To kick off our 16 Days of Activism, our club’s interim president, Dr. Valerie Hume, takes an international perspective:

Violence against women is a worldwide pandemic – it crosses every social and economic class, every religion, race and ethnicity. At least one out of every three women worldwide have experienced violence during their lifetime. We in Zonta International cannot accept this – we need to use all our energy to eradicate violence against women locally and internationally through service and advocacy. – Sonja Hönig Schough, Zonta International President

Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign started in 2012 as a way to raise global awareness of, and increase actions to end, violence against women and girls.  The past biennium focussed on moving from awareness to action with new tools and resources developed to support Zonta clubs in their advocacy actions.

Via www.zontasaysno.com you will find ways that might be considered for future action:

• Prevention
  • Promote gender equal norms and violence-free environments in schools
  • Support programs that help men to change violent behavior
  • Request “safe cities”: design/lighting of public spaces, safe public transportation, etc.
• Protection
  • Request One-Stop Centers with medical/legal/social help for victims
  • Promote short-term shelters and long-term affordable housing for women and children
  • Support vocational training for victims to become self-supporting
• Prosecution
  • Request laws that clearly blame perpetrators, not victims
  • Encourage reporting of violence and give support to victims during legal processes
  • Promote training of police and legal professionals to understand the issues.