Nobel Women's Initiative

Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, and Mairead Maguire hosted a gathering of over 120 women from around the world in Quebec last week to forge new relationships and new ideas to tackle the increasing use of sexual violence in war. The conference, Women Forging a New Security: Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict, was a great success with those gathered finding a safe place to share experiences and to develop new strategies for both individual and collective action to end rape in war.

Our call to TAKE A STAND was heard globally, with our Twitter, Facebook, and blog feeds actively engaged throughout the week. We thank all of you for your support and help in spreading the message that sexual violence is an unacceptable strategy of war.

--For Immediate Release--

(Ottawa) Sexual violence is widespread in armed conflicts around the world, according to a new report published by the Nobel Women's Initiative, and the perpetrators of these war crimes are benefitting from a "culture of impunity."
 
"War on Women: Time for Action to End Sexual Violence in Conflict" examines studies of sexual violence in five regions of the world, explores the leading causes of such heinous acts, and assesses actions taken by the international community.

Did you know that up to 500,000 women were raped during the Rwandan genocide?
Over 64,000 women were raped in Sierra Leone.
Over 40,000 women were raped in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Over 1,000 women are raped every day in Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo?

Enough is enough.
Thursday is our international day of action against sexual violence in conflict.

The third and final day of Women Forging a New Security: Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict is about to begin. Activity on our blog, Twitter feed and Facebook page is brisk as we live-blog and live-tweet, post video clips and reflections from participants, and provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the intense and productive discussions taking place between 120 women from around the world.

LEARN MORE

Visit the conference blog, and follow the discussion on Twitter by searching for #endrapeinwar.

Nobel laureates gather in Quebec to campaign against rape, Globe and Mail, 25 May 2011.

Nobel Laureates, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, and Mairead Maguire will open Women Forging a New Security: Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict today at 9 am EST.  Follow along on our blog.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and honorary member of the Nobel Women's Initiative, Aung San Suu Kyi, sent a video message emphasizing the critical importance of ending sexual violence in conflict. Watch it here.

Over 120 civil society activists, corporate and security sector leaders, military and peacekeeping personnel, and academics from around the world are convening to discuss strategies for ending sexual violence in conflict over three days in Canada.

Follow us online through the conference blog.  Watch for video clips, blog entries from participants and more. Writer and feminist Jaclyn Friedman will be live-blogging three of the panel sessions at Feministe.com.  Click here to learn how to find her.

Participate in the conversation on Twitter, by searching for the hastag #endrapeinwar.

Like us on Facebook to receive our updates in your newsfeed.

We encourage you to join this important conversation!

The Nobel Women's Initiative invites you to join us online for a Women's Day of Action to End Sexual Violence in Conflict on May 26, 2011.

The day of action will target governments encouraging them to give this topic the attention it deserves -- ensuring an end to impunity and supporting survivors in their efforts to heal and rebuild their lives and communities.

Follow the conversation on Twitter at #endrapeinwar.

Join us to:

*    Live-tweet event a panel discussion with Nobel Peace Laureates and women activists - 8:30-10 am EST.
*    Post video messages from women from around the world.
*    Take action at http://www.stoprapenow.org/take-action/.
*    Tweet and retweet about sexual violence in conflict throughout the day.

On May 23-25, Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire will lead an unprecedented conference in Canada, to develop strategies for ending rape as a weapon of war. 

Over 120 civil society activists, corporate and security sector leaders, military and peacekeeping personnel, and academics will convene to discuss and share ideas at the conference, entitled Women Forging a New Security: Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict.

We invite you to join us - follow our conference  blog, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.  We will be posting videos and photos, along with daily updates.

More than 200 people turned out for the Nobel Women's Initiative's Ottawa premier of the documentary This is My Witness last week. The room was filled beyond seating capacity and the audience - captivated to the end - left eager to act. 

The film chronicles the lives of two women who testified at the International Tribunal on Burma, organized last year in New York by the Nobel Women's Initiative. "I find no reason to keep my story invisible when we want the world to support us -- so the people of Burma can be free," said panelist Sheila Htoo.  Htoo was one of the 12 courageous women who testified at the Tribunal.

Join us in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 9th for an exclusive screening of This is my Witness,  a new film on the women of Burma.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ottawa Citizen's Kate Heartfield and featuring Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams. Sheila Htoo, who participated in the Tribunal,  will also be on the panel--along with with Nisha Toomey from Canadian Friends of Burma. 

View the film trailer.

The 16th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP16) began in Cancun, Mexico this morning. Over the next two weeks world leaders will meet to determine how to best address the challenges posed by global warming to the international community. 

With the threat of climate change growing more urgent by the day, these negotiations present a vital opportunity for developed and developing countries to come together to reduce global emissions, create appropriate financing mechanisms, and develop adaptation and mitigation policies that support the world's most vulnerable communities.

View Wangari Maathai's video message.