Mayor Craig Cates has proclaimed 16 Days of Activism Against Violence beginning November 25th in honor of an important effort by the Zonta Club of Key West. The effort is aimed at raising awareness about violence against women.

“Gender violence and abuse,” reads the proclamation, “can affect women of all ages, living in any community, but it is a topic too often kept secret or highlighted only when horrific acts play out in newspaper and media reports.”

The Zonta Club of Key West, which includes 35 members that are women of professional and executive backgrounds, points out that violence against women is not a women’s issue, but a societal issue, often rooted in misinterpretations of history, inadequate laws, culture, and religions, traditional ideas of feminine and masculine identities.

The effort is part of a larger movement in which Zonta Clubs all over the world are engaging in an anti-violence campaign in conjunction with the United Nations and Zonta International.