A new and innovative campaign to address violence was announced today at CSW57. The Girl Scouts and Girl Guides are teaming up with UNWomen to start a “Voices against Violence” non-formal education program that is expected to reach 5 million children and young people in over 100 countries.
The curriculum is designed to help them understand their right to live without violence and discrimination; to identify different forms of violence; and to gain the skills and confidence to speak out and take action in preventing violence in their own lives and communities. The program has been successfully piloted in 20 countries and has been designed to be adaptable to different cultural, social and legal contexts.
Facts to consider from today’s CSW57:
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70% of women and girls will experience violence in their lifetime.
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60% of sexual assaults are on girls under the age of 16.
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Child marriages are taking place in 50 countries around the world.
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Globally, 39,000 girls are forced into marriage every day.
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In Malawi, 50% of women were married before they turned 15 years of age.
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Child marriages result in much higher rates of fistulas and maternal and infant mortality.
More than 90 UN member states are now collecting data on violence against women and girls.
A revealing documentary on child marriage:
Too Young to Wed (www.tooyoungtowed.org)
By Erica Higbie, FAWCO Representative to the United Nations