They were doing more than taking a midday dance break. They were part of a flash mob protesting violence against women and girls, called to action by One Billion Rising, a group hoping to raise awareness of violence against women and girls around the world.

 

Nikki Noto, executive director for One Billion Rising Atlanta, said the initiative was launched based on a staggering global statistic: one in three women around the world will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.

 

"We're flipping the script," Noto said. "A billion women and girls raped and beaten is an atrocity. A billion people rising is a revolution."

 

Participants gathered on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol to call for increased violence awareness, where they heard from speakers including Bernice King, youngest daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sen. Nan Orrock. Then hundreds of dancers made their way down Peachtree Street to Woodruff Park for the flash mob.

 

For weeks, dance studios and organizations around the city hosted rehearsals to teach dance moves for the flash mob, which were designed by choreographer Debbie Allen for the song, "Break the Chain," written for One Billion Rising by Atlanta songwriter Tena Clark.

 

One Billion Rising is a satellite initiative of V-Day, a global activist group raising awareness of violence against women founded by "Vagina Monologues" playwright Eve Ensler. Although the project is in its first year, Noto said women and men in every country in the world planned to dance in support of One Billion Rising's mission on Feb. 14. Noto said even she was surprised by the overwhelming response to the project.

 

"It's the most phenomenal thing that I've ever seen in my life," she said. "It's just caught on like wildfire."

 

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) employees also got in on the flash mob. More than a dozen headed out to Woodruff Park on Thursday to do the moves they had practiced for days. Delores Haynes, program manager of the Georgia Sexual Violence Prevention program at DPH, said public health has an important role to play in stopping violence.

 

"Our participation in one of the One Billion Rising events demonstrates DPH's commitment to increasing awareness of this issue, initiating dialogue among all state and local partners and demonstrating that everyone has a role in ending violence against women and girls," Haynes said.

 

Violence against women and girls is a critical issue in Georgia. In 2010, the CDC estimated that 1.3 million Georgians experience rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetimes. Georgia ranked 10th in the nation in the number of women murdered by men, according to a 2010 analysis by the Violence Policy Center. Metro Atlanta is also one of the world's largest hubs for human trafficking.

 

Noto, who grew up in Atlanta, said she hopes the event will spur conversations about a topic that is often considered taboo.

 

"It's just not something we talk about in the South," she said. "But telling your story is so powerful. Our hope is that people who have experienced violence can now come together and say, 'I am not alone.'"

 

Now that the crowds and dancers have cleared, One Billion Rising's organizers hope violence against women and girls will remain a top priority for Georgia and U.S. lawmakers. Currently, the Georgia Assembly is considering House Bill 141, which proposes increased funding for rape crisis centers and sex trafficking hotlines in the Georgia legislature. Noto said One Billion Rising also will host a follow-up meeting in the coming weeks to set priorities and focus for the movement.

 

For more information about One Billion Rising Atlanta, check out the Facebook page.