"Bring a drum, sing the song, share your story," encourages Mary Jo Rose. "It's a depressing subject, but it's an upbeat event."
Rose is the instigator of this year's One Billion Rising event Sunday in Eureka Springs. It's the third year for the local version of a "mass action" launched in 2012 by Eve Ensler, author of "The Vagina Monologues." The idea was to draw attention to violence perpetrated against women, based on the "staggering" statistic that one in three women on the planet will be beaten or raped in her lifetime.
FAQ
One Billion Rising
WHEN — 1:30-4 p.m. Sunday
WHERE — Main Stage Creative Community Center, 67 N. Main St. in Eureka Springs
COST — Donations may be made to the Purple Flower
INFO — Email [email protected]…
With the world population at roughly 7 billion, that adds up to more than 1 billion women and girls.
Over the life of Ensler's campaign, different topics have been targeted for attention -- in 2014, the issue was justice for all survivors of gender violence; in 2015, revolution to change the paradigm; and in 2016, a call to focus on marginalized women.
This year's theme is "Solidarity Against the Exploitation of Women," paired with a focus on global solidarity to demand an end to violence against women, Rose says.
"We rise, dance, sing and drum to show the possibilities of a new kind of consciousness -- one where this violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable," she says.
In addition to entertainment, speakers for the event will include John McGee, director of the Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter; the Rev. Blake Lasater from the Eureka Springs Methodist Church; and the volunteers from the Purple Flower Domestic Violence Resource Center in Berryville, which will be the recipient of all funds raised.
The Purple Flower, in existence since December 2014, provides "advocacy, court support, a bi-monthly support group, a seven-step domestic violence education and empowerment program, a hotline and emergency transport to surrounding shelters since we have no shelter in Carroll County," says Barb Mourglia, one of the founders. "To keep the issue of domestic violence in front of people's faces unfortunately costs money."
-- Becca Martin-Brown
NAN What's Up on 02/10/2017