Hundreds danced in the street outside city hall, led by Black Eyed Peas member apl.de.ap. They wrapped up 24 hours of dancing in cities around the world like Serbia, Kenya and Montenegro. Thousands of people in more than 200 countries were all dancing for one goal.
"For 15 years we've been raising awareness about violence against women and girls, but now we need to deepen it and seek justice for those that have been silenced and shamed," said Marily Mondejar from the Filipina Women's Network.
1 Billion Rising is a reference to the shocking statistic that one in three women will be victims of abuse or rape in their lifetime. Organizers of this event say one of the best tools against domestic violence is information for victims. Dancing raises awareness, but organizers will get legal information directly to victims.
"We are actually going to have a legal clinic on March 1st at UC Hastings, in tandem with this 1 billion rising," said Mondejar.
Having legal advice can be important even if law enforcement isn't able to take a case to court.
"The one thing that we know that does not work is a lack of intervention. We know that domestic violence especially has a tendency to cycle up," said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee led the crowd in a pledge against violence. He says it's also important to deal with cultural and language barriers.
"It's important that we join a movement on this and get people that much more aware. There's a lot of cultures and cultural practices that need to be challenged when it comes to this," said Lee.
This is the second year of the 1 Billion Rising event outside San Francisco City Hall.
