CHICAGO - According to the latest United Nations statistics, one of every three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. That's ONE BILLION mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, and friends violated. On Feb. 14, 2013, V-DAY (Vagina Monologues creator Eve Ensler's organization) invites one billion women and those who love them to walk out, dance, rise up and demand an end to this violence. Events will take place in 199 countries - nearly every country on the planet.
Chicago Rising: In partnership with V-Day, Rape Victim Advocates, will be hosting a rally and flash mob will take place at Daley Plaza at 12 noon with the participation of hundreds of Chicagoans. A free, all ages Daytime Dance Party will follow at River East Art Center, 435 East Illinois Street from 1-6PM, featuring dance workshops and performances including: Cheerobix, Fabulous Ladies of Fitness (FLOF), Natya Academy (Indian dance school), BeMoved, DJ All the Way Kay, a "Power of the Mic" panel including rapper Psalm One, printmaking fun with Spuknik Press, and more. Partners of OBR Chicago include: Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, WBEZ, Rape Victim Advocates, Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, A Long Walk Home, Amnesty International, the Voices and Faces Project, CAASE, the Women's Center at DePaul University, Windy City Rollers and many more.
More information at: onebillionrising.org/Chicago
In partnership with No Small Plans Productions, OBR Chicago released a Public Service Announcement video February 4th, featuring: the Windy City Rollers, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, WBEZ's Alison Cuddy, rapper Psalm One, and many other Chicago personalities and citizens, giving their support for One Billion Rising.
ABOUT RAPE VICTIM ADVOCATES: RVA is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the healing and empowerment of sexual assault survivors through non-judgmental crisis intervention counseling, individual and group counseling, and medical and legal advocacy in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. RVA provides public education and institutional advocacy in order to improve the treatment of sexual assault survivors and to effect positive change in policies and public attitudes toward sexual assault.
ABOUT V-DAY: V-Day is a global activist movement lead by Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) to end violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery.