Spotlight Campaign: Women in Conflict Zones

Each year V-Day creates a Spotlight around a particular group of women who are experiencing violence and resisting it with courage and vision. The goal of the spotlight is to put a worldwide media spotlight on the issue, and to raise funds and awareness to aid groups who are working on it.

V- Day Spotlight 2007: Women in Conflict Zones
In 2007 the V-Day Spotlight addresses Women in Conflict Zones because war exponentially increases the crimes of violence against women and girls. In equal measure the strength and resilience of women in rebuilding their communities and leading governments to peaceful solutions needs to be celebrated.

For women, not just during war but for decades to come, armed conflict means escalated military, sexual, and domestic violence, lack of security as a displaced person or refugee, and vulnerability to sex traffickers and coerced prostitution even by the peacekeepers themselves. Given the 21st century's escalating armed conflicts, impunity for wartime sexual violence cannot be tolerated. As patterns of wartime rape and sexual violence continue today in places such as Sudan, Congo, and Iraq, it is paramount to expose and condemn these crimes through international media coverage and public outcry and efforts in our communities themselves.

V-Day first took aim at wartime sexual violence with the 2002 Spotlight: Afghanistan Is Everywhere, followed by the 2005 Spotlight: Women of Iraq: Under Siege, and the 2006 Spotlight: The Global V-Day Campaign for Justice to 'Comfort Women.' Our 2007 Spotlight will continue to ensure that wartime sexual violence remains in the media and public eye. [source]

10% of the proceeds from each V-Day production to our 2007 Spotlight campaign.

For more information on Women in Conflict Zones, please read through some of the articles and reports linked below, provided on the vday/vspot for Campaign Organisers.

International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond
In June 2006, more than 250 participants from 30 countries met at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels for the International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond. This historic three-day conference -- convened by the Government of Belgium, the European Commission and UNFPA -- brought together heads of UN agencies and NGOs, human activists and researchers, government ministers, doctors and other field-based humanitarian workers, parliamentarians, representatives from the International Criminal Court, military and police officers, and members of the media to share experiences, strategies and a renewed commitment to end the scourge of sexual violence in countries torn apart by war.

European Parliament Resolution on Women and War: Women In Armed Conflicts And Their Role In Post-Conflict Reconstruction
This is the European Parliament resolution on the situation of women in armed conflicts and their role in the reconstruction and democratic process in post-conflict countries, based on a report by Belgian European Parliament member Veronique De Keyser.

Profile of the Humanitarian Situation in DRC
This two-page document profiles some of the root causes of the humanitarian situation in the DRC.

"The Hidden Consequence of War"
A feature story on traumatic fistula.

If you are interested in reading more about The Democratic Republic of Congo or Traumatic Gynecologic Fistula, leave a comment and I can post more pdf/word documents to v-day islington googlegroups.