ONE BILLION RISING: CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS JOIN GLOBAL MOVEMENT TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services (CONNSACS)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, February 11, 2013
CONTACT: Anna Doroghazi, Director of Public Policy and Communication
Phone: (860) 282-9881, Email: anna@connsacs.org
ONE BILLION RISING: CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS JOIN GLOBAL MOVEMENT TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
On Thursday, February 14th, individuals and organizations throughout Connecticut will come together to participate in One Billion Rising, a worldwide event that encourages women and those who love them to walk out, dance, rise up and demand an end to violence against women and girls. The event marks the fifteenth anniversary of V-Day, a global activist movement sparked by Eve Ensler’s play, The Vagina Monologues.
“Far too many people will experience sexual violence in their lifetime, most often at the hands of someone they know or trust,” said Laura Cordes, Executive Director of Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services (CONNSACS). “On behalf of the victims and survivors we serve every day in Connecticut, we are proud to stand with our Connecticut allies and people around the world who want to challenge the longstanding attitudes and behaviors that support violence against women and girls.”
While violence against women is a global problem, its impact is keenly felt in Connecticut. “Last year CCADV’s eighteen member programs served more than 57,000 victims of domestic violence,” said Karen Jarmoc, Executive Director, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV). “It is critical that more people speak up about violence against women, that we hold each other accountable for our actions and words, and that we teach children at a very young age about respect and healthy relationships.”
“The shameful statistics about violence against women – including here in Connecticut where one in four women is a survivor of a sexual assault – point out the need for a mass movement of this sort, as well as passage of the Violence Against Women Act,” said Teresa Younger, executive director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW). “We’re pleased to be part of One Billion Rising, because when women raise their
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voices in unison it raises awareness of the issues that disproportionally affect us. This is true around the globe and here at home.”
CONNSACS, CCADV, and PCSW, three of Connecticut’s leading anti-violence and women’s rights organizations, are working with the Judy Dworin Performance Project to host a One Billion Rising event at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford at 12:30pm on Thursday, February 14. The event will be followed with a press conference at 12:45pm in the Legislative Office Building Atrium. Elsewhere in Connecticut, sexual assault crisis programs, domestic violence agencies, university women’s centers, and others will host One Billion Rising events in towns including Milford, Willimantic, and Stamford. For more information about events (take out going on) throughout the state, please visit: http://connsacs.org/onebillionrising.htm
Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services is the statewide association of Connecticut’s nine community-based rape crisis programs. Our mission is to end sexual violence and ensure high-quality, comprehensive, and culturally competent sexual assault victim services.
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About the PCSW: The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women was formed in 1973 under Sec. 46a-1 of the Connecticut General Statutes to study and improve Connecticut women’s economic security, health and safety; to promote consideration of qualified women to leadership positions and to work toward the elimination of gender discrimination. As a non-partisan arm of the General Assembly, the agency monitors, critiques and recommends changes to legislation in order to inform
public policy, and assesses programs and practices in all State agencies for their effect on the state’s women. The PCSW serves as a liaison between government and its diverse constituents, and convenes stakeholders, including the business, non-profit and educational communities, local governments, and the media, in order to promote awareness of women’s issues.

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