when they demand that birth control be affordable and accessible.
While feminist critics of the SlutWalks may take issue with various aspects of this movement, they
have all agreed with its basic premise: namely, that women are not responsible for sexual assault, no
matter what they wear or what they do. The ability of this message to resonate globally was reaffirmed
two years after the first SlutWalk protest when, in February 2013, another anti-gendered-violence protest
took place—although this time it occurred on the same day in cities, towns, and villages all around the
world. Planned to occur on Valentine’s Day 2013, One Billion Rising was organized by Eve Ensler,
author of The Vagina Monologues and founder of the V-Day movement to end violence, along with her V-
Day colleagues around the globe. The name of the action highlighted the fact that one in three women
around the world—or 1 billion women—will “suffer some form of violence at the hands of men in the
course of her lifetime,” according to a report by the United Nations.^87 Using creativity and performance
to garner attention, the One Billion Rising protests involved large groups of activists dancing, singing, and
giving speeches to challenge the cultural norms that perpetuate violence against women. Activists in cities
such as Buenos Aires, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Kabul, London, New Delhi, and Washington, D.C.,
representing over thirteen thousand organizations and 203 countries, participated in the event.^88
According to Kamla Bhasin, the coordinator for One Billion Rising in Southeast Asia, the date of the
event was strategic: “On this St. Valentine’s Day, we are saying we don’t want violence. We want love.
What kind of love? Just love. Loved based on justice, love based on equality, love based on mutual
respect.”^89 Many of the One Billion Rising protests took the form of flash mobs, where large groups of
seemingly unconnected people suddenly gathered together and began choreographed dance movements,
moving en masse to the song “Break the Chain” by Tena Clark (the official One Billion Rising anthem).
Throughout the globe, the protests also received recognition and support from elected officials, ranging
from the first lady of Somalia to the mayor of San Francisco.
Like the SlutWalks, One Billion Rising was propelled by social media: word of the Valentine’s Day
protest spread via a short film posted to YouTube five months in advance of the event; organizers used
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to rally participants; actions were streamed live on the Internet; and
after the demonstration was over, photos and videos from the highly visual event were distributed using
social media. This day of simultaneous protest once again proved that new forms of technology could be
used to advance feminist causes—this time on a truly global scale—in a way previously unheard of or
seen. As the South Africa coordinator for One Billion Rising, Gillian Schutte, said, “When a billion
voices make that call on the same day—something is bound to change.”^90
These recent movements bring much-needed focus to violence against women at the hands of men,
which the World Health Organization has described as “a global health problem of epidemic
proportions.”^91 A 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that “intimate partner
violence, sexual violence, and stalking are important and widespread public health problems in the
United States.” According to the CDC, one in five women (and one in seventy-one men) has been raped;
one in six women (and one in nineteen men) has been stalked; and one in four women (and one in seven
men) has been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner.^92 While decades of feminist
activism, survivors’ testimonies, and changes in the law—such as the Violence Against Women Act
passed by Congress in 1994—have increased awareness of this global health problem, the rates of
violence against women at the hands of men remains extremely high and little changed around the globe.