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ONE BILLION RISING: REVOLUTION – SOLIDARITY TO END THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN

RISE, DISRUPT, CONNECT

2017 THEME/PLANS ANNOUNCED AS CAMPAIGN ENTERS ITS FIFTH YEAR

RISINGS TO SHARPEN VISIBILITY OF THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN WITH A FOCUS ON VIOLENCE TOWARDS WOMEN WORKERS IN ALL THEIR SPACES OF WORK 

New Solidarity Rising Blog Series Begins, Launch Events Happening Across the Globe, New Video Features Voices of Global Coordinators 

Using Dance as a Form of Protest, OBR Activists Call for Solidarity & an End to the Exploitation of Women & Girls

19 September 2016 – Today, One Billion Rising announced the fifth year of the campaign and theme: Solidarity to End the Exploitation of Women. Developed by the One Billion Rising global coordinators at their annual meeting in Lopud, Croatia (link to blog), the 2017 campaign will sharpen the focus and visibility to the exploitation of women, and to harness even stronger global solidarity to demand an end to violence against women in all forms.

Through the collective efforts of activists in 200 countries, the campaign has mobilised, engaged, awakened and joined people worldwide to end violence against women. It has made violence against women a global human issue not relegated to country or tribe or class or religion, and revealed it as a patriarchal mandate, present in every culture of the world.

1 in 3 women across the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. That’s ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. Every February through March 8th, thousands of Risings take place in hundreds of countries across the world and within local communities – to show the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors of various forms of violence face. THIS YEAR, WE ARE RISING IN SOLIDARITY AGAINST THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN.

In conjunction with today’s announcement, OBR released its newest short video featuring the voices of Global Coordinators on Exploitation and Solidarity. In cities across the globe, activists are hosting launch events in Denmark, Hong Kong, Belgium, UK, Nepal, Mexico, Kosovo, Philippines, Zimbabwe, Santa Fe, Swaziland, NYC, Hong Kong and Guatemala. After today, local activists will begin planning their rising activities, artistic events and protests for 2017 with a central unity towards ending violence against women and girls as part of the global One Billion Rising movement. This year’s focus on exploitation of women in the workplace, the home, economically and environmentally reflects the growing global economic inequality and oppression women face.

“Exploitation is the ugliest form of human act against those who are denied voice and life of dignity. While it is primarily an economic term, it is the daily experience of women inside and outside the home as their labour is extracted from their bodies as we extract natural resources of the mother earth.” – Abha Bhaiya OBR India Coordinator

“Solidarity is to RISE as one – against neoliberalism, patriarchy, militarism – and all their allied evils. And to fight for our liberation as women – and for the liberation of all oppressed people. – Sharon Cabusao, writer/ activist/ former political prisoner (OBR Philippines)

“Women’s solidarity means that Ours are not more trustworthy then Others.  It means we chose compassion, to have consciousness about ourselves and the other at the same time.  There is no war in the world if I cherish myself and the Other who is different then me.” – Lepa Mladjenovic, V-Day/ OBR Belgrade

RISE! – Understanding Exploitation

Exploitation is the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work and the action of making use of and benefiting from resources.  For women and girls, they are rendered more vulnerable to abuse of power in all areas – the home, in the workplace, and economically – when they have few or no options for survival.  Risings worldwide in 2017 will demand an end ALL forms of exploitation of women and girls.

Disrupt!

When people dance around the world, and when they Rise for revolution using art as a creative resistance – it is a global defiant demand to hold governments, institutions of authority and power, and other perpetrators accountable for their actions. Collective artistic action has the power to incite and mobilize, to arouse, awaken and inspire people to come together in one unified purpose as both a local and global community. It is a creative force that carries with it hope and will powerful enough to transform our present global structure of patriarchy and capitalist greed into a new world with justice and freedom at its core.  In the last fours years of the campaign we have seen DANCE remain and intensify as a wild, bold and radical embodiment of celebration, demand, protest and hope.

Connect! Why Solidarity?

