UN Secretary general calls for an end to violence against women

Did you know that one third of all women is likely to experience some form of violence or abuse in her lifetime? This was the stark figure revealed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today as he launched a multi-year global campaign to try to end violence against women. “It’s an issue that cannot wait,” he said, as he opened the latest session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Said Mr Ban:

At least one out of every three women is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Through the practice of prenatal sex selection, countless others are denied the right even to exist

He continued:

This is a campaign for them. It is a campaign for the women and girls who have the right to live free of violence, today and in the future. It is a campaign to stop the untold cost that violence against women inflicts on all humankind.

He called on youth, women’s groups, men, the private sector and UN member states to put their weight behind the campaign. He acknowledged that there can be no blanket approach to ending violence against women. Every country will have to formulate its own measures.

But there is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable

The Baha’i International Community’s Office for the Advancement of Women will be fully engaged in CSW and in the campaign, with the cooperation of national and local Baha’i communities across the world. You can read the BIC’s statement to the 52nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women here.

Photo © Sherwin!!! under a Creative Commons licence.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Baha’i International Community, BIC, violence against women, UN, CSW, Ban Ki-moon

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