER firmly believes that sexual violence is both influenced by and contributes to multiple forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, and homo/transphobia, and view our anti-sexual violence work through a broader anti-oppression lens.
About V-Day
V-Day is a global activist 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 and other artistic works. The V-Day movement has raised over $100 million; educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it; crafted international educational, media, and PSA campaigns; reopened shelters; and funded over 13,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Egypt, and Iraq. V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements and awards and is one of the top-rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar. V-Day’s most recent global campaign, ONE BILLION RISING, galvanized one billion women and men on a global day of action towards ending violence against women and girls. Learn more about V-Day’s work at www.vday.org.
The World Rises for Justice
One Billion Rising for Justice Campaign Launches New Activist Tools & Resources
Over 100 Countries Already Signed on to Rise on 14 February 2014
“This is What Justice Looks Like” Project Features Videos from Haiti, the Philippines, South Africa and Syria
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Susan Celia Swan/Kate Fisher: media(at)vday.org
+1 917 865 6603
(7 October 2013) — Today, V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, and the One Billion Rising campaign announced the expansion of the One Billion Rising for Justice campaign with the launch of the “This is What Justice Looks Like” project, an activist toolkit, Events Map, and more.
The One Billion Rising for Justice campaign is rapidly building upon the energy and momentum that was created in early 2013 when one billion activists in 207 countries came together to strike, dance, and rise to end violence against women and girls. This year’s campaign is a call to women, men, and youth around the world to gather on 14 February 2014 outside places where they are entitled to justice. More than 100 countries are already signed on to Rise outside court houses, police stations, government offices, school administration buildings, work places, sites of environmental injustice, military courts, embassies, places of worship, or other public spaces for justice, marking the call to end the rampant impunity that prevails globally.
“In 2013, one billion rose around the world to end violence against women and girls in the biggest mass action in the history of the world. This year we are escalating and connecting the dots. We are rising for gender, economic, racial, environmental Justice. We are rising and dancing with our bodies, to end the violations towards our bodies and the body of the earth,” said V-Day Founder and award winning playwright Eve Ensler.
The expanded One Billion Rising website will feature activist videos, daily news updates and photos, information on joining the campaign and much more. Individuals and organizations can get involved with One Billion Rising online by adding to the thousands already signed up. The “This is What Justice Looks Like” project launches today as a forum in which activists can share their definitions of justice in the form of text, image, and video in an online collage on the campaign website. The series debuts with videos from activists in Syria, Haiti, the Philippines, South Africa and a new monologue by Eve Ensler. Contributors are encouraged to visualize what justice looks like, harnessing their power and imagination.
“Imagine, one billion women releasing their stories, dancing and speaking out at the places where they need justice, where they need an end to violence against women and girls. Join us – Rise, Release, Dance!” said One Billion Rising Director Monique Wilson.
The One Billion Rising for Justice Events Map will illustrate the worldwide scope of the movement through a searchable map that includes events planned for the 2014 Rising. Organizers are encouraged to add their events to the map to spread the word about their events and be counted among the Rising. This year, they will have the additional ability to add photos, video links, and more information than last year, utilizing the map for maximum public awareness and reach.
As the campaign enters its next phase with planning and discussions beginning in communities worldwide, the One Billion Rising For Justice article series begins with an original post from feminist theorist Zillah Eisenstein. Published today on the Huffington Post, Eisenstein’s piece is entitled “A girl/festo for ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE.” In it, she writes:
“Violence towards girls and women across this globe, both today and yesterday, is the non-exclusive unique mobilizing force that puts ONE BILLION RISING at a singular moment in history—singular in the physicist’s sense of a revolutionary moment—when the change that comes after the event totally alters what came before. Violence against women may sound like a singular focus but it is no longer such, if it ever was, given the growing complexity of global capitalism, and patriarchy and racism, and misogyny, and heterosexism. As women speak their violation; as we make the personal political; as we publicize the silences of this bravery, a new transparency, seeps elsewhere. We move from the body to the globe; from the personal to the structural, from the individual to the collective, and back again. Saying no to sexual violence harkens forth also saying no to the contamination of our streams, and water and air by greedy corporate interests and their raping of the earth through endless war.”
One Billion Rising for Justice is growing in size and scope everyday as activists around the world in over 100 countries gather to plan their risings. Some exciting examples include:
- Peru is Rising against sexual harassment, inviting the Construction Workers Union to head the campaign
- Nigeria is Rising to continue their fight to end child marriages and holding media campaigns to highlight the legalization of violence in communities
- Guatemala is Rising in support of laws to protect women and to highlight indigenous women and their vision of justice
- Bangladesh is Rising to lobby political parties to bring legislation to protect women
- Los Angeles is Rising to promote rape awareness and sexual assault in the military, engaging courts, local police and sheriff departments
- Haiti is Rising to highlight the impact of the earthquake on women and girls
- Groups across the United Kingdom are planning diverse Risings, with workshops on what justice is in the UK context, planned across the country starting this month
- The Philippines is Rising against militarization, corporate greed, mining, economic injustice and labor exploitation, and the plundering done by a corrupt government that severely impacts women and girls
- India is Rising with a focus on environmental and economic injustice, and will hold women’s tribunals leading up to 14 February
- Migrant groups around the world – led by Justice for Domestic Workers in the UK, and the Migrant Filipino workers network in 22 countries – are Rising to uphold better rights for domestic and migrant workers everywhere, and to end modern day slavery
- Mongolia is Rising with the Beautiful Hearts organization leading a campaign highlighting the effects of sexual abuse
- Italy is Risings with huge flashmobs on beaches all across the country
- Myanmar is Rising with workshops that are being held at the end of October in preparation for their campaign
- Pakistan is Rising with a V-Men campaign to engage men and boys to end violence against women and girls
- Sudan is Rising with young women leading a campaign looking at problems with the court and judiciary systems as obstacles towards gaining justice for women
To get involved with V-Day and ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE:
# # #
About One Billion Rising
One Billion Rising was the biggest mass action in human history. The campaign began as a call to action based on the staggering UN statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. On 14 February 2013, people across the world came together to strike, dance, and RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, demanding an end at last to violence against women. Over 10,000 events took place on the ground and the campaign took over media and social media worldwide for 48 hours, trending in 7 countries – 4 times in the US alone. The wildly successful grassroots campaign was covered widely by media in all corners of world including The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, and many more. www.onebillionrising.org
About V-Day
V-Day is a global activist 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 and other artistic works. The V-Day movement has raised over $100 million; educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it; crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns; reopened shelters; and funded over 13,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Egypt, and Iraq. V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements and awards and is, one of the Top-Rated organizations on both Charity Navigator and Guidestar. V-Day’s most recent global campaign, ONE BILLION RISING, galvanized over one billion women and men on a global day of action towards ending violence against women and girls. www.vday.org