V-Day

V-Day is a global activist movement and nonprofit organization focused on ending violence against women and girls. It was created by author, playwright, and activist Eve Ensler after the impact of her play The Vagina Monologues demonstrated the ability of performance to generate discussion, solidarity, and financial support for anti-violence organizations. The movement formally began on February 14, 1998, when a benefit performance of the play in New York City raised more than $250,000 for local groups working against domestic and sexual violence. The name V-Day refers simultaneously to Victory, Valentine, and Vagina. Its timing around February 14 deliberately turns a holiday associated with romance into an occasion for public education, fundraising, and activism. V-Day grants local activists permission to stage benefit performances without paying theatrical royalties, allowing communities, schools, colleges, cultural organizations, and advocacy groups to produce events and direct proceeds toward local shelters, rape-crisis centers, safe houses, educational programs, and legislative initiatives. Although The Vagina Monologues remains the movement's best-known creative vehicle, V-Day has expanded into readings, documentary screenings, teach-ins, workshops, marches, festivals, leadership gatherings, and campaigns addressing specific forms or locations of violence. Its stated concerns include rape, domestic battery, incest, female genital mutilation, sexual slavery, and other forms of gender-based violence. The movement's framework includes women and girls who are cisgender, transgender, or gender-fluid, while also emphasizing the importance of local leadership and attention to the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability. V-Day developed an international program beginning in the early 2000s. Activities included leadership summits with women in Afghanistan, activist gatherings in Rome, work connected to the Middle East through the Karama program, and attention to the killings and disappearances of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. In settings where The Vagina Monologues could not be performed because of censorship or political restrictions, organizers used other V-Day texts and formats, including A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer. The movement also supported an all-transgender production of The Vagina Monologues in 2004. One of V-Day's most consequential initiatives has been its work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its 2007 spotlight campaign, Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to the Women and Girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo, helped focus international attention on conflict-related sexual violence. V-Day subsequently supported the City of Joy in Bukavu, a locally operated community for survivors that provides group therapy, self-defense training, sexuality education, ecological and horticultural instruction, and cultural activities. The organization has also supported anti-violence programs and safe houses in countries including Haiti, Kenya, Egypt, and Iraq. V-Day helped launch One Billion Rising, a global action first held on February 14, 2013. The campaign's name refers to estimates that approximately one billion women worldwide may experience rape or beating during their lifetimes. It encourages people to dance, gather, and publicly oppose violence, with actions adapted to local traditions, religions, and political circumstances. V-Day describes its broader movement as having organized thousands of events, raised more than $100 million for anti-violence work, and reached communities in more than 200 countries; these figures are organizational claims rather than independently audited financial disclosures. V-Day's distinctive positioning lies in combining popular culture with grassroots organizing. It treats art as a means of changing public attitudes, but also insists that local women are best placed to determine community needs and lead durable change. The movement has attracted substantial criticism, including objections that it commercializes or appropriates local feminist struggles, that it imposes an international framework on community campaigns, and that The Vagina Monologues can exclude intersex people, disabled people, and some queer experiences. V-Day has responded in part by broadening its programming and incorporating more explicitly trans-inclusive and locally directed initiatives.

