UN- Say NO–UNiTE Celebrates the Two Million Mark!

Say NO–UNiTE has crossed two million actions in just 18 months, marking two million signs of commitment to ending violence against women and girls. People from all over the world have added their actions. Together, they showcase the growing global community of people dedicated to stopping one of the most pervasive violations of women’s rights.

It is time to highlight some noteworthy recent actions to celebrate how much is being achieved – and gain hope and new resources for how much more we can all do.

Say NO actions reach far…

• The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, with 10 million members in 145 countries, is seeking ways to give girls a central part in ending violence, and to stop all forms of violence against girls.
• People across Thailand are mobilizing to end violence; one of the latest initiatives is a new manual published by the Office of the Attorney General instructing judicial authorities on how to protect and support survivors under the 2007 Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act.

Actions big and small—they all add up!

• The Kamaratuna-Our Dignity Campaign helps break the silence shrouding the trafficking women in the Middle East.
• The Women on the Bridge campaign celebrated 8 March, International Women’s Day, by inviting men and women around the world to unite on bridges near them. They called for peace, in solidarity with women in Afghanistan and elsewhere who are marginalized in their country’s peace processes.
• Women Win has worked with 35 partners to publish the International Guide for Designing Sport Programmes for Girls, which emphasizes girls’ empowerment to prevent violence.
• The second Men’s Summit in the Philippines met to continue its fight for the rights of women to live free from domestic and intimate partner violence.
• The Kwazulu-Natal Network on Violence Against Women erected a 25-metre-high billboard in the central business district of Durban, South Africa—a prominent landmark that no one could ignore.

Say NO actions are creative. Take one today…

• Thank-a-Mom, a campaign by Future Without Violence (formerly the Family Violence Prevention Fund), links sending e-cards for Mother’s Day to donations from Macy’s, a US department store. Funds support on-the-ground efforts to end child abuse, teen dating violence and domestic/sexual violence.
• The UN Federal Credit Union encourages people to celebrate Mother’s Day by taking the Say NO quiz and learning more about how to stop violence against women.
• Equality Now’s 100 Steps to Equality campaign compiles facts and feasible actions to inspire everyone to do their part, no matter how large or small.
• The UN’s Regional Information Centre for Western Europe has kicked off Create4theUN, a competition for citizens of EU members to create a print advertisement for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign.

Governments are Saying NO:

• A campaign by the Welsh Assembly Government uses videos, posters and online conversations to reverse the ugly culture of blaming survivors of violence.
• The government in Uruguay has joined the UN and civil society in a campaign to “activate” all citizens to end violence. It uses printed materials and the Internet to encourage each person to make a contribution through any form of creative expression—individual, collective or institutional.
• Parliamentarians in Mali have formed a network to stop violence against women and children.
• The Albanian Parliament has agreed to improve legislation to prevent and punish violence against women, and to monitor its enforcement.

As the social mobilization arm of the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, Say NO records actions from individuals, organizations and governments. So far, action pages have been posted on the site by 566 partner organizations from at least 94 countries; 215,900 unique visitors have stopped by the site. The top 10 countries of visitors are: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Spain, Australia, Germany, Mexico, France and Argentina. Over 35,000 people track Say NO through Facebook and Twitter.

Over 70,000 people have viewed related videos on YouTube. Recent highlights include video messages and songs from Caribbean artists actively engaged in the UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, including Indrani and Nelly Stharre, Kiokya Cruickshank and Patrice Roberts, Natahlee and Nicole David, and Alison Hinds.

Join Say NO in Taking Action to end violence against women.

Take the Say NO quiz, create an action page, sign an existing action page—and do it today!

A Celebration of Women