At the conclusion of the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women welcomes the outcome of the meeting. The Agreed Conclusions are a testimony to the commitment of Member States to do the right thing, to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls. In the last two weeks during the meeting in New York, and in the lead-up to this session, we witnessed global engagement and mobilization, high-profile advocacy by civil society, and determined leadership by many Member States. Expectations of the world’s women and girls were extremely high for this session of the Commission.
Violence against women is a universal problem that requires, and has now received, a universal response. Violence occurs in multiple forms in all countries and settings; it harms women and their families and communities, impedes development, and costs countries billions of dollars annually in healthcare costs and lost productivity. In 2003, when the Commission took up violence against women and human rights, Member States were unable to reach agreement. Thus I am particularly heartened that agreement was reached this year to end violence against women and girls. This agreement comes in unison with rising voices worldwide saying enough is enough.
The document adopted by the Commission condemns in the strongest terms the pervasive violence against women and girls, and calls for increased attention and accelerated action for prevention and response. UN Women welcomes the important focus on prevention, including through education and awareness-raising, and addressing gender inequalities in the political, economic and social spheres. The best way to end violence against women is to stop it from happening in the first place.
The document highlights the importance of putting in place multi-sectoral services for survivors of violence, including for health, psychological support and counseling, social support in the short and long term. It draws attention to the need for services to protect the right to sexual and reproductive health. Punishment of perpetrators is also highlighted as a critical measure to end impunity, as is the need to improve the evidence base and availability of data to inform an effective response.
By adopting this document, governments have made clear that discrimination and violence against women and girls has no place in the 21st century. They have reaffirmed their commitment and responsibility to undertake concrete action to end violence against women and girls and promote and protect women’s human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The agreement is one step more for realizing the rights and dignity of women and girls. But we cannot stop here. We need to do so much more. Words now need to be matched with deeds, with action. Now is the time for implementation and accountability. We must continue moving forward with courage, conviction and commitment.
UN Women, together with our partners in the UN system, will continue to advance the rights of women and girls through strong and coordinated support. We will work with Member States to turn the Agreed Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women into concrete results for women and girls.
We will move forward and build on the basis of the international agreements on women’s rights reached over many years, as articulated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and other agreements and treaties.
There is no turning back. We will keep moving forward to the day when women and girls can live free of fear, violence and discrimination. The 21st century is the century of inclusion and women’s full and equal rights and participation.
Today is the Day 4 of the 2012 international “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.” November 25th was declared International Day Against Violence Against Women in July 1981 in Bogota, Columbia to commemorate the violent assassination of the Mirabal sisters (Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa) in 1960 by the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.
In 1999, The United Nations officially recognized November 25th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
“Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. And it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development, and peace.”
~ Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
Gender-Based Violence
· Violence kills and disables as many women between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer. And its toll on woman’s health surpasses that of traffic accidents and malaria combined.
· The World Health Organization estimates that at least one of every three women globally will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during her lifetime. In most cases, the abuser is a member of her own family.
Celebrate International Women’s Day with Google and support the ZI Foundation!
Step 1: Go to www.google.com
Step 2: Click on the image above the search bar
Step 3: Scroll down on the IWD page and click Equality and Leadership from the list of topics
Step 4: Find the ZI Foundation logo on the bottom right and enter an amount to donate, follow the directions to complete your contribution. Thank you!
Dianne K. Curtis, the Zonta International President, named our club’s president, Vladia Jurcova Spencer, Vice-Chairman of International Public Relations and Communications Committee at Zonta International.
Vladia will serve as deputy to Judy Johnson, the Chairman of International Public Relations and Communications Committee at Zonta International, assisting her and the team of outstanding communications professionals from all over the world in promoting the objects of Zonta International. The International PR & Communications Committee is focused on the development of a comprehensive plan to create external and internal awareness of Zonta International.
The 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will take place on Sunday, October 09, 2011 @ 7:30 AM. For the first time ever, Zonta International will have a team running in the marathon. The ZIF Team has a minimum fundraising commitment of $600 per team member. The $25 paid at registration will count toward this goal. You can learn here how to join us:
How do I join the Zonta International Foundation Bank of America Chicago Marathon Team? First, register for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on the official Marathon website. Registration opens February 1, 2011, and the registration fee is US$145 for US participants and US$170 for participants outside the US. Once you are registered for the Marathon, complete the Zonta International Foundation Team Registration Form online. There is an additional US$25 registration fee to join the Zonta International Foundation Team.
Is there training support available?
Zonta International Foundation has partnered with CARA, the Chicago Area Runners Association, to offer our team members discounted membership and registration for the 2011 CARA Summer Marathon Training Program. Learn more about CARA’s training programs at www.cararuns.org.
What is the minimum fundraising amount? Zonta International Foundation asks team members to commit to raising a minimum of $600 each which each runner must guarantee with a personal credit card. Your team registration fee of $25 is counted toward your fundraising commitment. Each runner will have a personal fundraising page where the runner can solicit donations to the Zonta International Foundation and can track their individual progress towards the $600 minimum fundraising goal.
