The United Nations Foundation will donate US$100,000 for 100,000 signatures collected at www.saynotoviolence.org. This is for projects administered by the UN Trust Fund and UNIFEM.
Please go to www.saynotoviolence.org and simply sign your name.
The campaign will end on 8th March 2008.
So far, only 40,000 plus names collected. Pls help... cos date is nearing. Spread this message to your email friends.
More info below:
What is the violence going on?
Amnesty International says the torture of women was reported in every
armed conflict it investigated between 1999 and 2000, most often in the
form of sexual violence.
Rape, when used as a weapon of war, is systematically employed for a
variety of purposes, including intimidation, humiliation, political
terror, extracting information, rewarding soldiers, and "ethnic
cleansing," says Amnesty International. "Violence against women in
armed conflict situations is largely based on traditional views of
women as property, and often as sexual objects."
Wars and conflicts still going on in parts of Africa:
"Despite the fact the women bear much of the responsibility of taking care of many families here in Africa, it is a shame that violence against women is a menace that has persisted over the years.
Of course, this problem is not limited to Africa but is somewhat more
common here. This would not be unconnected to wide-spread poverty and
some bad cultural practices."
"The new study notes that between 1990 and 2007, nearly 900 Chilean
women were killed, mostly by their partners or ex-partners, while in
the Bahamas in 2000, almost half of all murders committed were
feminicides – women
being killed at the hands of their partners or because of their gender
status – and rose to 44 per cent in 2001 and 53 per cent in 2002."
Where will the funds go?
[Recipients of the Fund’s grants “are showing how to address the
interlinkages of violence against women and HIV/AIDS, how to involve
men and boys in ending violence against women and how to reach
marginalized groups – such as rural indigenous women – so that they,
too, can benefit from improved laws and policies on ending violence
against women,”] - UNIFEM Acting Executive Director Joanne Sandler.
“The more names we collect, the stronger our case to
make ending violence against women a top priority for governments
everywhere.” - Nicole Kidman.