(pictured left to right) Avon Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon, First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Avon Chairman and CEO Andrea Jung, at the Women of Courage Awards held at the U.S. State Department where the Avon Foundation for Women announced a $500,000 contribution to fund the Secretary of State’s Fund for Global Women's Leadership. The grant will provide funds for NGOs that work on domestic and gender violence issues around the world. (view image)

The Avon Foundation for Women, Vital Voices, and the U.S. State Department are hosting a three-day launch of The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women in Washington, D.C., from March 9-11. This innovative public-private partnership, which is founded on the premise that local experts are best suited to know what solutions will work in their own communities, will foster the creation of cross-sector collaborations with the goal of reducing violence against women.

To facilitate the Global Partnership, Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women donated $1.2 million to Vital Voices to bring together 15 country delegations consisting of leaders from diverse sectors – business, government, law enforcement, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) community, academia and others – in a global forum to share insights, forge collaborations, and seek ways to overcome challenging cultural realities that have been barriers to progress. The Global Partnership will support regional events in India and Argentina in the fall of 2010; create a violence against women campaign toolkit that will provide information and strategies to develop effective advocacy, awareness and education campaigns and programs that NGOs can use to reduce violence against women in any country; and support the production of the documentary play Seven, which tells seven women’s stories of triumphing over physical and mental abuse, oppression, adversity, and threats to their lives, families, and livelihoods.

The Avon Foundation also donated $500,000 to the U.S. Department of State Secretary's Fund for Global Women's Leadership to accelerate the global movement to end violence against women. The donated funds will be restricted to provide grants to NGOs around the world working on domestic and gender violence, including organizations from the 15 countries represented at the Global Partnership forum.

Click here to read full Press Release

More details on how to apply for a U.S. Department of State Secretary's Fund for Global Women's Leadership grant to help reduce violence against women will be available in April.


The Avon Foundation for Women Speak Out Against Domestic Violence

The Avon Foundation launched Speak Out Against Domestic Violence in 2004 to provide funding to domestic violence organizations for awareness, education, prevention programs and direct services for victims. While we generate critical awareness for this cause through our Speak Out program, we are not a direct service agency and we don't generally have opportunities to present personal experiences to audiences, or to lead direct service engagement work.

Click here for more information

Opportunities For You To Get Involved

You, however, have the opportunity and the passion to Speak Out, and you can provide hope and encouragement to DV Survivors by getting involved to help end domestic violence. Here’s what you can do immediately to help:

1. Contact a local domestic violence service provider through the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence at www.ncadv.org.
   
   National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
   1-303-839-1852 or 1-303-839-1681
   
   Go to the “Resources Tab,” and then to the “State Coalition” list. The National Coalition connects victims, advocates and others to more than 2000 programs in the U.S. currently providing services to victims of domestic violence. NCADV will direct you to your state’s agencies to contact for volunteer opportunities.
    
2. Once you’ve contacted your state’s Coalition Against Domestic Violence program, ask:
   • How can I become part of your Speaker’s Bureau?
   • How do I contact my local DV shelter program? Are there any volunteer opportunities I can give my time to?
   • Is there advocacy action I can take regarding proposed national, state, and local legislation or regulations affecting victims of domestic violence and their children, such as support of VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) and I-VAWA (International Violence Against Women Act)?
      
3. Visit www.womenslaw.org, a website that provides free legal information and online support to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
   
   Find the “Helping Others” tab at the top of their site. This section provides information for people who want to help victims or survivors and includes information for professionals, friends and family.
    
4. Advocate for victims’ rights and support. Go to the National Center for Victims of Crime at www.ncvc.org, and learn how you can help. From conferences and trainings to public policy and civil litigation, the National Center will help guide you with resources and ideas to affect change in your community.
    
5. Buy Avon Fund-Raising Products including the Empowerment Necklace, Bracelet, Ring and T-shirt. 100% of the net proceeds go directly to the Avon Empowerment Fund to End Violence Against Women. The products are reasonably priced and your support will provide funds that will go directly to make grants to service providers and advocacy programs that help domestic violence victims and their families. Visit www.avonfoundation.org to order an Empowerment product today – wearing an Empowerment product not only provides financial support to important service programs, it shares the message of empowerment and the need for changes in attitudes to end abuse and violence.