Video: Avon Commits Over $1.75 Million for New Partnerships to End Violence Against Women
04 March 2009 - 4:46AM
PR Newswire (US)
Establishes new Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell
Law School WASHINGTON, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- 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. To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/avon/36878/ 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 http://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
Avon, its products and programs at http://www.avoncompany.com/.
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
information, visit http://www.unifem.org/. 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 its programs at http://www.iawj.org/ (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.
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/avon/36878/DATASOURCE: Avon Products,
Inc. CONTACT: Kimberly Bernhardt, , or Dana Waisberg, ,
+1-212-253-4646, both of BNC, Bragman Nyman Cafarelli Web Site:
http://www.avon.com/
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