Violence against women is a critical issue.
While the statistic for violence against women varies within each city, county, state and country, the United Nations states that, globally, one in three women on the planet will be raped, beaten or sexually abused in their lifetime.
Do the math – that’s one billion mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and nieces. One billion women violated is an atrocity.
The Petaluma Police Department alone states there were 152 reported domestic violence incidents in 2011 (many more go unreported). Additionally, in Petaluma we’ve lost five young women to this violence in recent years: Polly Klaas (1993), Georgia Moses (1997), Kimberly DeLongis (2002), Buapha Mullennix (2010), and Kim Baucom (2012).
V-Day.org is inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to walk out, dance, rise up, and demand an end to this violence on 14 February 2013.
ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers and our solidarity across borders. One Billion women dancing is a revolution!
ONE BILLION RISING is a global strike, an invitation to dance, a call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends. It’s also an act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers, a refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given; a new time and a new way of being.
Relationship abuse does not discriminate against age, race, sexual orientation, religion, gender, educational background or income level. It effects not only the immediate family, it also impacts the community as a whole.
Numerous One Billion rising events have been scheduled in the Bay Area, including a Valentine’s Day event at the Lucchesi Community Center. For more information, visit OneBillionRising.org.
Join us, along with over 182 other countries, in RISING and saying “No More!” to the violence.
Trisha Almond is a Navy veteran and founder of Guided to Safety, a Petaluma organization that provides domestic violence and sexual assault awareness resources, prevention and education for both men and women. In 2011, Almond was named Petaluma Woman of the Year for her work.