V-Day emerged from the cultural and political response to Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues. After hearing audiences describe personal experiences of abuse, sexual violence, shame, and bodily control, Ensler and collaborators developed a benefit-performance model that connected theater with direct support for anti-violence organizations. The first event was held in New York on February 14, 1998, and raised more than $250,000. V-Day subsequently became a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and adopted a mission centered on ending violence against women and girls. The movement's early operating model was decentralized. Local groups could stage approved performances without paying royalties and use the proceeds for community organizations. This structure allowed V-Day to spread through colleges, theaters, shelters, women's organizations, and volunteer networks. February became the principal month for performances, with many events taking place on or around Valentine's Day. Rather than operating primarily as a conventional service provider, V-Day used artistic events to create public conversation, attract participants, and channel money toward existing local work. By the beginning of the 2000s, V-Day had become international. It convened women leaders in Afghanistan, gathered activists in Rome, developed the Karama program in the Middle East, and worked to publicize violence against women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The movement adapted its materials in places where The Vagina Monologues could not be staged because of censorship or cultural and political restrictions. Alternative formats included readings, anthologies, documentary screenings, workshops, and community discussions. In 2004, an all-transgender production of the play signaled an effort to make the movement's public programming more inclusive of transgender participants. V-Day also expanded beyond recurring performances into festivals, marches, educational programs, and thematic campaigns. The 2004 documentary V-Day: Until the Violence Stops and the anthology A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer helped transfer the movement's message into film and print. UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS: NYC in 2006 and the V to the Tenth anniversary events in New Orleans in 2008 provided large-scale settings for performances and organizing. Community volunteers and students also produced Any One of Us: Words from Prison, conducted Spotlight Campaign teach-ins, and participated in V-Men workshops directed at engaging men in anti-violence work. The Democratic Republic of the Congo became a major focus of V-Day's international advocacy. In 2007, the organization launched Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to the Women and Girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The campaign sought to raise awareness of conflict-related sexual violence and support local organizations. V-Day later helped establish and support City of Joy in Bukavu in partnership with Congolese and international organizations. City of Joy was designed as a survivor-centered leadership and recovery community, offering therapy, self-defense, sexuality education, ecological activities, and cultural programming. Its operation is locally rooted rather than structured as a conventional foreign-owned institution. The Haiti spotlight campaign followed in 2011. More broadly, V-Day reported distributing support to thousands of community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Egypt, and Iraq. The movement's stated principles emphasize the transformative potential of art, the importance of ordinary people acting collectively, the leadership of women who understand local conditions, and analysis of violence through race, class, and gender. On February 14, 2013, V-Day helped launch One Billion Rising. The campaign used a mass-action format, asking women and men to rise, dance, and demonstrate against rape and battery while demanding justice and equality. Its actions spread across more than 200 countries and were adapted to local religious, cultural, and political contexts. One Billion Rising gave V-Day a platform that extended beyond theater and made public movement-building a central part of its identity. The movement has faced criticism throughout its history. Conservative commentators objected to using Valentine's Day to foreground rape, incest, and domestic violence. Feminist critics, including Clara Eugenia Rojas in a discussion of V-Day's work in Mexico, argued that the organization arrived late to the Ciudad Juarez issue, benefited from publicity, and marginalized activists who had built the local campaign. Other scholars and activists criticized The Vagina Monologues for insufficient attention to intersex people, queer experiences, and disability, as well as for elements they viewed as heterosexist or ableist. These critiques have influenced debates over representation and the relationship between global advocacy organizations and local movements. V-Day's later programming has included more trans-inclusive events and a stronger stated emphasis on local leadership, though the movement remains associated primarily with Ensler's play and its original performance model.

• 2013

  One Billion Rising launches

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  V-Day helped initiate One Billion Rising, a worldwide public action against violence against women and for gender equality.

• 2011

  Haiti spotlight

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  The annual spotlight campaign focused on women and girls in Haiti.

• 2010

  Reported global growth

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  V-Day reported 5,400 events in 1,500 locations during the year and more than $80 million raised since launch.

• 2008

  Tenth-anniversary events

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  V-Day marked its tenth anniversary with V to the Tenth events in New Orleans.

• 2007

  Congo spotlight campaign

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  The Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource campaign focused V-Day's advocacy on sexual violence against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• 2004

  All-transgender production

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  V-Day presented an all-transgender version of The Vagina Monologues featuring eighteen trans women.

• 2001

  International expansion

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  V-Day began holding international leadership and activist gatherings and developed regional initiatives beyond the United States.

• 1998

  First V-Day benefit performance

  [1]V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org

  The first V-Day event was held in New York on February 14, using The Vagina Monologues to raise more than $250,000 for local anti-violence groups.

