One Billion Rising

One Billion Rising
Motto Strike, Dance, Rise!
Founder
Eve Ensler
Director
Monique Wilson
Website onebillionrising.org

One Billion Rising is a global movement, founded by Eve Ensler, to end rape and sexual violence against women.[1][2][3] It was started in 2012 as part of the V-Day movement. The "billion" refers to the UN statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime,[4] or about one billion.

Foundation

Founder of the movement Eve Ensler in March 2011

The campaign was initiated by playwright and activist Eve Ensler (known for her play The Vagina Monologues), and her organization V-Day.[5] The campaign was in part inspired by the Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" and pregnancy comments controversy. Ensler, shocked at Akin's statement, wrote an open letter in response.[6]

One-day events

2012

In 2012, the One Billion Rising campaign culminated in the biggest mass global action to end violence against women ever with tens of thousands of events held.[7]

On September 20, 2012, people from 160 countries had signed up to take part in the campaign.[8]

Around 5,000 organizations have joined the campaign, which has also been aided or endorsed by religious ministers, movement builders, actors Rosario Dawson, Robert Redford,[9][10] and Stella Creasy, British Labour Co-operative politician.[11]

In a video message dedicated to Jyoti Singh, the Indian student who died in December after she was gang-raped by six men on a Delhi bus, Anoushka Shankar disclosed she had been abused by a trusted friend of her parents over several years when she was a child. In her message she said she did not believe she will ever recover from the abuse she had suffered: "...as a woman I find I'm frequently living in fear, afraid to walk along at night, afraid to answer a man who asks for the time, afraid I'm going to be judged or treated in ways based on the way I might choose to dress or the make up I might choose to wear, and you know, enough is enough. I'm rising for women like Jyoti, for women like her, with the amazing women of my country I'm rising for the child in me who I don't think will ever fully recover from what happened to her."[12]

2013

2013, Farragut Square, Washington D.C.

On February 14, 2013, the rally was held in more than 190 countries.[13] The one-day event was held after a call for one billion women around the world to join together to dance in a show of collective strength.[14] The event was held on the 15th anniversary of the V-Day movement.[15] The word "billion" refers the statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime, or about one billion.[16]

2014

Known as One Billion Rising for Justice, the event was held on February 2014. Bollywood Superstar Aamir Khan, who had earlier voiced such issues through his debut TV Show Satyamev Jayate, lent his support to One Billion Rising Campaign in New Delhi.[17] In Los Angeles, a number of events were held in protest of violence against women soldiers and prisoners. A number of celebrities participated, including Jane Fonda, Anne Hathaway, Marisa Tomei, and Dylan McDermott.[18]

2015

Known as One Billion Rising Revolution, more than 200 countries will participate. In Italy, more than 100 cities will have events. All 34 provinces of Afghanistan will have events.[19]

Kimberlé Crenshaw, prominent Critical Race Theory figure and professor at UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School, has associated with One Billion Rising to help create awareness of the difficulties girls of color face in New York and Boston schools. These issues include the school-to-prison pipeline, stereotyping, and the disparity of the suspension rationales and rates compared to white girls (the rates being 10 times more likely for the former).[20]

Global coordinators

[21]

See also

References

  1. "V-Day: One Billion Rising". Huffingtonpost.com. 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  2. "Celebrating five years of women moaning | Antigua Observer Newspaper". Antiguaobserver.com. 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  3. "'This is not a women's issue, it's a global crisis': Robert Redford - video | Society | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  4. "UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Launches Campaign to End Violence against Women" (PDF). un.org/. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  5. "Capital News » African gender activists meet in Kenya over violence". Capitalfm.co.ke. 1931-11-07. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  6. "One Billion Rising: Eve Ensler, Activists Worldwide Plan Global Strike to End Violence Against Women". Democracynow.org. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
  7. "PRESS RELEASE: V-DAY’S ONE BILLION RISING IS BIGGEST GLOBAL ACTION EVER TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS". onebillionrising.org/. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  8. "News in Nepal: Fast, Full & Factual". Myrepublica.Com. 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  9. Martinson, Jane (2007-09-28). "Join the One Billion Rising campaign to end violence against women | Society". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  10. "Una campagna contro la violenza sulle donne mondiale". ilJournal.it. 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  11. Rosamund Urwin (2012-09-07). "'The misogynist abuse MPs receive is shocking – you should see the tweets I get' - Politics - News - Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  12. Nelson, Dean (2013-02-14). "Anoushka Shankar reveals sexual abuse as child". The Daily Telegraph (London).
  13. Kyivans join global rally to end violence against women, Kyiv Post (14 February 2013)
  14. "Fit for the King » FUNFARE with Ricardo F. Lo | Entertainment » Exclusive". philstar.com. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  15. Coastweek Kenya (2012-09-06). "coastweek.com". coastweek.com. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  16. "Features". Oxyweekly.com. 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  17. "Aamir Khan and Gul Panag lend their Support to One Billion Rising Campaign". IANS. Biharprabha News. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  18. BUNhttp://beverlypress.com/2015/02/v-day-puts-focus-on-violence-against-women/NY
  19. http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2015/2/12
  20. http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2015/2/12
  21. http://www.onebillionrising.org/category/global-coordinators/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to One Billion Rising.