One Billion Rising: Des Moines Style

This week I had an amazing opportunity to go to the Des Moines 1 Billion Rising Flash Mob. Although I wanted to join in, I decided to be the mob's photographer and took a ton of photos of the event. It was empowering and moving, to say the least. 

What's 1BR? Glad you asked. Here's how Eve Ensler describes it, which is way more eloquent than any way I can explain it:

"One in three women on the planet is raped or beaten in her lifetime. That is ONE BILLION WOMEN violated. One billion daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, lovers and friends. On 14th February 2013, V-Day's 15th Anniversary, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men to dance across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers and our solidarity across borders.

ONE BILLION WOMEN VIOLATED IS AN ATROCITY
ONE BILLION WOMEN DANCING IS A REVOLUTION

One Billion Rising is:
A global strike
An invitation to dance
A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends
An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers
A refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given
A new time and a new way of being"

 This is a video 1BR put out to raise awareness. (TW - It's very graphic and triggering)

And here's the Des Moines flash mob. This is how we rise: