NO MORE Day of Action

On March 13, 2013, Joyful Heart joined our partners in Washington D.C. for the public launch of NO MORE, the nation’s first unifying awareness symbol to end domestic violence and sexual assault. It was an electrifying and historic day, bringing crucial discussion and unprecedented light to our issues. 

NO MORE Day generated millions of impressions about the movement and the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault and engaged millions more on social media. High level officials joined us to support to the launch, while Mariska Hargitay delivered a speech at the National Press Club that was covered by top journalists.

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NO MORE Day of Action came on the heels of the President’s reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, 400 days after the bill’s expiration and subsequent debate in Congress. For members of the field who work with these issues, the timing of the day underscored the necessity to come together as a united front to say NO MORE to bystanding, silence and violence against women and children. 

The day began in Rockville, Maryland, as our founder Mariska stood with Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder during their introduction of $2.3 million in new grants dedicated to reducing domestic violence-related homicides. Mariska was joined by Joyful Heart’s CEO Maile Zambuto, as well as members of Joyful Heart’s Policy & Advocacy and social media teams to represent the diverse roles Joyful Heart played in the launch of the NO MORE campaign.

While Vice President Biden spoke, mark. Brand Ambassador Ashley Greene addressed members of Congress and announced the results of a new Avon Foundation-funded survey on teen dating violence. With both advocates from the field and senators and representatives in attendance, she discussed the importance of expanding sexual assault and dating violence awareness and prevention programs on college campuses.

Mariska, Maile and the Joyful Heart team then headed to the National Press Club, where Mariska delivered a riveting speech discussing Joyful Heart’s work to end the rape kit backlog and shed light into the darkness surrounding sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. She highlighted the shocking prevalence of these issues, as well as the NO MORE’s power to begin a crucial conversation. She called on the nation’s most preeminent journalists to “press” these issues into the public light and the media’s crucial role in engaging the public to say NO MORE:

"I believe that it is our job—yours and mine—to PRESS. We must PRESS things out into the light. We must PRESS our fingers on the button of the bullhorn and make the world listen. So, as members of the National Press Club, I urge you, please, press on, and indeed, teach the next generation to do the same."

- Mariska Hargitay

In addition to the in-person and online audiences, Mariska’s remarks have been featured on NPR multiple times and C-SPAN 3, which together boast an audience of 22 million people. In addition, nearly every major news outlet in the country covered the speech.

The day ended with the NO MORE team celebrating NO MORE Night with the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center, where fans received NO MORE materials as they came into the stadium. During halftime, a short public service announcement about NO MORE’s work aired, followed by a text-to-donate message reaching those in the arena and also those watching the game on television. 

To increase visibility and generate conversation, Joyful Heart led a live Twitter chat during the day about NO MORE, engaging thousands of followers to learn about the NO MORE campaign and discuss how to use the symbol to advocate for an end to violence. Participants submitted pictures, inspiring stories and the ways they planned on utilizing the NO MORE symbol in their everyday lives. During the afternoon, #NOMOREday trended on Twitter. Joyful Heart also live-blogged the day on ScribbleLive, which served as a guide to the day’s events for those who weren’t able to be in Washington D.C.

Throughout the day, NO MORE received over 26 million gross media impressions and over 11,000 mentions on social media. Over 77 news publications reported about the campaign, including the Washington Post, ABC News, Houston Chronicle, Cosmopolitan Magazine and more. We were excited and invigorated by the attention NO MORE garnered, and continue to develop the platform to expand the NO MORE movement.