One Billion Rising: Yerevan Flash Mob Marks Global Day Against Gender-Based Violence

A flash mob against gender-based violence brought some energy and awareness to Northern Avenue this Valentine’s Day as part of the global campaign, One Billion Rising.

One Billion Rising began in 2012 as part of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women. ‘One billion’ refers to the UN statistic that one in three women, now over one billion of the global population, will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. Thousands of demonstrations took place around the world to mark V-Day and to “show the world what one billion looks like.”

In Yerevan, a group of women danced to ‘Break the Chain,’ a song produced specifically as an anthem for One Billion Rising. They then marched down Northern Avenue, speaking with passers-by and holding signs reading “my body is not your property” and “no one can limit your freedom.”

According to the campaign, the point of these coordinated demonstrations is to rise collectively in global solidarity, using dance as an act of defiance “to express rage against global injustices.”

The Yerevan flash mob was organized by Society Without Violence, an NGO which aims to raise awareness for gender equality and women’s rights in Armenia. They also operate a Rapid Response Unit to support victims of domestic violence, filling a gap left unaddressed by the lack of legal framework around domestic violence in Armenia. Society Without Violence organized their first V-Day flash mob in 2014.