Key West The Newspaper

Mayor Craig Cates has proclaimed 16 Days of Activism 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.”

This annual observance is particularly important as, nationwide, women are speaking out against sexual harassment and violence.

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“Violence against women is not a women’s issue,” read the proclamation, “but a societal issue, often rooted in misinterpretations of history, inadequate laws, culture, and religions, traditional ideas of feminine and masculine identities.”

The Zonta Club of Key West, which includes 30 members that are women of professional and executive backgrounds, encourages the community to wear orange, the color designated in the “Zonta says No” campaign.

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.