Watch this powerful short film and get involved in the One Billion Rising campaign to stop violence against women.
Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and children.
This year the campaign has taken a step up and launched the One Billion Rising initiative. The awareness campaign is named after the fact that one in three women on the planet, or one billion in total, will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. The idea behind the campaign is that we need to rise up and speak about these issues, no longer allowing it to carry on or be hidden. The strongest weapon that we have is knowledge and the more we educate those around us, the more the violence can decrease.
Documentary photography plays a huge role in this process, as many photographers have tackled the issue and tried to confront their audiences with the harsh realities – realities we so easily ignore in our everyday lives. Zanele Muholi is one of these photographers, her entire career being based on raising awareness about violence against women and especially the ‘corrective rape’ crime being committed all over the country. Living in South Africa which has the highest reported rape statistics in the world, it is especially our responsibility to create awareness. So, pick up your camera find an event and get involved!
Alternatively, you can also show your support at the local Cape Town One Billion Rising event.
Update: You can also show your support for the campaign by wearing black on V-Day tomorrow! Please spread awareness around your office and get your co-workers involved.
Here’s three videos by South Africans getting involved with the One Billion Rising initiative:
