Our History

NO MORE was created as a unifying symbol—much like the breast cancer awareness pink ribbon or the HIV/AIDS awareness red ribbon—to help increase the visibility of domestic and sexual violence, which, despite significant progress, too often remained hidden, misunderstood, and woefully underfunded.

Since its launch in 2013, NO MORE has sparked the creation of university, city, state, and country campaigns and chapters, from Ecuador to Australia, the United Kingdom to Cameroon, the University of Southern California to the University of Massachusetts. NO MORE partners with the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes 56 countries home to 2.4 billion people, and operates the Latin@-focused effort NO MÁS.

Major companies, sports leagues, and media conglomerates such as Avon, Bank of America, Discovery Networks, the NFL, Uber, Verizon, Viacom, Vodafone, and more have partnered with NO MORE to help further the mission of ending domestic and sexual violence. Through our awareness and action initiatives, including PSAs, billboards, and social media campaigns, NO MORE has reached hundreds of millions of people around the globe.

NO MORE has grown to become the largest and most successful domestic violence and sexual assault awareness/engagement initiative in history. In 2019 NO MORE became an independent 501(c)(3) public charity.

Timeline

1995-2009: The Beginning and Coalition Building

• 1995-2009: Jane Randel dedicated nearly two decades to raising awareness, educating the public, and ultimately preventing domestic violence through a cause-marketing effort at apparel company Liz Claiborne Inc. She led the "Love Is Not Abuse" program, which created educational tools to promote healthy relationships for young people and parents.
• 2009:
  • Strength in Numbers: Jane Randel and Anne Glauber, then a managing partner at Finn Partners, conceived the idea of a unifying campaign to coalesce leaders from non-profits, corporations, and government to end domestic and sexual violence. Their goal was to mobilize the public to drive action against these issues.
  • Building a Coalition: Dozens of leaders met in New York City to discuss the urgent need to increase public awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault (DV/SA). They agreed on creating a new, overarching symbol to unite efforts against these problems, similar to the impact of awareness ribbons for HIV/AIDS and breast cancer.
  • Developing the Symbol: With support from Virginia Witt, formerly of Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of California, and Maile Zambuto, formerly of the Joyful Heart Foundation, the coalition worked with branding and communications experts to design and develop the new symbol.

2010-2013: Testing and Launching NO MORE

• 2010:
  • Testing the Symbol: The blue "vanishing point" symbol was developed to represent the concept of zero incidences of domestic violence and sexual assault. Christine Mau, a survivor of domestic violence, inspired this design, which was created by Sterling Brands. The symbol was tested across diverse audiences, including young people and men, who found it memorable and necessary.
• 2011-2012: Further development and refinement of the symbol and campaign continued, preparing for a public launch.
• 2013:
  • Public Launch: NO MORE was publicly launched on March 13th in Washington, D.C. Key supporters included (then) Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, and various advocates, survivors, and celebrities. This launch marked the beginning of NO MORE as a unifying symbol and movement.

2015-2017: Expanding Reach and Network

• 2015-2017:
  • Network Expansion: Introduced "NO MORE Week," an annual awareness event held each March. The network expanded to 28 chapters and over 1400 allied organizations across America.
  • Expanding Our Reach: In 2016 and 2017, ran the NO MORE Challenge, sponsored by Verizon, which raised over $1.3 million for over 100 small domestic violence and sexual assault programs. Notable efforts included the NO MORE Week billboard in Times Square, which reached 2.5 million people.

2018-2019: Becoming a Charity and New Initiatives

• 2018: Continued expansion and engagement with broader audiences and communities.
• 2019:
  • Becoming a Charity: Grew to become the largest and most successful domestic violence and sexual assault awareness initiative. It became an independent 501(c)(3) public charity in January 2019.
  • New Campaigns: The NO MORE Verbal Abuse and Don’t Stand By campaigns were launched, and toolkits were created to address verbal abuse and promote bystander support in nightlife environments.

Partnership with the Commonwealth: Collaborated to amplify the reach and impact of NO MORE's initiatives across the 56 member countries of the Commonwealth [of Nations]. By joining forces, both entities sought to promote awareness and preventative measures against domestic and sexual violence on a global scale, leveraging the Commonwealth's extensive network and influence.

2020-2021: Response to Global Challenges and Strategic Partnerships

• 2020:
  • COVID-19 Response: Launched new campaigns in response to the pandemic to direct survivors to support services and equip bystanders with tools to help safely. The "Listening From Home" campaign was introduced to support those affected by lockdown measures.
• 2021:
  • Launch of the NO MORE Global Directory: Introduced the groundbreaking NO MORE Global Directory, a free resource offering support services for domestic and sexual violence in over 200 countries, developed in collaboration with the UN and World Bank.
  • "Join The Chorus" Campaign: NO MORE partnered with the Commonwealth Secretariat to launch the "Join The Chorus" initiative during the UN General Assembly, engaging 54 Commonwealth countries and influential figures like FKA twigs to combat the rise in domestic violence during the pandemic.
  • Generation Equality Forum Beijing+25: Spoke at this significant global gathering organized by UN Women, marking the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, focusing on accelerating gender equality and women's rights.

2022-2023: Global Movement-Building

• 2022:
  • Global Advocacy and Recognition: Expanded its international influence by participating in key events like Rwanda's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Speakers included HRH Princess of Wales, the First Lady of Rwanda, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, and other esteemed delegates.
  • Community Engagement and Support: Launched the "Event-in-a-Box" toolkit for grassroots awareness events and continued to enhance the Global Directory, providing critical resources to nearly 62,000 people in 205 countries and territories.
• 2023:
  • 10th Anniversary and New Initiatives: We celebrated a decade of impact with NO MORE Week's special events and the introduction of the KNOW MORE Global Dialogue Series, which facilitated monthly webinars addressing domestic and sexual violence.
  • Launch Our Stories Platform: NO MORE launched a digital space for survivors and advocates to share their experiences with domestic and sexual violence. This initiative aims to amplify voices, foster community support, and inspire change by highlighting the resilience and courage of those affected.
  • Innovative Campaigns and Expanded Reach: NO MORE partnered with organizations like Uber and Avon for campaigns to prevent sexual assault and emotional abuse and launched new chapters in Cameroon, Tanzania, Madagascar, and U.S. universities, growing their network to over 30 active chapters worldwide.