Dance Dance Revolution: One BILLION Women Rise Up Against Violence

by Maggie Carr

Eve Ensler is a total rock star.

See?

She’s best known for writing and starring in the groundbreaking play The Vagina Monologues—heck, even your grandparents have probably heard of it. Not being one to rest on her laurels, she founded a nonprofit, V-Day, that combats the epidemic (and yes, folks, it is an epidemic) of sexual and domestic violence happening all around the world.

V-Day activists have opened hospitals for abuse survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo, safe houses in Haiti, and created activist networks everywhere from the post-Katrina Gulf South to Juarez, Mexico. Recently, V-Day’s efforts directly led the U.S. House of Representatives to formally demand an apology from the Japanese government for inflicting sexual slavery on young women during World War II.

Performing in The Vagina Monologues was a super formative experience for me, as it is for many college-age ladies, so I was thrilled to hear that V-Day is coordinating a large-scale public action against gender violence called One Billion Rising.

On February 14, 2013 (Valentine’s Day, yo!), Ensler and a whole host of celebrities and activists are calling for one billion people—women, men, and anyone who gives a shit about putting an end to violence against women—to take an active, public stand against the status quo.

Why one billion? Because one billion women—that’s right, one billion—existing on this planet right now will be beaten or raped in her lifetime.

Staggering.

Take  this heart-wrenching, goosebump-raising short film in support of One Billion Rising made by Ensler and cinematographer Tony Stroebel. This could be potentially triggering for abuse survivors, but it is absolutely worth a watch.

 

Eve photo by Brigitte Lacombe; all photos and video via vday.org

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