FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

V-DAY ANNOUNCES THE ESCALATION OF GLOBAL ONE BILLION RISING CAMPAIGN:
NEW WEBSITE AND VIDEO SERIES LAUNCH TODAY

Activists, Artists, Movie stars, Ministers, Movement Builders, Members of Parliament in 160 Countries and Thousands of Organizations Sign On; 
Eve Ensler Announces Global Tour

14 February 2013 to be V-Day’s Largest Day of Action Ever

Jessica Alba, Fatou Bensouda, Rosario Dawson, Jason Day, Jane Fonda, Anne Hathaway, Donna Karan, Naomi Klein, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Thandie Newton, Yoko Ono, Laura Pausini, Ai-jen Poo, Robert Redford, Gloria Steinem, Monique Wilson & More Pledge to “Rise” To End Violence Against Women and Girls

(Sept. 24, 2012) – Today, V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, announced the escalation of its global campaign ONE BILLION RISING and the launch of OneBillionRising.org to support the rapidly growing campaign activity including video testimonies, event planning and creative actions.

ONE BILLION RISING 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. On 14 February 2013, V-Day’s 15th anniversary, activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities and women and men across the world will come together to express their outrage, strike, dance, and RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, demanding an end at last to violence against women.

With activists in 160 countries already signed on, the website (OneBillionRising.org) will serve as a hub for the global day of action planned for 14 February 2013. The site launches with a short film by Eve Ensler and South African filmmaker Tony Stroebel shot in 9 countries (vday.org/shortfilm), and the start of an ongoing video series entitled “I Am Rising….” The series coincides with a weeklong print and online video series breaking in London’s The Guardian newspaper featuring an exclusive commentary piece by Eve Ensler and video testimony from British MP Stella Creasy, as well as Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Fatou Bensouda, Ai-jen Poo, Jane Mukuninwa, Ruby Wax, and Olympian Nicola Adams, with the aim of inspiring women and men around the world to join ONE BILLION RISING.

On the heels of the escalation of ONE BILLION RISING, Eve Ensler, Award-winning playwright, activist, and V-Day founder, will embark on a world tour, with stops in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, India, China, Philippines, Britain, France, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), kicking off today in New York City, and ending on 14 February 2013, in Congo, with a One Billion Rising event that will be broadcast around the world.

“When we started V-Day 14 years ago, we had the outrageous idea that we could end violence against women,” said Ensler. “One Billion Rising is an appreciation, amplification and an escalation.  When One Billion bodies rise and dance on 14 February 2013, we will join in solidarity, purpose and energy and shake the world into a new consciousness.  Dancing insists we take up space. It has no set direction but we go there together. It’s dangerous, joyous, sexual, holy, disruptive.  It breaks the rules. It can happen anywhere at anytime with anyone and everyone. It’s free. No corporation can control it. It joins us and pushes us to go further. It’s contagious and it spreads quickly. It’s of the body. It’s transcendent.”

Since the launch of the campaign in February 2012, ONE BILLION RISING has gained incredible momentum, bringing on thousands of supporters across 160 countries and gaining the support of politicians, artists, writers, celebrities, thinkers, activists, non-profits, unions and corporations around the world. To date:

• The campaign has reached millions of activists; women and men in 160 countries signed up and participating in ONE BILLION RISING, from Afghanistan to Australia, South Africa to Great Britain, Egypt to Cuba.

• Artists, actors, and human rights activists Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Ai-jen Poo, Fatou Bensouda, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Jane Mukininwa, MP Stella Creasy, and Nicola Adams have recorded video interviews for a series in The Guardian newspaper.  The series will kick off with the publication of a new commentary piece by Ensler on the Guardian today.

• Renowned thinkers and writers Carole Bebelle, Tantoo Cardinal, Kate Clinton, Kimberle Crenshaw, Mona Eltahawy, Laura Flanders, Adam Hochschild, Derrick Jensen, Naomi Klein, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Christiane Northrup, Terry Tempest Williams, are writing pieces for the One Billion Rising website and other outlets on the linkages between poverty, war, and the environment and the pandemic of violence against women.

• Thousands of organizations including Amnesty International USA, CICAM.org, Equality Now, Global Fund for Women, Global Green USA, International Rescue Committee, NOW, Omega Institute, OXFAM Australia, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Sonke Gender Justice, and Women Thrive Worldwide will activate their networks for ONE BILLION RISING.

• Major unions in the United States are supporting the campaign, including the AFGE, AFL-CIO, AFT, Family Values at Work Coalition, Jobs with Justice, The National Domestic Workers Alliance, NNU, Restaurant Opportunities Centers, The United Steelworkers, and Working America. The largest unions in the Philippines and UK, Kilusang Mayo Uno and UNITE, have also signed on.

• ONE BILLION RISING events are confirmed in high-profile locations worldwide including St. John The Divine in NYC, San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, the steps of the British Parliament, and City of Joy in Bukavu, DRC.

• Celebrity supporters Jessica Alba, Connie Britton, Sally Field, Anne Hathaway, Donna Karan, Riley Keough, Zoe Kravitz, Jennifer Lawrence, Dylan McDermott, Idina Menzel, Thandie Newton, Yoko Ono, Laura Pausini, Lily Tomlin, Kerry Washington, Ruby Wax, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Monique Wilson, and many more, are spreading the word about the movement.

• Members of European Parliament who performed “The Vagina Monologues” in March as a cross-party call to action are organizing events across Europe including conferences and workshops hosted by MEP’s to support the campaign.

• France’s Women’s Rights Minister Minister Najat Vallaud Belkacem has signed on to support the campaign on the heels of British MP Stella Creasy’s ONE BILLION RISING workshop in UK Parliament, discussing ways to harness the power of the campaign and further legislation for women’s rights.

The new ONE BILLION RISING website will feature activist videos, daily news updates and photos, information on joining the campaign and much more. Individuals and organizations can get involved with ONE BILLION RISING by:

• Visiting www.onebillionrising.org to find out about events, get the latest news
• Following V-Day on Facebook and Twitter
• Sharing ONE BILLION RISING with your networks
• Signing up for our text message updates in the US by texting BILLION to 50555
• View the short film vday.org/shortfilm, share it
• Filming an “I Am Rising…” video and sharing it on OneBillionRising.org

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About V-Day

V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler’s award winning play The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works. In 2012, over 5,800 V-Day benefit events organized by volunteer activists in the U.S. took place around the world educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $90 million; educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it; crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns; reopened shelters; and funded over 13,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. Over 300 million people have seen a V-Day benefit event in their community. V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements including Worth Magazine’s 100 Best Charities, Marie Claire Magazine’s Top Ten Charities, one of the Top-Rated organizations on Philanthropedia/Guidestar and Great Nonprofits. www.vday.org

http://2013.onebillionrising.org/news/entry/v-day-announces-the-escalation-of-global-one-billion-rising-campaign