Taipei, Taiwan January 11-12

50 feminists and One Billion Rising coordinators from Asia met in Taipei on January 11-12, 2015 at the Asia Rises to End Violence Against Women meeting to share our stories, activism, achievements, and challenges.

We are issuing a call to the whole of Asia to join us in rising to end violence against women.

The first One Billion Rising movement started in 2012 with actions on February 14, 2013 as an invitation to the world to rise and dance for the one-in-three (one billion) women in the world who will be raped or beaten in their lifetime.

The second Rising in 2014 focused on justice because we recognized that violence against women would not stop unless perpetrators such as states, organized religions, families, schools, workplaces, the military, and other patriarchal structures are held accountable.

In 2015 the focus of the third One Billion Rising will be “revolution” to change mindsets and systems that sustain the culture of patriarchy and economic, environmental, racial and gender violence against women.

One Billion Rising is a unique event that combines art and activism, dancing, singing, poetry and drumming, unites different groups together in solidarity, is a global movement that is owned locally.

Violence against women and girls in Asia remains widespread, systemic, state-instigated, and culturally entrenched.

Women continue to experience violence at home, in public spaces, at school, at work, at the market, at bars and clubs, in the military, inside and outside, everywhere they go.

Violence is a continuum of violations including harassment, bullying, homophobia, transphobia, cyber-violence, misogynistic hate speech, assault, beating, rape, disappearance, disfiguration, mutilation, torture, trafficking, political suppression, economic exploitation, sexual war crimes, and murder.

We call on communities of women and men all over Asia to rise up against patriarchy, misogyny and exploitation in all its forms and spread the word, raise awareness, and organize campaigns that challenge the culture that breeds violence against women and girls.

We call on Asian cities and countries to declare themselves violence free zones.

We call on all social movements to use One Billion Rising and its global energy and solidarity to escalate their own existing social movements and join in strength with women and men across the region and the world.