women of NO MOREThere is no room for excuses. There is no room for hate. There is no room for violence. There is no room for rape. We are just one voice of millions that support our dream—a world without violence.” – Michelle Bart, Washington Says NO MORE

For women, the world that we live in today is much different than 40 years ago. If you are a victim of domestic violence currently, you are likely to find a shelter, support services, healthcare, workplace help, and legal support. This progress was achieved by women who imagined a better world—a more equal world—who challenged their realities to create safer spaces for themselves and their families.  Despite the advances, the fight for equality continues. Thankfully, we have many more brave women who continue to create progress, to change communities, and to change hearts and minds. This International Women’s Day, we thank and celebrate them.

In 2013, NO MORE was co-founded by Anne Glauber and Jane Randel. They both understood that as a society we were not having enough critical conversations about domestic violence and sexual assault. Both wanted to find a way to unite passionate people in their efforts to end violence. They believed that by engaging bystanders to take action—in particular men and youth—violence could be stopped before it starts. In their view, prevention was key to create the culture change needed to end gender-based violence. Fundamentally, they saw this through the prism of human rights.

From that vision, NO MORE grew to become the largest and most successful domestic violence and sexual assault awareness and engagement initiative in history—with more than 1,400 organizations joining our allies network and over 300 high schools and colleges adopting the NO MORE symbol. The symbol itself was created by another visionary and strong woman, Christine Mau.

This revolution also sparked the creation of more than 40 state, local and international NO MORE chapters. Women and men came together to prevent gender-based violence in their communities. Today, we honor just some of the incredible leaders who are determined to unite their communities in saying NO MORE to domestic violence and sexual assault.

Read the full article on NO MORE's blog.

To learn more about International Women's Day 2020, visit NRCDV's International Women's Day page.