Angelina Jolie Speaks About Wartime Violence Against Women At G8 Meeting

Angelina Jolie and British Foreign Secretary Wiliam Hague spoke today at the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in London, and the Oscar winner announced that the G8 nations will be funding an additional $36 million toward efforts to prevent sexual violence.

Jolie, who currently serves as a special envoy for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said during her speech, "Hundreds of thousands of women and children have been sexually assaulted in the wars of our generation. But wartime rape is not inevitable. This violence can be prevented, and it must be confronted. I have heard survivors of rape from Bosnia to (the Congo) say that the world simply does not care about them. But today I believe that their voices have been heard, and that we finally have some hope to offer them."

She added, "It is encouraging to see men in leadership positions speaking out against rape. Rape is not a women's issue, or a humanitarian issue, it is a global issue."



Angelina Jolie presses G8 foreign ministers... by reuters