V-Day Annual Report 2013 2013 | Page 2

Welcome to ONE BILLION RISING, V-Day’s Annual Report for 2012 – 2013. On 14 February, activists in 207 countries, more than the UN officially recognizes, rose. Women wrote in This year, with your help, we witnessed history in the saying that they had never realized they could get help until they heard about the campaign, others making when one billion people ROSE in unison to end violence against women and girls. For 15 years, wrote to tell us the details of their risings. Videos and pictures flooded in on V-Day’s Facebook page and V-Day activists have shattered taboos, changed culture, and funded critical on the ground anti-violence Twitter feed. By the end of the day, Twitter impressions were over 500 million and #1billionrising had trended work. This year, they moved the needle so that the issue of violence against women and girls will never in seven countries, including multiple times in the U.S. and UK. Media impressions in the U.S. alone be marginalized again. exceeded 600 million with foreign correspondents In the same way that The Vagina Monologues from CNN, BBC, The Guardian and Reuters among became our guide 15 years ago, One Billion Rising the many following the day. has become our mantra, our muse. As you will see through this report, when working in By just saying the phrase ”One Billion Rising”, community, local activists have the power to rise up inviting people to say it and understand it, we and carve out deeper impact on a global scale. It accomplished a key goal of the campaign – showing was a breathtaking year, and we hope you enjoy the world how central the issue of violence against reading about it. women and girls is by showing them how many We’re ready for 2014. Join us and RISE4JUSTICE! women have been affected. In the end, our team of staff, activists, and supporters moved fast and kept true to the mission. We laughed and we cried and we kept going with a spirit that was beautiful, at times intense, but always meaningful. Planning for a global day of action that would begin in Australia and 48-hours later end in Hawaii was a challenge for our social media team who stayed up throughout. Susan Celia Swan Executive Director Cecile Lipworth Managing Director