An arts-led, locally organized global movement that converts performances and public demonstrations into awareness, fundraising, survivor support, and policy advocacy against gender-based violence.

• Performance and fundraising program · 1998

  The Vagina Monologues benefit performances

  V-Day's signature offering is a network of locally organized benefit performances of Eve Ensler's play. Approved groups generally stage the work without paying theatrical royalties and direct proceeds toward anti-violence programs, shelters, rape-crisis services, education, and advocacy. The performances also function as entry points for public discussion and volunteer organizing.

• Anthology and reading program

  A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer

  This collection of writings about violence against women provides an alternative or supplementary performance format. It has been used for readings and events in communities where The Vagina Monologues is unavailable, restricted, or not considered the most suitable local vehicle.

• Performance and educational program

  Any One of Us: Words from Prison

  Any One of Us is among the works used in V-Day's community benefit and education programming. It extends the movement's use of testimony and performance into discussions involving incarceration, gender, and violence.

• Documentary · 2004

  V-Day: Until the Violence Stops

  This documentary records and communicates the movement's performance-based activism and its broader campaign against violence. Screenings have been used as educational and organizing events alongside live performances and discussions.

• Survivor support and leadership community

  City of Joy

  City of Joy is a survivor-centered community in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, supported by V-Day in collaboration with local and international partners. Its programming includes group therapy, self-defense, sexuality education, ecological and horticultural activities, leadership development, and cultural work.

• Global advocacy campaign · 2013

  One Billion Rising

  One Billion Rising is a mass public-action campaign encouraging people to dance, gather, and protest against violence against women. It is designed for local adaptation and has included actions in countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and other regions.

• 2013One Billion Rising

  Global

  A worldwide action calling on people to rise, dance, and demonstrate against rape, battery, and gender inequality.

  Outcome. The campaign reached more than 200 countries and territories, with local groups adapting actions to their social, religious, and political contexts.

  Source
• 2011Haiti Spotlight Campaign

  Haiti · International

  V-Day's annual spotlight focused media attention and fundraising on women and girls in Haiti.

  Source
• 2007Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to the Women and Girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo

  Democratic Republic of the Congo · International

  A V-Day spotlight campaign addressing conflict-related sexual violence and directing attention and resources toward Congolese women and girls.

  Outcome. The campaign contributed to sustained V-Day support for City of Joy and other local anti-violence initiatives.

  Source

• 2013

  Launch a mass-action platform through One Billion RisingStrategy

  Background

  V-Day sought to complement performances and fundraising with a highly visible global mobilization.

  Action taken

  It helped launch One Billion Rising, encouraging coordinated public demonstrations and dance actions against violence and for gender equality.

  Aftermath

  The campaign extended V-Day's identity from a theater-centered fundraiser into a broader global movement platform.

  Source

• 2007

  Prioritize the Democratic Republic of the CongoStrategy

  Background

  Conflict-related sexual violence in the Congo became a major focus of international advocacy.

  Action taken

  V-Day launched a spotlight campaign and supported survivor-centered infrastructure and local anti-violence organizations.

  Aftermath

  The work helped lead to sustained support for City of Joy in Bukavu and increased international attention to the issue.

  Source

• 2001

  Expand from U.S. performances to international organizingStrategy

  Background

  The movement's early benefit events generated demand for activity outside the United States.

  Action taken

  V-Day established international gatherings, regional coordination, and programs addressing violence in locations including Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Mexico.

  Aftermath

  V-Day developed a global activist network and adapted its formats for communities facing censorship or different local conditions.

  Source

• 1998

  Adopt a royalty-free local benefit modelStrategy

  Background

  V-Day sought to turn the popularity of The Vagina Monologues into recurring local fundraising and awareness activity.

  Action taken

  The movement enabled local organizations, schools, and volunteers to stage benefit performances and direct proceeds to community anti-violence programs.

  Aftermath

  The model supported rapid international expansion and made local performance the movement's principal organizing mechanism.

  Source

1. 1V-Day (movement)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2V-Day official websitevday.org