2nd Annual - One Billion Rising

The County of Sonoma Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is proud to announce our 2^nd annual event as part of the global movement, One Billion Rising, which seeks to end violence against women. One in three women and girls worldwide will be a victim of rape or violence in their lifetime, and our community is not immune. 

All members of the public, and the media, are encouraged to attend this free event, filled with dance and music on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14, 2016 from 12pm to 2pm at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) Lawrence A. Bertolini Student Center at 1501 Mendocino Ave. The event will be preceded by a Walk for Justice meeting at Old Courthouse Square (corner of 4^th Street & Mendocino Ave.) at 11am and proceeding to the SRJC.

The keynote speaker for the event is Kimberly Ellis, Executive Director of Emerge California http://www.emergeca.org/. Emerge California is changing the face of California politics by identifying, training, and encouraging women to run for office, get elected, and to seek higher office.

Also speaking will be Debbie Ternes,a domestic violence survivor and educator for the non-profit Guided to Safety, and a Certified Fearless Living Coach. After 17 years of relentless verbal abuse, she safely escaped her marriage and is now committed to the education and prevention of domestic violence.

The One Billion Rising for Revolution is an organized response to bring an end to the violence against women that began with The Vagina Monologues, and moved into a global campaign to bring attention to the issue. The 2015 campaign took place in over 200 countries around the world and exposed the “volatile and impacting connections between violence against women and economic, environmental, racial, and gender injustice.” The 2016 One Billion Rising theme, "Rise for Revolution" is an emphatic continuation of the demand for change. 

Event partners include Guided to Safety, a Sonoma County resource for education and information on domestic violence, teen dating violence, and sexual assault.  Educational information will be available from a variety of Bay Area community organizations.

The Commission on the Status of Women is a public advisory body currently comprised of 10 members appointed by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. The purpose of the Commission is to work to ensure that the issues impacting women and girls are given the necessary visibility to affect positive changes in public policy.

For more event details, visit the CSW website at: www.sococsw.org and Facebook