30 Oct October Updates & Events (#FireDrillFridays on Women & Climate, Be Heard on November 3 in NYC, BBC 100 Women 2019 Honors OBR South Africa Coordinator, & more)
Activists around the world are planning their Risings and V-Day benefits, and the 16th class at City of Joy in the Democratic Republic of Congo is well underway.
Here are recent October updates and news for upcoming events!
JOIN Eve and Jane Fonda for a TEACH IN on Women & Climate This Thursday
Last month, hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets all over the world to demand action against the climate crisis that will destroy our planet and make it inhospitable for the human race. “We have to act like our house is on fire, because it is,” said Greta Thunberg.
That’s why Jane Fonda, one of V-Day’s Board members, began Fire Drill Fridays, an action to highlight the importance of taking decisive climate crisis action now. Jane will be protesting every Friday, for the next four months, in front of the U.S. Capitol, at 11 AM ET and demand action be taken to address the climate crisis. She will be joined by scientists, Indigenous leaders, community members, movement leaders, and experts.
In addition to Jane Fonda’s weekly Friday action, she will also conduct a Thursday evening teach-in, covering various topics related to the climate crisis. While the climate crisis threatens everyone, vulnerable populations such as women, are threatened.
Join us in NYC for BE HEARD ON THE THIRD on 3 November!
Everyone deserves equality, safety, and dignity at work. Join the Be Heard Coalition, on Sunday, 3 November at Caveat in New York City for an empowering afternoon of storytelling. With the introduction of the Be Heard Act – comprehensive legislation to address workplace harassment – survivors and women will be rising every third of each month to demand local and federal policy change. It is a nonpartisan and educational event which will feature women from many different sectors of the workforce, such as State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, actress Alysia Reiner, producer, actor, and director Carmen Lobue, and workplace culture strategist Daisy Auger-Dominguez.
ATTEND the event, visit for info & details
OBR Bangladesh Premieres New Theme Song, AMI SHIKHA
OBR Bangladesh commemorated their 2020 launch event with the premiere of a new theme song (in association with Colours FM 101.6). Entitled “Ami Shikha“, it is an artistic reminder to their commitment to ending social inequality and violence against women.
One Billion Rising South Africa Coordinator Lucinda Evans Honored on BBC’S TOP 100 WOMEN OF 2019
Congratulations to Lucinda Evans, One Billion Rising South Africa Coordinator, on being named by the BBC as a Top 100 Women of 2019. Lucinda Evans founded Philisa Abafazi Bethu (Xhosa for Heal Our Women) in 2008 to primarily help women and children suffering from sexual and physical abuse by offering services such as counselling, search committees for kidnapped girls, and safe houses for women escaping intimate partner violence. In response to South Africa experiencing rising rates of murder and rape against women and girls, Lucinda Evans continues to be a leader for us all by leading nationwide marches and rallying thousands of women in the streets of Cape Town, to demand action.
“My hopes, as a Khoisan woman, are that we will one day be freed from violence against our bodies, and the bodies of our daughters, sisters, mothers and aunties. I hope that one day we will have a female president. For this, I will continue to advocate and rise in pain to power.”
WATCH what this award means to Lucinda Evans
Why we SAY IT, STAGE IT
A new survey from the Association of American Universities reveals that almost one in four undergraduate college students have experienced sexual assault at 33 major universities. Released on 15 October 2019, it is the second one in recent years to document widespread sexual assault at public and private universities. These statistics remind us of why V-Day student activists produce The Vagina Monologues – and other artistic works – to raise and funds awareness to benefit centers and shelters that provide critical support for survivors everywhere.
READ The Washington Post article about the report; READ the report.
V-Day: Say It, Stage It – Produce a V-Day Benefit of “The Vagina Monologues” or “A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, or a Prayer” as an Artistic Uprising at your college/university, in your community
One Billion RISING: Revolution 2020 – RISE in your community, for your community
City of Joy: Turning Pain to Power – Screen the Documentary, Support the Women in DR Congo