District 6 Advocacy News and Events
Kankakee Wrap a Truck Human Trafficking/Zonta Says No
Zonta Club of Kankakee celebrated its 60th anniversary this spring by unveiling a new approach to stop human trafficking. Unveiled at their Anniversary Dinner was a 55-foot semi-truck, wrapped in full color with imagery, text and a toll-free help number as part of Zonta’s anti-violence against women campaign.
This new campaign was made possible through support of Hoekstra Transportation of St. Anne Illinois. Hoekstra donated three of its trucks to be wrapped, each spreading the word while traveling thousands of miles over seven Midwest states. “The purpose of these trucks is to get peoples’ attention to how prolific the problem [of sex trafficking] is,” said Jake Lee, of Hoekstra Transportation.
The Wisconsin Women’s Network on May 7th features “Faces of Human Trafficking Today,” led by JoAnn Gruber-Hagen, Chair of SlaveFree Madison
International Women’s Day Advocacy Action by Area 2 Clubs
This year’s International Women’s Day observance in Area 2 took place in Madison, WI on Friday March 8th. It was produced by a committee from the Zonta Clubs of Beloit, Janesville, Milwaukee and Madison. The theme utilized Zonta International’s anti-violence campaign “ZONTA Says No to Violence”.
The day included inspirational quotes from participants; presentations of issues on Domestic Violence by Tony Gibart of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on Sexual Assault by Kelly Anderson of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, and on Human Trafficking by Zontian JoAnn Gruber-Hagen; Advocacy Training by Sabrina Gentile of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families; one-on-one visits with our legislators or their staffs; and a Rally in the Capitol Rotunda. We also celebrated the passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act signed by President Obama that day.
The event had 27 registrants, 23 of whom were Zontians, 3 were students in the UWM School of Social Welfare, and the President of the Madison Chapter of the International League for Peace and Freedom. We also accommodated a surprise visit by 15 women from ARC Community Services, Inc., a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)3 agency that provides innovative, women responsive, strengths-based, family focused, community-based wraparound services since 1976, to women and their children/families.
Members of the Zonta Club of Madison were instrumental in making this event so successful, locating an excellent meeting room provided at no cost by Boardman & Clark LLP Law Firm across the street from the Capitol as well as developing training and informational materials.
The attendance and outcomes exceeded our expectations. Participants gained insights into three major advocacy issues and developed their advocacy skills through training and speaking with legislators or their staff. Each participant received a copy of the “Legislative Advocacy Guide” prepared by the WI Council on Children & Families. In turn, the legislators and staff learned more about International Women’s Day and Zonta International.
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The Zonta Club of Columbus, IN and International Women’s Day
On March 7th and 8th, the Zonta Club of Columbus celebrated International Women’s Day by inviting Loung Ung to speak. Loung was trained as a child soldier during the Khmer Rouge Regime in Cambodia. Her parents and baby sister were executed and another sister died from starvation related diseases. She shared her story about the violence during the conflict which lasted over 4 years and how she has taken her anger and doing good for her country. She and others started a foundation that raises money for prostheses for Cambodians who lose limbs from the land mines planted during the conflict. There are over 40,000 mines still planted and about 18,000 Cambodians lose limbs each year from stepping on them. These were planted in fields, woods etc to keep people from trying to escape to other countries. Loung spoke to both of our High Schools’ History students March 8th sharing her story but also discussed bullying, hate and other acts of violence. She spoke to the public on March 7th.
Cindy Felsten, District 6 Indiana Advocacy Liaison
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February 28, 2013: International Women’s Day Breakfast at ZI Headquarters
District 6 Governor Linda Hiltabrand and ZI Foundation Development Director Jacqueline Beaudry enjoying the breakfast and celebrating the passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act
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February 14, 2013: One Billion Rising Event
Here is a photo taken at the One Billion Rising event held on Monument Circle in Indianapolis on 2-14. Joy Brinduse was the only Zontian there, but her granddaughter, Alanna and her daughter Rachel (both friends of Zonta) were there. Alanna’s mother is a Zontian. As you can see from the pictures, they were also advocating for the Violence against Women Act. They have whistles in our mouths that they passed out at the event!
