Join Us

Anyone can participate in Week Without Violence, in ways big or small. From planning and hosting an event or posting a campaign selfie, to contacting your legislators or engaging with us on social media, there are a number of ways to get involved with this campaign to end gender-based violence. Here are a few:

Hold your own Week Without Violence event

Want to host an event? You can host an event on your own or with a group (your company, organization, place of worship, etc.). Your event can be any size, take place anywhere, and even be a private event. Create a Week Without Violence account and access our digital toolkit to help you plan your event. The toolkit includes educational resources, promotional materials, and more. Once you’ve settled on a date and event, come back to register your event to gain access to a personalized event page! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Use the fact sheets and materials from the toolkit to hold a virtual dialogue about gender-based violence in your community. Discuss how you can create better supports for survivors of violence. Create a plan of action.
  • Hold a virtual panel discussion with local leaders, advocates, experts, and other stakeholders.
  • Organize an awareness event such as a virtual event, film screening, or art exhibit.
  • Create space for survivors to share their experiences. This could be a creative event such as an open mic or it could be a more structured time of sharing.
  • Invite local elected officials to make a proclamation to end gender-based violence at a local press event. Then encourage them to create policies that support survivors.
  • Hold an event in partnership with or to support organizations in your community that provide gender-based violence services.

Attend a Week Without Violence event near you

Find an event in your community and help your friends and family register, as well. Encourage others to do the same. If you don’t see an event near you, organize one yourself! Check the map regularly to see any new events that get registered.

Take action in your community and with your elected officials

Use our helpful   (including toolkits and materials) and   to support your organization’s efforts to end gender-based violence! Don’t forget to create a Week Without Violence account to register your participation and your event to gain access to your own personalized event page url.

Contact your members of Congress

Encourage our elected officials to take steps to address gender-based violence and improve support and resources for survivors. Act now and join us in urging members of Congress to support the Violence Against Women Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA).

Join us for any (or all!) of our national Week of Action activities, October 18 – 24, 2020

Visit our Week of Action page for more information:

  • Sunday, October 18: Organize Your Butterflies: A Special Week Without Violence Series
    Help us kick off Week Without Violence 2020 by tuning in to hear from partner organizations and experts working to support survivors and prevent gender-based violence. Download, listen, and share this special #WWV20 edition of Organize Your Butterflies. We will post a total of five podcasts during Week Without Violence 2020, so be sure to check back daily.
  • Monday, October 19: Ending Violence Against All Womxn Virtual Panel

    Watch this virtual panel in which we engaged leaders of partner organizations who are working to eliminate violence against ALL womxn and their communities in a discussion that will provide facts and stats, debunk myths, and provide resources to help survivors thrive.

    Speakers include:

    • Saida Agostini, Vice President, Member Services, YWCA USA (moderator)
    • Dani Ayers, Chief Executive Officer, me too. movement
    • Grace Huang, Director of Policy, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
    • Rosie Hidalgo, JD, Senior Director of Public Policy, Casa de Esperanza
    • Isa Noyola, Deputy Director, Mijente
    • Megan Simmons, Senior Policy Attorney, Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community
  • Tuesday, October 20: Imagine a World Without Violence
    Help us raise awareness about gender-based violence and support for survivors by taking a Week Without Violence campaign selfie using one of our fillable signs and/or making a donation! YWCA is the largest network of domestic and sexual violence service providers in the country and your support is crucial to our work.
  • Wednesday, October 21: Day of Action – Capitol Hill Call In Day and Making the Local Focal
    • Capitol Hill Call-In Day – This Capitol Hill Call-In Day, we invite you to engage your Members of Congress by taking action online; calling your legislators; and engaging with these discussions on social media, using the hashtag #WWV20 to tweet at your Member of Congress.
    • Making the Local Focal – Engage with your state and local elected officials on this important issue. Ask questions about their position on policies that support survivors and help hold them accountable.
  • Thursday, October 22: Virtual Capitol Hill Briefing
    Join YWCA as we lead Member of Congress through a virtual tour of facilities that are providing trauma-informed services that meet the housing, justice, and economic needs of survivors of violence and abuse. These tours show first-hand how YWCAs are helping survivors and their children thrive using emergency funding received from the CARES Act and annual federal funding supported by the Family Violence Prevention & Services Act (FVPSA) and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). As the nation’s largest network of domestic and sexual violence service providers, this funding is critical to allow YWCAs to continue to provide critical and necessary services for survivors and their children. Register today to join in on our virtual tour that we hope will inspire and encourage Congress to reprioritize COVID-19 relief funding for FVPSA and VAWA.
  • Friday, October 23: #FreedomFriday Instagram Live

    Join us for our #FreedomFriday Instagram Live from 2 to 3 p.m. ET, in which our CEO Alejandra Y. Castillo and Kim Pentico, Director of Economic Justice Program, National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) will have an engaging and informative conversation about violence against womxn and how to best support survivors in the quest for freedom from abuse. The conversation will be opened and closed with an empowering music set from DJ DOMO that you won’t want to miss!

  • Saturday, October 24: #SelfCareSaturday
    Take the time to engage in healing and self-care as a provider, advocate, activist, or survivor is an integral part of your own mental and physical well-being and will help make you an even more powerful advocate for your causes and clients.