The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign started Tuesday, which was International Day Against Violence Against Women.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign started Tuesday, which was International Day Against Violence Against Women.

The international campaign runs each year through Dec. 10, which is International Human Rights Day, to underscore the message that women’s rights are human rights and violence against anyone because of gender is a violation of human rights, according to 16 Days information on the Rutgers University website.

On Monday, Zonta Club of Fort Smith members set up a display of 5-by-8-inch orange flags spelling out "NO" along with a "Zonta Says No" banner in front of Central Presbyterian Church on Rogers Avenue to draw attention to the 16 Days of Activism event.

Other significant dates during the campaign are today, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day; Sunday, World AIDS Day; and Dec. 6, the anniversary of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, during which Marc Lepine killed 28 people and himself at Ecole Polytechnique after specifically targeting women and announcing he was "fighting feminism."

The Zonta Says NO To Violence Against Women campaign features the service and advocacy of Zonta Clubs around the world to increase awareness of and actions to eliminate violence against women and girls. As part of its commitment to Zonta Says No and the 16 Days of Activism, the Zonta Club of Fort Smith offers this visual reminder and encourages the community to become educated on the many types of violence carried out against women locally every day.