The production “The Vagina Monologues,” features a plot exploring the culture of gender-based violence. Its focus is to raise awareness about a serious subject matter, and is not the butt of sexualized anatomy jokes.

V-Day is a global activist movement that works to end violence against women, and one of their methods to raise awareness of the issue is using “The Vagina Monologues.”

Diana Anucinski, a graduate student studying criminal justice, said the play is a compilation of 10 monologues based on 200 real-life interviews of women with author Eve Ensler. The stories aren’t always about violence, but sometimes tell of discrimination women may face.

The majority of proceeds go to anti-violence groups in the area, Anucinski said. This year, all the proceeds will go to Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse to help with anything funding doesn’t cover.

“This is my first year to get involved with ‘The Vagina Monologues,’” Anucinski said. “It’s something I think a lot of people can benefit from.”

Anucinski works with V-Day to guide the students working on the monologues. She worked with recruitment, auditions and rehearsals.

The monologues’ topics range from happy to sad, Anucinski said. Some of them talk about an experience a woman had with a man that was good, while others discuss things like genital mutilation. Others are in between, bringing up topics about the discomforts of women in discriminatory settings.

Another awareness event is One Billion Rising, a Zumba session open to anyone in the community. The event came about three years ago through the idea of getting women survivors of violence and anyone touched by violence to express themselves in a way other than talking.

“(We want) to get people outside their comfort zone and break the silence on the issue,” Anucinski said. “(That’s) what V-Day is trying to portray with that.”

Advertising for the events, along with continually raising awareness of the issue, is done through the Vagina Monologue chocolate sales that have gone on through January. The sales not only advertise for the play but also provide information for organizations available for those who need help, Anucinski said.

The chocolate sales have been important to get people more comfortable with such a touchy topic, Anucinski said.

“We want to make people more comfortable with the word in general,” Anucinski said about the term “vagina.”

As a criminal justice major, Anucinski said she finds the topic important because she wants communities to be safer places. The topic is specifically important now with the number of sexual assaults in recent news.

Anucinski said she is looking forward to seeing the outcome of the events and how the show will impact everyone going into it. It could be emotional and it could make people more comfortable with the subject.

“It’s important to raise awareness of violence (and) to help people understand the issues and be more comfortable talking about it,” Anucinski said.

The Vagina Monologue chocolate sales usually take place Mondays and Wednesdays in the CUB and will continue to be sold at the production on Feb. 19, 20, and 21. The shows will be at 7:30 p.m. at Jones Theatre.

The One Billion Rising event will take place Feb. 13 from noon-1 p.m. in the CUB Senior Ballroom. The Violence Prevention Program is also hosting a film screening of “Until the Violence Stops,” in their office at Health and Wellness Feb. 9 and 10.

Reporting by Catherine Kruse