2009 will be V-Day's biggest year to date with thousands of V-Day benefit productions taking place all over the world between February 1st and April 30th!
These events, produced locally by volunteer organizers, will raise funds and awareness for local beneficiaries who are working to end violence against women and girls.
V-Day productions will have the option to feature five different benefit events: performances of
The Vagina Monologues; staged readings of V-Day's
A Memory, A Monologue A Rant and A Prayer and
Any One Of Us: Words From Prison, and screenings of V-Day's documentary
Until The Violence Stops and
What I Want My Words To Do To You.
In 2009, V-Day's Spotlight Campaign will highlight the atrocities being committed against the women and girls of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In the DRC, Rape is used as a weapon of war to torture and humiliate women and girls. This systemic sexual violence and femicide not only destroys women and young girls but also entire families and communities. Survivors often suffer in silence, fearing stigma and ostracism. In addition to the severe psychological impact, many survivors are left with genital lesions, traumatic fistulae and other physical wounds, as well as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Local response to support survivors is hindered by a lack of resources. There is near total impunity for these crimes as perpetrators almost always walk free.
In 2009, V-Day and UNICEF, together with UN and NGO partners, are working with V-Day organizers around the world to make a difference. DRC has been called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and the widest interstate war in modern African history. Fueled by the exploitation of the country's rich natural resources by foreign and local armies and private enterprises, the war has directly affected the lives of 50 million Congolese. Since 1996, this conflict has caused more deaths than any war since World War II, either as a direct result of fighting or due to disease and malnutrition. Five million people have lost their lives as a result of the conflict. With your help, the women and children who bear the burden of this war can reclaim a life of safety and dignity.
For more information on the Campaign, please visit
www.vday.org/drcongo
For the complete Guidelines For Joining V-Day please visit
http://www.vday.org/contents/vcampaigns/world/guidelines
Bring V-Day to your city, your community, your college, your university or your high school.
Join us. Help stop the Violence!
2009 event registration will begin in the fall of 2008. Please sign up for V-Day's newsletter, V-Mail to receive updates on the launch of the 2009 V-Season.
