SALT LAKE CITY – An organization held an event on Valentine’s Day aimed at raising awareness regarding women who are raped or beaten, and the event highlighted role models who seek to empower women’s voices and advocate for change.
The One Billion Rising event was hosted by SHEROES United, which is a non-profit organization focusing on issues like human trafficking, domestic violence, sex slavery and other unwanted acts perpetrated against women.
Friday’s event was part of a larger movement across the globe, and in Utah participants were at the Gateway Mall, where they performed dances and played music as well as gave awards to “Sheroes” in the community.
Bridget Cook-Burch, public relations director for SHEROES United, spoke about the organization’s goals.
"We're very visible,” she said. “We believe in education and enlightenment, and so we're about teaching our children and our sisters and our mothers and our daughters and our friends about what's happening in the world as far as women, but we're pro-activists--meaning that we positively get out there. We make a stand and we dance and we rise."
Click here for more information about the event, and click here to visit the organization’s main website.
