1. Zonta District 7 Conference Advocacy Presentation
September 15-17
Minneapolis, MN

2. North American Interdistrict Conference
Held on June 2-4, 2017 in Mclean, Virginia
Six advocacy programs were presented:
Campus violence against women
ERA and Equal Pay
Gender equality
Advocacy at the provincial level
Advocacy for campus safety
Advocacy at the state level

3. End Rape on Campus
Jessica Davidson, Assistant Managing Director of End Rape on Campus ( stated that the practical solution involved:
Broad campus and community involvement, including campus-wide assessments, engaged leadership and on-going training;
Effective intervention, including victim services and fair disciplinary processes that hold offenders accountable; and
Prevention and education, including making new students aware of policies and comprehensive prevention education.

5. White Ribbon Campaign
World’s largest men’s movement to end violence against women and girls.
Asks men to wear white ribbons as a pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.
It’s On Us Pledge: recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault; identify situations where sexual assault may occur; intervene in situations where consent has not been given; and create an environment where sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.

7. Campus Accountability and Safety Act
Federal legislation introduced by Senator McCaskill (D-MO) requires each campus to designate a sexual response coordinator, set up a uniform process for student disciplinary proceedings and conduct minimum training for all campus personnel.
Bill (S. 856) was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

8. Equal Rights Amendment
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

10. Ratification Procedure
Must be approved by 2/3 of the House and the Senate and ratified by the legislatures of ¾ of the states. 36 of the required 38 states have ratified.
Several strategies to achieve ratification:
Reintroduce the ERA and restart the ratification process;
Remove the ratification deadline; and
Two state strategy – Have two of the 14 states that have not yet ratified the amendment do so.
State of Missouri has not yet ratified the ERA.

11. Advocating for Gender Equality
Presentation dealt with:
Human trafficking;
UN Sustainable Development Goals; and
Women’s Empowerment Principles.
How to do an advocacy action plan:
Identify the subject matter and scope;
Identify your team members;
Plan and budget;
Implement action; and
Recap and feedback.

12. Advocating at State Level
Establish clear understanding of the issue to be addressed.
Obtain agreement on desired outcome and time frame to accomplish.
Consider collaboration with like-minded organizations to enhance achieving the outcome and/or obtaining the attention needed;
Determine appropriate target audience required to realize the desired outcome; and
Evaluate actions for future follow-up, as needed.

13. Zonta District 15 Projects
Human Trafficking
Participated in Michigan State Trafficking Task Force meetings;
Entered into agreement with the Task Force;
Developed posters to encourage individuals to report suspected trafficking and directing individuals where to seek help;
Put posters in highway rest stops in cooperation with state DOT and Social Service offices

15. Zonta District 15 Projects
Equal Pay
Joined coalition seeking legislation ensuring equal pay;
Participated in coalition meeting to educate about pay disparity;
Met with state representatives at the capitol;
Arranged media coverage; and
Now planning next year’s event.

17. Zonta Advocacy Efforts
Three US Senators have recently signed on as co-sponsors of the ERA ratification amendment that was addressed by Zontians:
Gary Peters of Michigan
Brian Schatz of Hawaii
Maria Cantrell of Washington
Two new Senators, Al Franken of Minnesota and Diane Feinstein of California, have co-sponsored the Campus Accountability and Safety Act after their offices were visited by Zontians on Advocacy Day.

18. District 7 Advocacy Project 2017-2018
This year we will be reading and discussing The Unfinished Revolution: Voices From The Global Fight For Women’s Rights, edited by Minky Worden.
Both Amazon and the publisher, Seven Stories Press (sevenstories.com), have new and used paperbacks, as well as e-books.