Billion Women Rising Miami. link to main billion women website- http://www.onebillionrising.org/
What is ONE BILLION RISING?
About One Billion Rising
One Billion Rising was created by Eve Ensler : Activist, feminist, performer, activist and writer of of the ‘Vagina Monologues”.
It 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.
On 14 February 2013, people across the world came 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.
On 14 February 2014, One Billion Rising for Justice focused on the issue of justice for all survivors of gender violence, and highlighted the impunity that lives at the intersection of poverty, racism, war, the plunder of the environment, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. For the third year of the campaign, One Billion Rising’s global coordinators chose the theme of “Revolution” as an escalation of the demand for justice, and to build upon the massive efforts of communities worldwide that also looked at the roots and causes of violence as part of their call for justice.
On 14 February 2015, millions of activists in over 200 countries gathered to Rise for REVOLUTION, to change the paradigm, demanded accountability, justice and systematic CHANGE. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable. The campaign was covered widely by media in all corners of world.
The Billion Women Rising Miami chapter was started by Miami Wonder Women: Lisa Schejola Akin and Marya Meyer.
I don’t have enough room on this page to write the great words I have in my heart about these two cool ladies. Their class and elegance have helped with my transition in moving from NYC to Miami- which was quite a culture shock.
Working in Gender Based Violence in Haiti I was excited to join in with the Rising, along with many other great local volunteers including Britta and Silvia. Millions participated in cities in over 200 countries bringing the rising to the biggest movement in the world. This year we included hundreds of students from Miami high schools and Miami-Dade college students who were encouraged to participate in open panels to discuss the local issues of Miami being the 3rd highest sex trafficked state in USA.
I don’t really care for the word feminist- i like to think of myself as more of a ‘humanist’ because its important not to scare men away by shutting them out but by joining together in unity in the fight against gender based violence.
In 2015 My husband Albert started V Men, to enable men to rise against physical and sexual violence toward women and men.
Please join the movement!####
About V MEN
Hello my friends, Albert here at your service. It has been my honor to participate in V-Day activities along side my wife for the last three years. We have made a lasting impact and continue to grow the movement year over year. That said, one thing was clearly evident during the first two years of planning and participating in V-Day activities, men were absent. You would run into a token man that was there to support their wife or girlfriend, but never more than a handful. It was clear that this issue was not reaching men, which in many cases are the main perpetrators of physical and sexual abuse of women. We needed to do something, but what? Any initiative that sheds a light on the fact, could quickly turn off men. Who would want to be typecast as a victim, criminal or feminist?
It came down to owning it. By participating in the first two years, I listened to story after story of abuse. Surprisingly, there were quite a few stories of men being abused. I started to see it from both sides. I also had no choice but to reflect on my own past and day by day try to put to rest my own demons. I started to feel down that I had not lived a perfect life. I had not honored every woman in my life. I had not shown them the respect they deserved. I began to be more critical of myself. I realized that I only had shed a half light on my life, shinning light on the moments I wanted to remember and keeping in the dark the ones I wanted to forget. This is when I learned the most important lesson, forgiveness. I realized this movement was more than just putting perpetrators behind bars, it was about forgiveness, healing and transcending violence and its root causes.
I knew this would not happen by asking a bunch of men to just show up. Moreover, I did not want a bunch of men bystanders. I was looking for change from within, a platform and pledge that men can get behind, educate other on and own each day. The only way to address this properly was from a man’s perspective. It also came down to unity versus alienation. We as men have been acculturated that being macho is masculine. This is a false truth. This male chauvinistic ideal and general sexualization of women has been ingrained in most young men from an early age. This was going to be hard to overcome. The reality is that another thing that has been ingrained in young men at an early age is brotherhood. I knew this was the answer. If we can develop a brotherhood that listened, helped, engaged, supported, protected and served each other we have a fighting chance. This is how V MEN was born.
Since then we have held meet-ups, supported various social media campaigns against violence, even stood side-by-side with the Mayor of Miami, the Superintended of Miami and Chief of Police, all men and took the pledge to part of V Men. We pledge to be vigilant and stand up when we see abuse. Most of all, we promised to reflect, resolve and forgive ourselves and each other for our past actions, so that we can transcend violence and truly respect women, girls, men and boy as fellow HUMANS! V Men is now growing and looking for student and community ambassadors. Please feel free to sign up here to learn more. Just reference V Men in your message.
Lets us all be part of the brotherhood of V Men that value women and men as partners! With respect, we can all own it!
Here is poem from Walt Whitman. Let it shed some light.
Poem of a Women
by: Walt Whitman
UNFOLDED only out of the folds of the
woman, man comes unfolded, and is always
to come unfolded,
Unfolded only out of the superbest woman of the
earth is to come the superbest man of the
earth,
Unfolded out of the friendliest woman is to come
the friendliest man,
Unfolded only out of the perfect body of a
woman, can a man be formed of perfect body,
Unfolded only out of the inimitable poem of
the woman can come the poems of man —
only thence have my poems come,
Unfolded out of the strong and arrogant woman
I love, only thence can appear the strong
and arrogant man I love,
Unfolded by brawny embraces from the well-
muscled woman I love, only thence come the
brawny embraces of the man,
Unfolded out of the folds of the woman’s brain,
come all the folds of the man’s brain, duly
obedient,
Unfolded out of the justice of the woman, all jus-
tice is unfolded,
Unfolded out of the sympathy of the woman is all
sympathy;
A man is a great thing upon the earth, and
through eternity—but every jot of the great-
ness of man is unfolded out of woman,
First the man is shaped in the woman, he can
then be shaped in himself.
