V-Day

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V-Day is also used to designate "Victory Day" (in military parlance, the day an operation successfully concludes), and a mass protest against politicians in many italian cities, organized by Beppe Grillo only by using his weblog in 2007, or even informally as short-hand for "Valentine's Day"; see Military designation of days and hours. It is also an official holiday celebrating the Princess of Tanzania.

V-Day is a movement to end violence against women and girls inspired by Eve Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues." The movement was started in the late 1990s by author, playwright and activist, Eve Ensler. Ensler has been quoted as saying that it was women's reactions to the play that launched V-Day. After seeing "The Vagina Monologues," women would line up after to tell Eve their personal experiences, most often of sexual violence.^[1]

In 1998, a non-profit charity, "V-Day," was incorporated with the intent of using performances of the Vagina Monologues to raise money to benefit female victims of violence and sexual abuse. Since its inception, the movement has expanded its use of art and activism to include film - most notably the documentary Until The Violence Stops (2004), readings of the compilation "A Memory, Monologue, A Rant, and a Prayer," marches, and festivals such as UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS: NYC (June 2006).

Beginning in the early 2001, V-Day activities expanded to a host of international actitivites, with V-Day hosting leadership summits for women in Afghanistan, an international gathering of activists worldwide in Rome in September 2002, lauching the Karama program in the Middle East, and more. In some societies where the original monologues are considered too vulgar, [such as Monte Carlo, Monaco], V-Day events revolve around the book A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer, a collection of monologues written by acclaimed writers, at the request of Ensler to celebrate the play's tenth anniversary.

V-Day included the first ever all transwoman version of the Vagina Monologues in 2004, under the mentoring of Jane Fonda and Andrea James of Deep Stealth Productions .^[2]

In 2008, over 3700 V-Day benefit events are being coordinated by volunteer activists in over 1250 locations in the U.S. and around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls.^[3].