Video: Avon Commits Over $1.75 Million for New Partnerships to End Violence
Against Women
WASHINGTON, Mar. 4 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Establishes new Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at
Cornell Law School
Makes Additional Contributions to the UN Trust Fund to End
Violence Against Women
Award-Winning Actress Reese Witherspoon Launches New Global
Mobilization Efforts
One in three women worldwide experience violence in their lifetime(1),
and in the U.S., a woman is assaulted every nine seconds(2). Around the
world, services for victims are often vastly underfunded or unavailable, and
in many countries, laws to protect women do not exist or are not enforced.
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In response, the Avon Foundation for Women today announced meaningful new
efforts to eradicate violence against women and help ensure justice for all
women worldwide. This included a $1.5 million grant by the Avon Foundation
for Women to launch the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell
Law School. This new center will focus on working with judges, legal
professionals, governmental and non-governmental organizations to improve
access to justice in an effort to eliminate violence against women and girls.
Avon also expanded its relationship with the United Nations Development Fund
for Women (UNIFEM) with a new commitment of $250,000 for the UN Trust Fund
to End Violence against Women, which will be added to the grant of $1
million awarded in 2008 for the Trust Fund. This brings the total Avon global
commitment to ending violence against women to over $14 million to date.
"For over 120 years, Avon has provided women with economic opportunity
while serving as a change agent for critical issues that face women
worldwide," stated Andrea Jung, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Avon
Products, Inc. "Lack of financial resources and lack of personal safety are
two reinforcing, co-dependent crises. We are so proud to help bring attention
to eradicating violence against women and improving access to justice for
women and girls, and to award new grants that will help launch initiatives to
change lives around the globe."
The announcements of these new initiatives were made by Andrea Jung, who
was joined by Stewart Schwab, Dean and Professor of Law of Cornell Law
School, during the Global Forum for Women and Justice. Also joining were
former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; Joan Winship, Executive
Director of the International Association of Women Judges; and Reese
Witherspoon, award-winning actress, Avon Global Ambassador and Avon
Foundation for Women Honorary Chairperson. Hosted by the International
Association of Women Judges (with support from Avon), the Global Forum for
Women and Justice is a two-day meeting held in Washington D.C. of judges and
legal practitioners from around the world to address obstacles and solutions
to the issue of violence against women.
Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School
The new Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School
will undertake four major initiatives, including intensive legal clinical
projects, providing legal research for judges, hosting conferences and
events, and maintaining an extensive international online library, as well as
a discussion forum for judges relating to gender-based violence. The Avon
Global Center, which will launch this fall, will serve as a forum for judges
and legal practitioners to share ideas and strategies on the role of the
judicial system in facilitating access to justice for women victims of
violence.
"The Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School is
the first center of its kind to work with judges worldwide in an effort to
bring justice to women survivors of violence," said Barbara Holden Smith,
Vice Dean of Cornell Law School.
"This is a historic moment. The Center is prepared to address the
epidemic of violence against women and girls, and to work toward greater
justice for those who have survived such violence."
Avon's Grassroots Mobilization to End Violence Against Women
These new efforts underscore Avon's ongoing commitment to ending violence
against women, which includes the Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program
launched by Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women in 2004. These efforts
have expanded to 45 countries, including award-winning Avon programs in
Mexico and the Czech Republic. The company is also partnering with local
UNIFEM offices on the issue of violence against women in 13 countries. Behind
the success of these initiatives are much-needed grassroots mobilization and
fundraising, which are assets Avon brings to global philanthropy, driven by
the company's network of nearly 6 million Avon Sales Representatives
worldwide.
Reese Witherspoon, award-winning actress, Avon global ambassador and
honorary chairperson of the Avon Foundation for Women, announced at a press
conference before the Global Forum a new Avon fundraising product: the
Women's Empowerment Necklace. Launched as a companion piece to the 2008
Women's Empowerment Bracelet, the Necklace is accessibly priced at just
$5.00. It will be sold through Avon's Sales Representatives and on
www.avon.com. All net proceeds of the Necklace will support domestic violence
programs, building upon the $4 million already raised by the Bracelet in
one year. In the US every Women's Empowerment product sold will include a
free Domestic Violence Resource Guide to increase awareness of this epidemic
of violence and encourage everyone to speak out so it stops.
"Nearly a billion women worldwide are affected by violence," explained
Witherspoon. "The Empowerment Necklace is an easy way for all women to take
action and demonstrate solidarity to reduce the worldwide epidemic of
violence against women. As Honorary Chair of the Avon Foundation, as a woman,
and as a mother, I am proud to support this effort."
About Avon Products, Inc. and the Avon Foundation for Women
Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with
over $10 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller,
Avon markets to women in more than 100 countries through nearly 6 million
independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty
products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized
brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques, Avon
Naturals, and Mark. Avon is also a leader in corporate responsibility and
philanthropy. In addition to Avon's heritage of women's empowerment, the Avon
Foundation for Women, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is the largest
corporate-affiliated philanthropy for women, with more than $660 million
raised worldwide for causes of great concern to women, currently focused on
breast cancer, domestic violence and emergency disaster relief. Learn more
About the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School
The mission of the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell
Law School is to work with judges, legal professionals, governmental and
non-governmental organizations to improve access to justice for survivors of
gender-based violence in an effort to eliminate violence against women and
girls.
About UNIFEM
UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, provides financial
and technical assistance to innovative programs and strategies to foster
women's empowerment and gender equality. Placing the advancement of women's
human rights at the centre of all of its efforts, UNIFEM focuses its
activities on reducing feminized poverty; ending violence against women;
reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls; and achieving gender
equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war. For more
About the International Association of Women Judges
The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) is a non-profit,
non-governmental organization of more than 4,000 members at all levels of the
judiciary in more than 90 nations. Formed in 1991, the IAWJ unites women
judges from diverse legal and judicial systems who share a commitment to
equal justice and the rule of law. The IAWJ believes that women judges are in
a unique position to advance the rights of women through the judicial system,
and to protect and empower women throughout the world. Through pioneering
judicial education programs and worldwide collaboration, the IAWJ has focused
its special efforts on addressing issues of violence and discrimination
against women in order to advance equal justice, to eliminate gender bias in
the courts, and to make the courts accessible to all, especially women and
children. Learn more about the International Association of Women Judges and
(1) Heise, L., Ellsberg , M. and Gottemoeller, M. Ending Violence Against
Women. Population Reports. Series L, No. 11, 1999.
(2) Bureau of Justice Statistics. Violence Against Women. Estimates from
the redesigned Survey, August 1998.
SOURCE: Avon Products, Inc.
CONTACT: Kimberly Bernhardt
kbernhardt@bncpr.com, or
Dana Waisberg,
dwaisberg@bncpr.com
+1-212-253-4646, both of BNC, Bragman Nyman Cafarelli;
(AVP)
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