“One Billion Rising” at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: a reflection

On 13–14 February 2013, as part of the “One Billion Rising” Campaign, students and staff at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) in Baltimore, MD, USA, joined millions of people throughout the world to demand an end to violence against women and girls. Inspired by Eve Ensler's play, The Vagina Monologues, the Campaign marked the 15th anniversary of V-Day, a global activist movement to end one of the most pervasive forms of violence. This year, events took place in 207 countries throughout the world, the most in its history. This year, for the first time students and staff at JHSPH, organized lectures and panel events, photo essays, information giveaways and a performance of the official One Billion Rising flash mob dance, done in solidarity with hundreds of similar performances globally, which asked people to “Strike*Dance*Rise” against GBV. This article is a reflection on that experience and the broader role that public health students can play in the fight against GBV.

Gender-based violence is a global epidemic from which no country is immune. Although recognized as a serious public health problem, it has not received nearly enough attention at Johns Hopkins; yet as public health students, we are uniquely situated to address the issue. Hence, student leaders and faculty members from across departments came together in late January 2013 to plan how to raise awareness of GBV within the Hopkins community. It was a pivotal moment for taking action, as several events had brought the issue to public consciousness, including the gang rapes of a 23-year-old woman in India and a 17-year-old girl in South Africa, both of whom died as a result of their injuries. These incidents captured world attention, compelling action.

Throughout the two-day event, we utilized diverse channels, including social media, to enhance and promote events. In addition to creating a special Facebook page (One Billion Rising – JHSPH), we generated a listserve for students interested in the issue. On both of these media, we publicized “14 facts on gender-based violence”^1–5 leading up to the days of activism. To kick off the week, we highlighted these key facts along with photographs from around the world on a “Wall of Wonder” with a 12x7ft interactive video display located in the school's main atrium.

Panel discussion: from research to action

On 13 February, we organized a lunchtime panel discussion focusing on GBV globally, considering the continuum from research to policy to local action. Speakers included Dr Jacquelyn Campbell, Professor, School of Nursing and Co-Chair, Institute of Medicine's Forum on Global Violence Prevention; Michele Moloney-Kitts, Managing Director, Together for Girls; and Sally Hess, a nurse trained in forensic examination for sexual assault survivors, who works on domestic violence programming in Baltimore. Panelists discussed ways to collect data on GBV and translate the results into action. They also suggested ways in which students could engage with the topic. With nearly 100 people in attendance, it paved the way for the day of activism.

Strike, Dance, Rise

February 14th began with the distribution of “love packs” and condom roses made out of cellophane, condoms and pipe cleaner. All giveaways contained facts on GBV as well as ways to get involved in bringing an end to GBV – whether volunteering at a local GBV community group or, for healthcare providers, brushing up on their domestic danger screening skills. The morning's activities led up to the widely anticipated flash mob, in which 35 students performed a choreographed dance to “Break the Chain”, by Tena Clark. The song and choreography routine were developed by Eve Ensler and the One Billion Rising campaign and distributed freely online.

More than 200 Hopkins students, faculty, and staff gathered to watch. By performing the same choreographed moves to the official “One Billion Rising” theme song, Break the chain, Hopkins students became part of the global movement to demand an end to GBV. Historically, dance has been used a form of activism. However, only recently have people begun to see its power for global activism. Even today, some of the most conservative cultures in the world ban organized dance. It is feared, because it ignites the one thing that you cannot take away from a person: hope.

“I'm rising because”…

After the flash mob ended, we guided the audience to the school's atrium where we had set up a photo booth to create a photographic essay. More than 100 students were photographed with personalized messages that started with: “I am rising because…” or “I am a feminist because…”. We posted these images on our Facebook page. The photo booth provided students with a space for discovery while also giving increased visibility to the issue. Students were insightful, honest, and oftentimes extremely brave when providing their reasons for rising.

“I'm rising because… No one should experience the pain that my sister did.”

“I'm a feminist because… Being physically smaller should not mean being constantly worried about your safety.”

A large number of men participated. One said: “I am a feminist because… I am my mother, I am my sisters.” One of the school's deans said: “70% of this School may be female, but this issue affects 100% of the School.”

The event connected those working domestically in the US with those working internationally on the importance of activism and action. The overwhelming support from the student body reaffirmed what we, the organizers, hoped; regardless of interests and skill sets, students, faculty and employees at JHSPH, who come from all over the world, felt strongly that violence against women and girls is an extremely important public health issue.

We continue to rise because…

As students at a primarily research-oriented institution, we reflected on why this issue mattered, and how we felt about it personally. We believe strongly in the power of data, and the ability of data to inform change. We do, however, often wrestle with the need for high-quality data, on one hand, and the need to advocate and take action in real time, on the other. A key challenge with organizing these activities was simply galvanizing faculty and administrators who do not focus explicitly on violence. GBV is a complex issue, which requires action from multiple sectors. Given that there is no “home” for GBV issues at JHSPH, it was challenging to rally supporters from across departments.

Given the data-driven nature of JHSPH, we were able to use available statistics in our publicity, increasing interest leading up to the events. A major success was the high level of interest and support from a range of student organizations at the school, who enthusiastically partnered with us to organize the events, indicating the degree to which public health practitioners are eager to engage with these issues.

Moving forward, we believe that JHSPH is uniquely positioned to blend data and activism; as the next generation of public health advocates, practitioners and researchers, we can combine our underlying passion for these issues with the need for evidence and data, in order to inform decisions to reduce the burden of violence. We are also convinced that it is critically important to engage in these issues from a human rights and equity perspective.

We recognize that the impact of our event will have been limited. The real frontlines are with the organizations and groups around the world that have been advocating for improvements for decades. We believe we can support their efforts by expanding the number of public health researchers and practitioners who engage with this issue. Given the reach of JHSPH in global health networks, we want to spark a greater level of urgency among students and faculty, in the hope that they will in turn incorporate action on violence against women into their wide-ranging work. Finally, we want to develop a student home for these issues and a platform from which student activism can develop.