Sept. 25 Is Orange Day: End Violence Against Women

Day of Action

On September 25 observe an Orange Day – a day to say no and to work for an end to violence against women and girls.

Here are some ways to mark this day:

Pray

• Pray for guidance for all those who work to end violence against women. Pray that all people turn from violence.

Advocate

• Ask your members of congress to pass an inclusive Violence Against Women Act that protects all women.
• Read “Late at Night … Dear House”, a poem in response to the Vio­lence Against Women Act (VAWA) re-authorization debate in Congress.

Act

• Take part in the Stop Rape Now campaign to stop the use of rape in war.
• Plan to observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. The Presbyterians Against Domestic Violence Network provides ideas and liturgical resources.
• Wear orange. Take pictures and share them on Facebook.

Give to the One Great Hour of Sharing and Self-Development of People

• Self-Development of People uses part of their portion of the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering to make grants to groups that work to end violence against women and girls, including:
• In Hudson River Presbytery, the women who make up Daughters of Sarah gather weekly to share concerns, problem solve, and learn leadership skills. They have faced issues of poverty, prejudice, and gender violence.
• With SOAR, I am free, writes Elvia Sanchez about the Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships (SOAR)—a grassroots taskforce in Rhode Island of domestic violence survivors dedicated to lending their voices to change the systems that oppress women, while educating the community about the dynamics of domestic violence.
• Kimbombo Community Theater Group in Holyoke, MA, is an educational and empowerment project for its members, their families and the community that works by performing original plays dealing with issues they commonly confront such as domestic violence, incarceration, gangs, and bullying.
• Cody/Rouge Visionaries in Detroit, MI, is a community therapeutic group helping its members deal with grief, loss and trauma by providing mechanisms to cope with losses, violence, and violations such as mental abuse, rape and abandonment.  The project is specifically geared for members without access to  or trust in the traditional mental health system.

Imagine

• Use your imagination to identify and implement other ways of working to end violence against women and girls. Share your ideas.

Of course working to end violence against women and girls is not a task for one day a month. Orange Days provide a reminder that, in Christ, we are called and freed to love one another and to pursue justice for all—each day and every day.