Rise Above the Violence

V-day is a global movement to end violence against women. It was started by the brilliant Eve Ensler, a playwright and activist who wanted to empower and improve the lives of women around the world. In 1994, she wrote ‘The Vagina Monologues’ which started out on Broadway in the form of plays in New York and mushroomed to events all over the world.

This powerful V-Day movement takes place on Valentine’s Day of every year, with this year marking the 15th anniversary. This year V-Day embarked on what is considered its most ambitious campaign yet, titled, ‘One Billion Rising.’ The vision and concept of the campaign is to bring awareness to the fact that over 1 billion women in the world will be impacted by violence of some kind. This measures to approximately 1 out of 3 women experiencing violence in their lifetime. One may get involved in many was, such as attending events locally or by organizing an event themselves. Community members, non-profits, students, and theater groups are all commonly involved in organizing these events which take place well beyond Valentine’s Day.

I was able to experience the event myself in Durham, NC sponsored by The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Being in a room with so many fierce and strong women gave me hope that perhaps we can change the world. The show was amazingly put together. The Violence Against Women Act was up for re-authorization this year and it was advocated for through out the night. The evening was a mix of dance music, poems, short films, speakers, and preforming arts that was an ode to justice for women and all people. The theme of rising above the silence was echoed through out the night…“We rise for justice! We rise for peace! We rise for equality!” This is a beautiful message of a world rising up against injustice, and giving a voice to those that have been afraid to speak.

Written by Lydia Long, SW Student
SJS Staff Writer