Patricia Sands

Author

The Vagina Monologues

V-DAY 2013 – HOW WILL YOU RISE UP?

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images There will be plenty of blog posts about hearts and flowers this week. As people all over the globe celebrate this very commercial day of spreading love … and I’m all for the sentiment behind it … I’m asking you to take some time to put thought and effort into another kind of expression of love for February 14th.

The V-Day 2013 call to action this year is “ONE BILLION RISING“. Exciting and energizing, by participating in One Billion Rising, you’re showing the world that violence against women and girls is the central issue of our time and will no longer be tolerated. Your involvement will help send the message that this movement is an unstoppable global force.

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Here’s the scoop.

Today, on the planet, a billion women – one of every three women  – will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. That’s ONE BILLION mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, and friends violated. V-Day REFUSES to stand by as more than a billion women experience violence.

On February 14th, 2013, V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, we are inviting one billion women and those who love them to walk out, DANCE, RISE UP, AND DEMAND an end to this violence. One Billion Rising is a promise that we will rise up with women and men worldwide to say, “Enough! The violence ends now.”

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN START A RISING – Stage a rising in your community, office, college, or school. Organize a flash mob at a landmark building/site, in the streets or in a nearby mall. Have a dance party, produce a theatrical event, march in your streets, protest, strike, dance and above all RISE! GET STARTED. Or just rise up and dance by yourself or with your special valentine, it all counts!

In case you aren’t familiar with this movement, it’s time you were. We all need to be involved. I’m copying text here from my message last Valentine’s Day. Click here to go back and read the entire post. You will be glad you did! Want to enjoy some tunes while you read? Click on the Music To Rise To link.

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WHAT IS V-DAY? A global movement to stop violence against women and girls by raising funds and increasing awareness, V-Day has its roots in Valentine’s Day, February 14, and the award-winning play The Vagina Monlogues, written by Eve Ensler. Click here for the official website.
An activist and playwright, Eve Ensler founded V-Day on February 14, 1998, when she organized a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The event sold out the 2500-seat venue and raised $250,000 for local NYC anti-violence groups. Among the 20 actors performing in the first V-Day production were Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Winona Ryder, Calista Flockhard, Margaret Cho, Gloria Steinem, and Eve Ensler herself.

In 1999, V-Day launched its College Campaign with 66 participating schools across North America performingThe Vagina Monologues; over 20,000 people attended V-Day events. Over in the UK, a benefit performance at London’s Old Vic Theatre featured Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Isabella Rosellini, Christiane Amanpour, and Gillian Anderson.

In 2000, the College Campaign expanded to 150 colleges and universities around the globe. In 2001, a February 10th V-Day performance in New York City’s Madison Square Garden sold out 18,000 seats and raised $1 million. Also that year, the Worldwide Campaign took off; V-Day events in over 40 cities raised over $350,000 to local organizations.

By V-Day’s tenth anniversary in February 2008, thousands of benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues (including a run on Broadway) had raised over 50 million dollars for anti-violence programs around the world. Over 120 countries have staged V-Day events.

In 14 years, the V-Day movement has raised over 90 million dollars and can be found  in 167 countries from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Caribbean and all of North America.

Are you familiar with V-Day? Will you be rising up andSYP letting your voice be heard? This is not just a women’s issue so encourage your sweetheart to join you this year!

Thanks to writer/blogger Emmie Mears for introducing me to V-Day last year.

February 14th is V-Day – not just hearts and flowers

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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 

As people all over the globe celebrate this very commercial day of spreading love … and I’m all for the sentiment behind it … I’m asking you to take some time to put thought and effort into another kind of call to action for February 14th.

V-Day is an organized response against violence toward women.

V-Day is a vision: We see a world where women live safely and freely.

V-Day is a demand: Rape, incest, battery, genital mutilation and sexual slavery must end now.

V-Day is a spirit: We believe women should spend their lives creating and thriving rather than surviving or recovering from terrible atrocities.

V-Day is a catalyst: By raising money and consciousness, it will unify and strengthen existing anti-violence efforts. Triggering far-reaching awareness, it will lay the groundwork for new educational, protective, and legislative endeavors throughout the world.

V-Day is a process: We will work as long as it takes. We will not stop until the violence stops.

V-Day is a day. We proclaim Valentine’s Day as V-Day, to celebrate women and end the violence.

V-Day is a fierce, wild, unstoppable movement and community. Join us!

V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery. Click here for the official website and information about how you can participate and spread the word.

Question: What is V-Day?
Answer: A global movement to stop violence against women and girls by raising funds and increasing awareness, V-Day has its roots in Valentine’s Day, February 14, and the award-winning play The Vagina Monlogues, written by Eve Ensler.
 An activist and playwright, Eve Ensler founded V-Day on February 14, 1998, when she organized a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The event sold out the 2500-seat venue and raised $250,000 for local NYC anti-violence groups. Among the 20 actors performing in the first V-Day production were Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Winona Ryder, Calista Flockhard, Margaret Cho, Gloria Steinem, and Eve Ensler herself.In 1999, V-Day launched its College Campaign with 66 participating schools across North America performingThe Vagina Monologues; over 20,000 people attended V-Day events. Over in the UK, a benefit performance at London’s Old Vic Theatre featured Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Isabella Rosellini, Christiane Amanpour, and Gillian Anderson.

In 2000, the College Campaign expanded to 150 colleges and universities around the globe. In 2001, a February 10th V-Day performance in New York City’s Madison Square Garden sold out 18,000 seats and raised $1 million. Also that year, the Worldwide Campaign took off; V-Day events in over 40 cities raised over $350,000 to local organizations.

By V-Day’s tenth anniversary in February 2008, thousands of benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues (including a run on Broadway) had raised over 50 million dollars for anti-violence programs around the world. Over 120 countries have staged V-Day events.

Although V-Day is most closely associated with Valentine’s Day, V-Day events typically take place anywhere from February through April.

According to the V-Day website, “The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.” The V-Day logo is a simple graphic interpretation (using a standard computer/typewriter keyboard) of that portion of the female anatomy:

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Eve has raised over $85 million dollars to stop violence against women. She has helped found a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo where statistics show approximately 48 women are raped per hour. A city where women can go to be safe and heal and learn. It’s called the City of Joy.The hope for the Democratic Republic of the Congo lies in the women of that land. Dr. Denis Mukwege is helping to make sure that hope is not snuffed out. Partnered with Eve Ensler, they have founded the City of Joy, which is a place women can go to recover more fully, to learn skills, and to become whole again. It opened last year, and its first class just graduated.

February 14th is V-Day. Take time to celebrate as you wish but please also help share the message of hope that this powerful movement embodies. Take some action, no matter how small. Tweet about it #vday. Tell everyone you know. Donate. Create dialogue in whatever way works for you.

I would not have known so much about this had I not been reading the inspiring and painfully honest posts Emmie Mears has been sharing on her blog. She has a powerful voice. Go there. I’ll end this with the final words on today’s post on Emmie’s blog.

“Together we can affect change. Together we can break the silence.

Until the Violence Stops.”

Are you aware of the V-Day movement? Have you seen The Vagina Monologues performed anywhere? Do you know of  programs in your area that work toward educating men and women about these issues? Thanks for doing whatever you can to help share the messages of the V-Day movement.