Soroptimists act tirelessly as advocates for women’s rights in their countries and communities. They also encourage women in all walks of life to voice concerns and address injustices.
Our advocacy work at national and local levels is based on first-hand experience in our communities. Many Soroptimist advocacy projects are done as collaborations between Soroptimists in different countries or in partnership with national or local organisations.
Some examples of our advocacy projects:
- Soroptimists in Romania organised a hand chain in the centre of the city of Targoviste to ‘Stop Human Trafficking’. The gathering was part of a larger, ongoing project of the club titled ‘Trafficking can be prevented’ which seeks to inform young girls and women about the dangers of trafficking.
- Soroptimists in Norway implemented a project to raise the number of female leaders in both politics and business in the Norwegian region of Lister. Soroptimists organised an open event where the administrative leader of their county talked about her experience as a pioneer in several positions that were traditionally filled by men.
- Soroptimists in Mumias, Kenya, in collaboration with Soroptimists from Denmark implemented an awareness-raising campaign for girls to encourage them to stay at school.
- Soroptimists in Turkey arranged a talk aimed at preventing child marriages at a girls’ vocational high school in Uludag. People with different areas of expertise – a doctor, a lawyer, a psychologist and educators – all spoke to the girls about the consequences of child marriage.
- To raise awareness and obtain relevant statistics to better understand the issue, SI Madagascar carried out a survey on violence against women involving all the Soroptimist Clubs in Madagascar and parts of the private sector. The project sought to break the silence and to investigate the different types of violence faced by women in Madagascar.
- Soroptimists in Como in Italy prepared a huge Soroptimist banner with the national telephone helpline and web address that women who have been victims of violence can use to reach support services. The banner was suspended above one of the busiest streets in Como, in front of the Court House.