The Story of the “Orange Lady”
The story of the Orange Lady started in Australia. In Germany they are called Matilda because they came from Australia. Since 2013, the Zonta Club of Ipswich, District 22 in Australia, has been 
promoting the Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women campaign during the 16 Days of Activism (25 Nov-10 Dec) by distributing 16, freestanding,orange, cutout ladies to local businesses and organisations that each host a lady for the 16 days.
Each lady displays specific information and statistics about violence against women and girls to bring attention to the many forms of gender-based violence that occur in our communities and of which we are often unaware.
A template for the Orange Lady was created for consistency. The Zonta Club of Kanata-Stittsville gratefully acknowledges two stellar students in the construction class at Sacred Heart High School, Stittsville, who enthusiastically embraced this project and cut out the ladies for us.
What is the purpose of the Orange Lady for the Zonta Says NO campaign?
The Orange Lady says NO:
- to violence against women and girls
- to violence in any form, whether physical,
- psychological or via the Internet
The Orange Lady is there to:
- Observe
- Be on the watch
- Take care
- SPEAK UP!
The Orange Lady is always present – here and in many other places!
- More often than expected
- Closer than imagined
- Every day, every night and all year round
If you would like to create an Orange Lady campaign or learn more about how the Zonta Club of Kanata-Stittsville developed the Orange Lady Project,
Download this manual.