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One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.

One billion women violated is an atrocity.

One billion women dancing is a revolution!

As the 15th anniversary of V-Day approaches, Eve Ensler, renowned author of the Vagina Monologues, is inviting one billion women and the people who love them to walk out, dance and rise up this February 14th as a global campaign to eliminate violence against women and girls. This will be a powerful act of solidarity that unites women, girls and allies across the world, and sends a message to survivors of violence that they don’t have to take this struggle on alone.

How does this work?

As we speak, tons of people across the globe are organizing creative actions and initiatives called “risings.” A rising can be anything from a peaceful vigil to a flashmob. Anyone or any group can organize a rising or join another group’s rising. You can stage your own event or join an existing one in your area through the One Billion Rising website: http://www.onebillionrising.org/

Why Rise?

Violence against women and girls continues to be a major problem both here and abroad. Despite laws that prohibit violence and gender discrimination in Canada:

  • Murder is the number one killer of women in the workplace.
  • As of March 2010, the Native Women’s Association of Canada documented 582 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls, mostly from the past 30 years.
  • On any given day in Canada, more than 3,000 women (along with their 2,500 children) are living in an emergency shelter to escape domestic violence.
  • Violence against women in Canada costs us over $4 billion each year.

What’s next?

On Feb. 14, along with women’s groups and other unions, CUPE will restate our request to the government of Canada to commit to ending violence against women by:

1. Announcing plans to develop a comprehensive National Action Plan to End Violence against Women in Canada.

2.Launching a national public inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.

3. Making a public commitment to work toward an agreement at the 2013 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) which builds upon and strengthens existing rights for women, and holds governments accountable for their progress toward eliminating and preventingall forms of violence against women and girls.

We can no longer continue to accept the status quo. We encourage all CUPE members to rise up and take action. Talk with others, connect with community groups, and encourage others to get involved. There’s power in numbers so get radical, make a stink and refuse to participate in a society that tolerates inequality. To quote from the One Billion Rising website – “What does ONE BILLION look like? On Feb. 14, 2013, it will look like a REVOLUTION.”