It’s International Women’s Day… so what?
An associate who shall remain nameless commented on my changing my twitter avatar to 1:10 (in response to Amnesty International’s campaign for International Women’s Day), “Way to get down in the trenches, Williams.”
get people talking about these issues
give stories a face — make them personal and immediate
enable online commitments to be actioned offline
demand and demonstrate accountability
Harsh words, but I’ll concede half the point. As the day dawned, I was shaking my booty at a warehouse party, wearing a short dress, drinking, dancing, and in general enjoying my right to do pretty much what I please, because it is my right. Just as it is my right to decline unwanted advances, be out on my own, leave at any time, and enjoy safe passage home.
So yeah, I’ve got it pretty good. But that’s where I take my half of the point: this day isn’t about me – yet. It’s about the women who need it now.
Last week I attended a brainstorm at Amnesty (hosted by Amnesty’s web team and the exceptionally clever bunnies at Made By Many) and took part in a productive little discussion on how to use social media tools to raise the profile of Amnesty’s work, including their IWD activities.
For starters, take one urgent, local issue: one in four local authorities FAIL to provide female victims of violence with the support they need. How do we use our media tools to create change here?
Without divulging trade secrets, here are some ideas:
It’s never going to be easy to change the way people think and act, but communication tactics like these can get us one step closer.