All donations must be submitted to the Zonta International Foundation by November 8, 2011 (30 days after the event). If you have not met the minimum $600 fundraising commitment by November 8, 2011, your credit card will be charged for the remaining balance.
Are donations made on my behalf tax deductible? Yes, all donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by US law. Tax deductibility outside the USA is dependent on local tax regulations. Your supporters will receive an acknowledgement letter and receipt of their donation.
How can my supporters make a donation? Your supporters may make their donations online, or can download a donation form from the Zonta International website if they prefer to make their donation by check. Checks should be made payable to Zonta International Foundation. Please have them write your name on the memo line so we can credit you for the donation. Donations should be mailed to:
Zonta International Foundation
Attn: Marathon Team Coordinator
1211 West 22nd Street, Suite 900
Oak Brook, IL 60523
USA
How can I find out if my company offers a matching gift? First, check to see if your company has a matching gift program. Human Resources is usually the best place to go. Obtain and fill out the company’s matching gift form and send it with your donation. The website MatchingGifts.com can be helpful in determining which companies match donations.
When can I pick up my marathon bib number and packet? All packets must be picked up during the Health & Fitness Expo at McCormick Place on Friday, October 7, 2011, or Saturday, October 8, 2011.
What if I have a question that is not answered here?
If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact the Team Coordinator, Christina Petzke, at cpetzke@zonta.org or 630.928.1400.
Narrated by internationally renowned TV journalist Daljit Dhaliwal, this 21st Century short documentary goes deep into Haiti’s makeshift camps to expose acts of violence and sexual assaults women, especially young girls and even babies, have encountered since the country’s devastating earthquake in January left 1.5 million homeless. While measures are being taken by, for instance, the Haitian National Police, UN police and UN Women, to curb such type of violence, this video underscores what has yet to be done to ensure the safety of women and girls as Haiti continues to build itself back from the ground up. The Zonta Club of Charleston raises money for Zonta International service projects that strive to prevent situations as the one Haiti from happening again.
ZONTA INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PROGRAM (ZISVAW)
Globally, gender-based violence is the most pervasive and least recognized human rights violation. Rooted in inequality, it affects women of every race, class, culture, ethnicity, age and country. Zonta International strives to promote and protect the human rights of all women and girls and reduce the incidence of violence through the Zonta International Strategies to End Violence Against Women (ZISVAW) Program by:
Supporting prevention and advocacy strategies locally and internationally.
Awarding grants to United Nations agencies or recognized NGOs for projects that seek to change personal and/or political knowledge, attitudes and behavior contributing to gender-based violence.
Increasing awareness and actions related to preventing violence against women by encouraging Zonta club involvement in local and national advocacy initiatives and service projects.
Since the program’s inception in 1999, more than US$2 million has been provided to support 33 projects in more than 20 countries.
During the 2010-2012 Biennium, two projects are being supported by the ZISVAW Fund:
Funding: US$200,000 to UN Women (The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women)
Haitian women carry the disproportionate burden of care for children and family; however, rigid gender roles and inequalities make women vulnerable to gender-based violence and exclusion from political decision-making. During times of emergencies, Haitian women and girls have experienced heightened exposure to acts of violence and in particular sexual violence. With the overall objective of ensuring a gender-responsive humanitarian and early recovery response, the project will focus on increasing the capacity to provide services to victims of gender-based violence, to deliver support for women’s economic livelihoods and to promote, support and ensure women’s empowerment and participation in the recovery process.
Funding: US$430,000 to the UN Trust Fund, administered by UNIFEM
Acid violence and other forms of burning are prevalent forms of violence against women and girls, especially in countries where regulatory monitoring and controls are weak, and where the judiciary, lawyers and police have limited knowledge on the appropriate laws to prosecute perpetrators. Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), the only organization working internationally on this issue, will collaborate with national Acid Survivors Foundations (ASF) in Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda to pilot an innovative and holistic community-based approach to address these forms of violence. The project will focus on improving response from the justice, police and health sectors, mobilizing communities to monitor and advocate for the implementation of legislation reform, and encouraging individual responsibility to end this gender-based violence.
After hearing of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance in 1937, the Zonta Club of Bakersfield, California, USA suggested honoring the trailblazing Zontian with a scholarship that would further her deep interest in the science of aeronautics.
In 1938, Zonta established the Amelia Earhart Fellowships. Few women were active in aeronautics, science or engineering at the time – no qualified applicants were even found in the first two years the Fellowship was offered. Yet Zontians did not doubt the success of such a scholarship program and faithfully supported it, instituting it as a loan (today an award) to women pursuing graduate education in the aerospace field.
As of today, Zonta has awarded 1,227 Amelia Earhart Fellowships totalingUS$7 million to women from 58 countries.
On March 18, 2010, Amelia Earhart Fellow (1994-1995), Naoko Yamazaki, prepared to lift off from Kennedy Space Center for a two-week flight as a Japanese crew member of the Atlantis on 18 March 2010. During this important mission, the Atlantis carried equipment and materials for the International Space Station and Yamazaki was responsible for operating a robotic arm.