The call for Solidarity reflects the growth of the campaign and the tent of ideas, networks and groups that are responding to the global call to RISE. Because a gathering of people joined in their determination for change puts pressure and accountability on state agencies, as well as cultural and international institutions, on their responsibility to prioritize ending violence against women and girls. Because unity creates hope – and hope creates strength for a shared vision. This vision escalates Art as both a powerful personal and collective form of protest and creative resistance. Because working together on global themes – allowing broad and deeper connectedness with other campaigns and movements – and facilitating a more pronounced awareness and education on global issues on a local level – gives opportunity to connect the global issues to local issues. Because being connected encourages inclusivity – and this continues and sustains diversity of participation  - from youth groups and students, older and new generation activists and feminists, media, bloggers, artists, academics, teachers, men and boys of all ages. Because harnessing cohesive purposeful action enables Artistic and Political strategies to combine as a powerful joint tool to escalate the Revolution call. Because when people come together, power is handed back to the people, not to governments or institutions.

Because there can be no REVOLUTION without SOLIDARITY. We cannot call for system change – change of mindsets; change of structures that keep violence in place; change in consciousness, awareness and understanding of violence; the end of patriarchal values and cultures; change in policies that affect women economically, socially, sexually, racially, physically, emotionally; the end of the revolving patterns of control, oppression and exploitation – ALONE.  Solidarity is radical connection. This revolution demands commitment, courage, trust, belief, and LOVE.

Sharing Solidarity, Amplifying the Voices of the Movement

The website – onebillionrising.org – will act as a global platform for local activists. New videos will be launched over the course of the campaign, the first “End Exploitation, Strengthen Solidarity” will feature the Global Coordinators on the 2017 themes and was shot in Croatia in June. A new blog series entitled “Rising Solidarity” will foreground voices of the movement including Sharon Cabusao (Philippines), Neli Delgado (Mexico), Colani Hlatjwako (Swaziland), Chi Hui-Jung (Taiwan), Donna Hylton (USA), Lepa Mladjenovic (Belgrade), Yanar Mohammed (Iraq), and more to come. In October a special web feature will launch, a space for activists to share their messages of solidarity via photo, video and text. The site will also offer an activist toolkit, new logos and easily sharable memes, stencils, and more. Hashtags for the campaign include: #1BillionRising, #Un Billón de Pie, #RiseInSolidarity, #Rise4Workers, #WorkersRising, #RiseAgainstExploitation, and more will develop over the course of the campaign and leading up to 14 February

Rising in solidarity in 2017, activists and grassroots groups will mobilize en masse with one voice to end the exploitation of women and girls.

SOLIDARITY AGAINST THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN

RISE! DISRUPT! CONNECT! 

RISE 2017!

 

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About One Billion Rising One Billion Rising is the biggest mass action to end violence against women in human history. The campaign, launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. Every February through 8 March, thousands of Risings take place in hundreds of countries across the world and within local communities – to show the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors of various forms of violence face.

One Billion Rising began with the fierce struggle against sexual and physical violence – taking on the advocacy against rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex trafficking that V-Day campaigns have been at the forefront of. Over the last four years, it has also brought in economic violence and the violence of poverty, racial violence, gender violence, violence caused by growing environmental disasters and plunder, violence impacting women in the context of state sponsored wars, militarization, and the worsening internal and international displacement of millions of people, and violence created by capitalist greed, corruption, occupation and aggression.

Through the collective efforts of activists in 200 countries, One Billion Rising has mobilised, engaged, awakened and joined people worldwide to end violence against women. It has made violence against women a global human issue not relegated to country or tribe or class or religion, and revealed it as a patriarchal mandate, present in every culture of the world.

ONE BILLION RISING: REVOLUTION is an energy, a platform, a global movement, a catalyst, a worldwide decision to end violence against women, a demand for justice, a paradigm shift, an invitation, a gathering of the ready, housed everywhere, housed in our hearts, you, us, REVOLUTION.