Zonta defines advocacy as “the expression of support for or in opposition to a cause, argument or proposal. Advocacy may include influencing laws, legislation and attitudes.”  By accepting this role, we hope that each member of Zonta Foothills Club will challenge themselves to become a voice for women and children by influencing laws, legislation, and changing attitudes locally and around the world. It’s a goal we can work toward together.

 

The Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 11/2010

     CEDAW was introduced adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979 and is often described as an International Bill of Rights for Women, provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men.  CEDAW was introduced to the U.S. Congress in 1982 and has been ratified by 186 out of 193 countries.  Only seven countries have not ratified it:  Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Nauru, Palau, Tonga and the United States. The U.S. is the only democratic nation that has not ratified CEDAW.   CEDAW will be discussed at Congressional Hearings November 18, 2010, 2 PM..  See http://www.cedaw2010.org/ and http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/ 

Contact Senators Udall and Bennet to encourage them to ratify CEDAW. 

See below for more of Zonta Foothills' efforts regarding CEDAW.

SAY NO TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign (November 25- December 10, 2010)

     One quick way to lend your voice in support of ending violence is to join with Zonta members and other men and women by putting your “name on the line”  as a sign of support and as a message to governments around the world to work to end gender violence.

16 Facts about Gender Violence

International

1. Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.

2. Reports from a range of nations, including Thailand, South Africa, and New Zealand indicate that between 20% and 44% of men admit that they are violent towards their wives or intimate partners.

3. In Kenya, a survey showed 68% of women agreed that a husband would be justified in beating his wife, for reasons including that she refused to have sex with him.

4. Studies from Rwanda, Tanzania, and South Africa indicate that the risk of contracting HIV among women who have experienced violence may be up to three times higher than among those who have not.

5. In South Africa, 30 percent of girls say their first intercourse was forced, and 71 percent have experienced sex against their will.

United States

6. Domestic violence in the United States results in economic losses of about $12.63 billion a year.

7. Young women ages  16-24 experience the highest rate of rape and sexual assault .

8. As many as two-thirds of adolescents who become pregnant were sexually or physically abused some time in their lives.

9. Almost one-third of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner.

10. 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.

11. Men who as children were exposed to domestic violence to their parents’ domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents.

Colorado

12. One in 4 of Colorado women and 1 in 17 Colorado men have experienced a completed or attempted sexual assault in their lifetime. This equates to over 11,000 women and men each year experiencing a sexual assault in Colorado.

13. 85% of incarcerated sex offenders knew the person they victimized.

14. An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Almost half of all women murdered in Colorado are killed by  an intimate partner.

15. Colorado domestic violence programs were forced to deny 4,793 requests for shelter in 2004 because shelters were at full capacity.

Boulder County

16. The University of Colorado Boulder saw a 31% increase in the number of sexual assault reports in the school years that began in 2005 and 2006.

ZONTA SUPPORTS LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE AND WORK TO PREVENT GENDER VIOLENCE.

You can find out more about domestic violence by going to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

 

ZONTA FOOTHILLS’ ADVOCACY EFFORTS: CEDAW

(Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of  Discrimination Against Women)

Members of Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County offer their support to CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women). As of March 2007, 185 countries have ratified this Treaty and the United States is one of the eight that have not, including, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Qatar, Nauru, Palau and Tonga. You can find additional info on the Amnesty International USA CEDAW website.

 

Colorado Legislature Passes Pro-CEDAW Resolution

     Taking Action and Making an Impact:  Colorado Zonta Clubs took the lead in working with Rep. Alice Borodkin to draft and pass a joint resolution in support of CEDAW on March 10, 2008, which puts Colorado on record urging the US Senate to ratify the women’s treaty. Zontians worked with other organizations and within their own clubs to move this pro-women agenda through the legislature. Zonta continues to push the U.S. Senate to ratify this treaty.

 

Keep Informed About Ways to Help:

• Contact our Club Advocacy Representative
If you have any questions, or suggestions about issues you’d like to know more about and learn how to help, please fill out the contact form on this website. 

• Sign Up for News Alerts
Some organizations provide action alerts on a regular basis that will help you to stay up on the issues and ways you can help. To sign up for an action alert about important issues in Colorado, visit the Colorado Women’s Agenda, a statewide network that champions economic security, social justice and political power for all Colorado women.

     Also visit Denver Women's Commission to keep up with legislation in support of women’s issues before the Colorado Legislature.