Angelina Jolie to Work With NATO in Combating Sexual Violence Against Women
Angelina Jolie had been quite busy as of late but still found time to urge NATO to focus on sexual violence against women.
Academy award-winning actress has been all over the world just recently, visiting a Syrian refugee camp as well as speaking with the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, regarding the war in Syria. But on Wednesday, the 42-year-old was at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and used her influence and voice as the envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to urge the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to step up their efforts in preventing sexual violence in conflict zones.
"Violence against women and children, particularly sexual violence, is an increasing feature of conflict...This is rape used as a weapon to achieve military or political goals. It affects men and boys as well as women and girls," Jolie said during the meeting with NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
After the meeting, the actress further voiced out how important it is to prevent sexual violence against women, saying, "There can be no lasting peace and security without equal rights and participation for women in all societies...Those rights cannot be achieved in an environment where there is impunity for mass crimes against women and girls."
"This is not only a question of protecting women; this is a question of valuing women," she added.
Even sec. gen. Stoltenberg had reaffirmed their stand in protecting women's rights in war-torn areas explaining that it is NATO's responsibility to be a leading protector of women's rights and that through their experience, it would be a smart thing to do if they strengthened the role of women in the armed forces.
He reveals that he and Jolie had come together to focus on training, monitoring and reporting as well as the spreading of awareness regarding women's rights.