Naoko Yamazaki (born December 27, 1970) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut, and the second Japanese woman to qualify as an astronau. The first was Chiaki Mukai who was named a Zonta International Honorary Member in 2000.
Yamazaki joined NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Training in June 2004. Astronaut Candidate Training includes orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Successful completion of this initial training qualifies Yamazaki for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office.
We are very proud of Naoko and her story is just one of many of the successes of Zonta’s Amelia Earhart Fellows. Amelia Earhart Fellowship Fund provides financial assistance to women like Naoko Yamazaki who are pursuing PhD /doctoral degrees in aerospace-related science and engineering.
The financial support provided by the Fellowships means these talented women can invest in state-of-the-art computers to conduct their research, purchase expensive books and resource materials, participate in specialized studies around the globe, and ultimately achieve their educational goals. AE Fellows have gone on to become astronauts, aerospace engineers, astronomers, professors, geologists, business owners, heads of companies, even the Secretary of the US Air Force. Many have attained positions that provide a platform for influencing policies that improve the lives of women everywhere in a profound manner.
Dianne Curtis, President of Zonta International, was awarded the Minerva Award on November 15, 2010, in the Hall of the Capitol in Rome, Italy. Dianne Curtis, a native of Santa Clarita, California, U.S., and is the first American to receive the prestigious Minerva Award.
Established in 1983 by Anna Maria Mammoliti, President of Il Club dellee Donne (Women’s Club), the Minerva is awarded annually to remarkable women working in the fields of Entrepreneurship and Management, Scientific Research, Arts, Literary and Social Commitment. The award recognizes women who are continuously fighting against all odds to instill new knowledge, new values, and new passions in their communities. The award has also been awarded to men for their professional and positive contributions to society. Past recipients of the Minerva Award include: Simone Veil, the first female President of the European Parliament; Noeleen Heyzer, former Executive Director of UNIFEM; Sheikha Lubna Al-Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade for the United Emirates and the first woman to hold a cabinet position in that country; Mama Koite Doumbia, Chairperson of FEMNET; and Khalida Messaoudi, Algeria’s Minister of Culture.
Currently Zonta International is in the process of signing Memoranda of Understandings with UNIFEM on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV and Gender Based Violence in Rwanda, Safe Cities for Women in Guatemala and El Salvador, and Security and Empowerment for Women and their Families: Ensuring a Gender Responsive Humanitarian and Early Recovery Response in Haiti, A Strategy to Prevent Burns Violence in Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda. Zonta International is also working with UNFPA to Eliminate Obstetric Fistula and a Reduction of Maternal and newborn Mortality and Morbidity in Liberia.
International President Curtis took over the leadership of Zonta International on June 30, 2010 at the 60th biennial Zonta International Convention in San Antonio, Texas. She has been a member of the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley, California since 1980. President Curtis is the owner and manager of Canyon Bulk, Inc., a trucking company and, as a young woman was a successful Balerina, dancing with the Canadian Ballet. She has two sons, Dale and Jason, and is also a devoted grandmother.
President Curtis expressed her delight upon accepting the Minerva Award, which consists of silver and gold broach, on behalf of Zonta International and promised that Zonta International would continue to do all it could to prevent violence and improve the lives of women in need throughout the world.
This year’s Zonta International District 11 Annual Conference is taking place in Savannah. Our club is very honored to be named the PR & Marketing Chair for the Conference. Here is more information about the conference!
Members of the Zonta International District 11 will meet at the 62 Annual District Conference on October 1 & 2, 2010 in Savannah, Georgia. The conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency Savannah. The 2010 Conference is titled “Zonta: Bridge to a Better Future for Women.”
Winners of the 2010 Jane M. Klausman in Business Scholarship and 2010 Young Women in Public Affairs Scholarship will be awarded at the conference. The Scholarships are funded through voluntary contributions to the Zonta International Foundation.
“It is truly an honor and a privilege for Savannah to welcome District 11 Zontians to the 62nd Annual Conference. The Zonta Club of Savannah has really worked hard to prepare for the conference and we are delighted to share with Zonta members a city that is in the hearts of so many–and hope that Zontians, too, will take a little piece of Savannah into their hearts,” says Jessica Ghormley, president of the Zonta Club of Savannah and chair of the conference.
“District Conference is an event many Zonta members look forward to every year–new conference, new city, new friends to make–yet also familiar faces, stories to catch up on, and celebrations of all things Zonta! We are very excited that this year, Savannah, Georgia, will get the opportunity to welcome this group of outstanding, awe-inspiring executives and professionals,” Ghormley continues.
For more information, please email Jessica Ghormley, 2010 District 11 Conference Chair, at 2010conference@zonta-district11.org and indicate in the subject line “2010 Conference.”
In an historic move, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously on 2 July 2010 to create a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide.
The establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — to be known as UN Women — is a result of years of negotiations between UN Member States and advocacy by the global women’s movement. It is part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced last week the appointment of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, as the head of UN Women. Ms. Bachelet brings to this critical position a history of dynamic global leadership, highly honed political skills and uncommon ability to create consensus and focus among UN Agencies and many partners in both the public and private sector.
