Valentine’s Day ended up being a day to take a stand, rather than just a day to show love. Activist Eve Ensler launched One Billion Rising a year ago, with the plan to get a billion people around the world to take action to end violence against women. She was hoping to create a specific dance that would be performed globally on February 14, 2013.
As she explained to The Guardian, “Think of how, when I have spoken out about the women and girls who have been raped in Congo’s 13-year war for minerals to parliaments around the world, I have often been cautioned that my language is inflammatory or extreme, when in fact I have not come close to finding the words with which to express the horrors I have heard and witnessed.”
There were thousands of events in over 200 countries on the 14th which included flash mobs, parties and more. The event was endorsed by the UN, prime ministers and celebrities. As Robert Redford explained, “One billion women and young girls will be raped or beaten in their lifetime. I am one of the billion rising to help stop violence against women. Statistics tell us that one in three women will become victims to violence, but it is not a women’s issue. It’s a global crisis. One billion rising is the movement that seeks to put an end to violence against women.”
Similarly, actor and activist Jane Fonda showed her support. She said, “I’m rising because my mother was sexually abused when she was eight years old and it damaged her life forever. She was never able to really love or to not feel guilty. She killed herself when she was 42 and those two things are related. I’m rising because I work with young girls, most of whom are poor, most of whom have been victims of sexual abuse, and I’m rising because I’m over it. We have to stop violence against women. And when that happens, everything in the world will change.”