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Feb. 6th The Indiana Commission for Women (ICW) held a Women’s Day at the Statehouse
The Indiana Commission for Women held listening sessions around the state 2 years ago about what are the big issues concerning women. There were 5 top issues that came out of the sessions consistently:
Work Based Issues – especially the wage gap
Health Based Issues
Care Giving
Violence Against Women
Leadership
All women’s organizations were invited to attend Feb. 6th. Each issue was presented by a expert in the area and questions/answers followed each session. Zonta was represented with members from Indianapolis and Columbus. Indiana has some very good laws concerning Violence Against Women but we need to work toward more funding for agencies and we need to work educating our communities about the issue.
Cindy Felsten, Zonta District 6 Indiana Advocacy Liaison
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January 3, 2013 |
Contact: June Zeitlin, 917-841-0702, zeitlin@civilrights.org Don Kraus, 202-365-0890, dkraus@globalsolutions.org |
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More Than 100 Organizations Urge Senate to Ratify Treaty on the Rights of Women Record Number of Senate Women Fuels Momentum for Ratification of UN Treaty Declaring Women’s Rights Are Human Rights WASHINGTON – With a historic number of women elected to the U.S. Senate, more than 100 organizations today co-signed a letter to Senators and urged them to make ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a priority in the 113th Congress. CEDAW, a landmark international agreement that affirms principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world, has the strong support of President Obama. The letter, spearheaded by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and GlobalSolutions.org, was hand-delivered to all Senate offices on the first day of the new session of Congress. Below is the full text of the letter: January 3, 2013 To the Honorable Members of the United States Senate: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to urge you to make ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) a priority for the United States Senate in the 113th session of Congress. The record breaking number of women who will serve in the 113th Congress lends significant momentum for the United States to increase its global leadership role on women’s rights issues. Twenty female Senators will either return to or take office in the Senate—a truly historic accomplishment. CEDAW is a landmark international agreement that affirms principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world. It is a practical blueprint for each country to achieve progress for women and girls. CEDAW is already making a difference for women and girls worldwide, specifically by strengthening civil society’s efforts to persuade governments to respect women’s human rights and adopt policies to reduce sex trafficking and domestic violence, provide access to education and vocational training, ensure the right to vote, end forced and child marriages, secure inheritance rights, and ensure the right to work and own a business without discrimination. Ratification of CEDAW would strengthen the United States’ standing as a global leader in standing up for women and girls. To date, the United States is one of only seven countries that have not yet ratified CEDAW. It is essential that the U.S. ratify CEDAW and continue to play a leadership role in advancing women’s and girls’ rights globally. The signatories of this letter call on the U.S. Senate to advance women’s human rights, not just for women in the United States but for all women worldwide, by ratifying this convention now. Sincerely, Zonta International |
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Beginning August 1, 2012, a key provision of the Affordable Care Act went into effect, making preventive care more accessible and affordable for 47 million women. Women enrolled in new or renewed insurance plans will be able to access a wide range of preventive health services without co-pays or additional out-of-pocket costs. The new package of health benefits for women includes access to contraceptive services; requires insurers to cover mammograms, pap tests and screening for gestational diabetes; domestic violence screening and counseling; breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling; HPV testing; screening for sexually transmitted infections and counseling for sexually-active women; and HIV screening and counseling. And beginning in 2014, women can no longer be charged more than men for the same health plans and can no longer be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
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On January 31, 2012, The Mayor and City Council of Berkeley, California adopted the “Operative Principles of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women”. This was no mere resolution. It established Chapter 13.20 in the Berkeley Municipal Code “to protect the public health, safety and welfare. It does this by seeking to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women within the city.” To read that ordinance, see: http://www.mcli.org/CEDAW%20Ordinance%202012-02-14.pdf
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In 1998, the City of San Francisco passed their CEDAW ordinance. To learn more, see the City & County of San Francisco’s Dept. on the Status of Women: http://www.sfgov3.org/index.aspx?page=2904