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Halle Berry
 Hello, my name is Halle Berry and I am glad to be a part of Amnesty International's 700 Women Project to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act in Congress (S. 1197/HR2876). This legislation must be passed if we are going to prevent women in the U.S. from having to live in fear of gender-based violence and if we are going to help survivors rebuild and reclaim their lives.
Violence against women is a global human rights issue that affects everyone; men and women, husbands and wives, and sons and daughters. All of us must play a distinct role by changing attitudes, speaking out, and acting to stop the violence. It horrifies me to think about even one woman being a victim of violence, but the fact is that in the United States it happens to 700 women everyday. In our country one in five women will be victims of completed or attempted rape. We can talk about numbers, but more importantly, we need to talk about the women those numbers represent. They are our daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends.
I'm speaking out because I know women who are victims of domestic violence and rape. My work with the Jenesse Center (women's shelter) has shown me the horrors of violence perpetrated against women. But it has also shown me the fortitude, hope, and bravery of these women. It has shown me that we can change the way women are treated - VAWA is a critical piece of legislation that has changed the landscape for victims who once suffered in silence. Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking have been able to access services that they otherwise would not be able to.
I urge you to join the 700 Women Project and me to work to re-authorize VAWA today. Please take a minute to sign the petition on this website, share this petition and the information with your friends and family and ask them to take action too. Let's help stop violence against women together.
Nicolas Cage
 Hello, my name is Nicolas Cage. I am writing to you about Amnesty International USA's 700 Women Project to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act in Congress (S. 1197/HR2876). This legislation must be passed if we are going to prevent women in the U.S. from having to live in fear of gender-based violence and if we are really committed to helping survivors rebuild and reclaim their lives.
I am a supporter of Amnesty International USA because I believe in working to secure human rights for everyone. I believe that women’s rights are human rights. Women have a right to security, stability and unrestricted access to justice as much as men do. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has provided just that for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking since it was passed 1994. Without its re-authorization this year, we are in jeopardy of losing all the progress that we have made in preventing gender based violence and ensuring justice for victims.
I am not a woman, however violence against women has an impact on me and other men in the United States. A great majority of sexually violent crimes against women are committed by men. However, the majority of men have never committed a gender-based violence crime. This poses a confusing paradox for women, as it is estimated that 80% of rape victims know the men who attacked them. This makes it nearly impossible to distinguish men who are safe from men who are dangerous, cultivating a deep mistrust and fear of all men in women. I therefore believe that men can and must play a vital role in stopping violence against women.
I am speaking out because men should challenge existing discriminatory attitudes against women, we must support the integration of women’s rights into human rights and actively participate in speaking out against violence against women. We must be involved because violence against women feeds on our silence. We, men and women alike, must convey our concern with this issue to the government by urging Congress to re-authorize VAWA and to support efforts to eradicate gender-based violence.
Please participate in stopping violence against women today by joining the 700 Women Project and sign the petition on this website to re-authorize VAWA. I challenge you to share this petition and information with your friends and family and to take the actions posted on this website. Our voices and actions can make the world safer for women and for all of us. Thank you. |
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Mira Sorvino
 Hello, my name is Mira Sorvino. I am writing to you about Amnesty International USA's 700 Women Project to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act in Congress (S. 1197/HR2876). This legislation must be passed if we are going to prevent women in the U.S. from having to live in fear of gender-based violence and if we are going to help survivors rebuild and reclaim their lives.
As modern Americans, too many of us hear the words "violence against women" and think of it happening in other places, worthy of our concern but far from our reality. The shocking fact is that in the United States it happens to 700 women everyday. In our country one in five women will be victims of completed or attempted rape. Those numbers are too close for comfort. They mean that there is a very strong chance that you or a woman you love will be abused, attacked or assaulted here in the twenty-first century. Is this a chance we are willing to tolerate? Are not our daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends worthy of our highest degree of love, concern and protection? The scars left by such incidences are extremely painful and can often damage lives even beyond the generation they directly affect.
It's time to take the battle against this devastating scourge into our own hands. Violence against women is a global human rights issue that affects everyone; men and women, husbands and wives, sons and daughters. All of us can and must play a role by changing attitudes, speaking out, and acting to stop this human rights abuse. If we can do something to turn it around and make our world safer for women, what earthly reason is there not to do it?
I'm speaking out because I have been working on women's rights issues as part of Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women Campaign. I have focused on issues like the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, where an overwhelmingly civilian population comprised largely of women and children has been targeted for extermination and brutalization (by means of rape as a tool of war), by the janjawid, armed militias sponsored by the Sudanese government in Khartoum. I'm also working on the growing problem of the trafficking of women in Kosovo and around the globe, even here in the U.S.. Roughly 17,000 new women from impoverished areas of the world are trafficked into the United States every year and forced to work as slave labor, mainly as prostitutes.
But these are just a few examples of the insidious ways violence towards women expresses itself. Because of her gender, every woman in the world is a target for specific forms of abuse rooted in a ubiquitous attitude of lessened or non-existent regard for her basic human rights. Every echelon of society is implicated, from traditions held in the home to state and governmental policies, both here and abroad. All areas must be targeted for change, from the individual's attitude, to legislation that ends the atmosphere of impunity that often allows violence against women to flourish. One thing is certain; to effectively protect the rights of any woman we must protect the rights of all women. Whether they are in the Sudan or the United States.
We must and can change the way women are treated. To that end, VAWA is a critical piece of legislation that has changed the landscape for victims who once suffered in silence. Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking have been able to access services that they otherwise would not be able to. The loss of its benefits is an immeasurable setback in our efforts to fight violence against women. I urge you to join the 700 Women Project and me to work to re-authorize VAWA today. Please take a minute to sign the petition on this website, share this petition and the information with your friends and family and ask them to take action too. Together we can stop violence against women.
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