UNITED NATIONS – Actress Nicole Kidman says her other job as a UN goodwill ambassador gives meaning to her life.
She has announced that more than five million world leaders and ordinary people have joined a campaign to fight violence against women. The 41-year-old Australian star says even though the campaign attracted five times as many signatures as it initially forecast, ending violence against women must remain a global priority.
To mark Tuesday’s International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, Kidman presented UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with a large spiral book.
It contains signatures from some of the 5,066,549 people who signed on to the campaign.
…Ban called for greater efforts to enforce laws protecting women and prosecute perpetrators as well as stepped up efforts “to combat attitudes and behaviour that condone, tolerate, excuse or ignore violence committed against women.”
“We do not know the true number of victims but we do know that there are far more crimes than ever get reported, and far fewer lead to arrests,” Ban said in a statement.
…At a news conference announcing the results of the campaign, a journalist who noted that Kidman’s mother was a nurse and feminist and her father a psychologist asked the actress what made her become a goodwill ambassador for UNIFEM.
“The reason I chose the subject of women is because I was raised by a mother who was very passionate about … having her daughters educated, and wanted her daughters to have an equal opportunity,” she said.
“I was the product of that, and now I’m out there hoping to pass on to the next generation and work in a greater capacity then just as an actress,” Kidman said…Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press.