ZONTA SAYS NO TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

16 WAYS IN 16 DAYS

NOVEMBER 25 – DECEMBER 10, 2022

Join us in saying NO to Gender-Based Violence. Together we can build a better world, safer for women and girls now, and in future generations.  

Say NO to Abuse, Trafficking, Childhood Marriage, Climate Change and lack of access to education

1. Educating girls and boys will change the world.  Zonta Club of Anchorage sponsors Dimond High School Z Club – teaching leadership, healthy relationships, and promoting volunteer activities.  An annual college scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior in recognition of their academic achievement and work in public affairs, student government and volunteer efforts.

2. Zonta delivered yellow roses for appreciation and recognition to the staff of  the Downtown Soup Kitchen Hope Center who house, feed and support women escaping abuse and homelessness.  Besides relief from fear and stress, residents are offered the promise of a better and secure future as they learn skills to transform their lives.  Zonta supplied the first commercial oven for their baking school. They now operate Feed Me Hope Bakery, operating equipment found in higher production bakeries and food service businesses.

3. Newborns in Need organized to provide the needs of premature and newborns – with special focus on families in crisis and low income families There is constant demand for  baby diapers (size 1), changing pads and wipes.  We collect and deliver… an ongoing project.

4. Teddy Bears, stuffed animals, flashlights, flares, reflective vests and hand-held radios are necessary equipment for the cars of Alaska Police and Fire Chaplains.  This need is filled by donation.  Chaplains volunteer with First Responders during critical incident situations, offering comfort, support and resources. There is continuing need for these supplies.  

5. Clothes and toiletries are given to Covenant House for teen residents who have found shelter and safety and are given absolute respect and unconditional love.  They can continue their education.  In any given year, 47% to 51% are young women.  At 19 they will graduate with assistance to find employment, their own living quarters and ability to manage their finances.  Baskets of basic kitchen supplies are filled with spices, utensils, spatula, and towels, as well as a pillow case with draw string for a Laundry Bag.

6. Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis (AWAIC) helps survivor’s bloom and take their first steps towards a new life free of domestic violence.  Help us collect warm winter coats (new or gently used), boots with tread for slippery streets, gloves, hats, socks and scarves for women and children.  
7. Alaska Child and Family was originally founded as the Jesse Lee Home in Unalaska in 1890 and has provided a home community, school and medical care to hundreds of children.  The students, when given paper and colored markers have written and drawn their interpretation of RESPECT and SUCCESS.  These incredible works of art have come from the hard work of healing past wounds.  To support their work, these revealing pictures have been displayed at the annual CHOOSE RESPECT MARCH and on a 2023 Student Art Calendar.  The public is invited to their Alaska Flag Day celebration on Sunday, July 9, 2023.  Bring the whole family for BBQ, games, live music and more!  5:30-8:30 pm. 

8. TRAFFICKING – 25,000,000 + people worldwide are victims of trafficking.  70% of them are women and girls.  The first federal prosecution of human trafficking, after legislation was enacted in 2000 was in Anchorage, Alaska.

9. EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT – Zonta USA is a member of the ERA Coalition.  In 1972 Congress passed the Amendment and sent to the states.  On January 27, 2020, Virginia voted to become the 38^th and last needed- state to meet the ¾ state ratification requirement.  After the two-year waiting period from date of ratification, the ERA is now officially in effect.  The 28^th Amendment will immediately be used to: Provide a stronger constitutional basis for prohibiting sex discrimination in the Courts;  Provide Congress more authority to pass legislation to enact laws to ensure sex equality;  Require states to update their state statutes and administrative code for compliance with the 28^th Amendment.

10. CHILD MARRIAGE is a REALLY BIG Problem in the USA.  There are No Federal Laws regulating child marriage.  Each State sets its own Legislation.  Federal Laws do not even prevent “trafficking” of child brides!  24 States do NOT have a minimum age for child marriage.  Alaska had minimum age of 14 with parental consent.  Alaska’s legislature has now increased the age to 16.  Zonta is working to pass legislation for minimum age of 18.  Alaska estimates 808 children under age 14 have married between 2000-2018.

11. CHOOSE RESPECT MARCH in downtown Anchorage is sponsored by Zonta Club.  This spring march from park to PAC feature speakers calling attention to overwhelming violence against women in State of Alaska and contributed to the passage of Bree’s Law. Zonta says NO.

12. At Hiland Mountain Correction Center, the Honor and Empower Canopy, a permanent display of 3,000 origami cranes and 150 Dream Catchers hangs from the ceiling in entry. 98% of women residents have experienced physical and/or mental abuse from their domestic partner or someone they know.  They have written their stories on scraps of paper that are folded to makes wings of cranes by creator Amber Stephens.  Dream Catchers and brilliant beads catch the light as the fly.  These women have also shared their story with markers on white T-shirts which were publicly displayed on a clothesline at the Choose Respect March.

13. CLIMATE CHANGE IN ALASKA disproportionally affects women and children.  Alaska is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the United States.  Arctic warming is four times the global rate.   Extreme weather – typhoon, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, drought and floods destroy homes, crops, economy and the infrastructure for water, sewer and power.  Many Alaskan coastal villages have been built on land that has partially or completely eroded into the sea.

14. ZONTA USA CAUCUS; zontaintl@zonta.org  Tell Congress to keep her Safe from the Start.  Gender-based violence is on the rise.  As we have seen with the crisis in Ukraine, the risk of rape, violence and exploitation increases for women and girls fleeing emergencies.  The Safe from the Start Act (House of Representatives 571 and Senate 765) would help keep women and girls safe from violence, early marriage and other injustices in emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.  The goal of the act is to reduce the incidence of gender-based violence (GBV), ensure quality support for survivors from the very beginning of emergencies though timely and effective humanitarian action, and promote standards for prevention, mitigation and response to such crises.   Ask your members of Congress today to support the passage of the Safe from the Start Act and protect women and girls from gender-based violence.

15. SUPPORT FOR LESTER B. PEARSON COLLEGE, Victoria, B.C.  Pearson College is one of eight United World Colleges established around the globe to increase understanding among people through international education and community service. Tuition is totally paid by endowment, donation and their home country.  Zonta of Anchorage, one of 15 clubs in District 8, communicate and provide holiday gifts for 17 students between the ages of 16 and 20 in 2022-23. They come from Sierra Leone, China, India, Indonesia, Canada, Ecuador, Iraq, Taiwan, Angola, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Norway, South Africa and United States.  These young people can carry tolerance and conviction to spread the message of peaceful co-existence worldwide as they return to their communities.

16. THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (VAWA) ACT IS IMPORTANT TO ALASKA.  This act takes a successful Alaska statute, Bree’s Law, and makes it a national program to educate teens about dating violence.  Another significant provision of VAWA is a federally supported pilot program that provides additional jurisdiction for tribes in remote Alaska villages to prosecute domestic violence and sexual offenders.