During the 16 Days of Activism in the fall of each year, all Zonta clubs and districts are encouraged to take part in the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign and to take local, national, and international actions to influence the creation and implementation of laws, as well as change gender-based attitudes and behaviors to end violence against women.
The 16 Days of Activism take place from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day.
How did it start?
On 25 November 1960, sisters Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal, three political activists who actively opposed the cruelty and systematic violence of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, were clubbed to death and dumped at the bottom of a cliff by Trujillo’s secret police.
The Mirabal sisters became symbols of the feminist resistance, and in commemoration of their deaths 25 November was declared International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Latin America in 1980. This international day was formally recognised by the United Nations in 1999. Source
Zonta Says NO! Campaign – Nov. 25 – Dec. 10
16 Days of Advocacy Toolkit – Detailed actions for clubs to take each day.