12 February 2013
A Church of England
podcast published today highlights the issue of gender violence
in the run up to the CofE's presence next month at the UN
Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW). According to the
UN, one in three women around the world is raped or beaten in her
lifetime.
In the CofE podcast Stella Creasy MP talks about the work of the
One Billion Rising campaign which demands an end to all violence
against women and urges church and faith groups to support its
work.
Mandy Marshall, the CofE representative at next month's UN
Commission, said the role of churches is vital both acting as an
information hub as well as offering support to women who are
abused. "At the UN Commission one of my roles is to promote the
importance of using the local church in addressing gender-based
violence. The One Billion Rising campaign underlines this message
and I would urge as many as possible to sign up to it today."
Dr Charles Reed, the Archbishops' Council International and
Development Affairs Secretary said: "The issue of gender violence
can often be overlooked but Home Office statistics show that in the
UK alone, 25% of women will experience domestic abuse at some point
in their lifetime. The Church of England will be using the UK
Presidency of the G8 Summit to focus on two key concerns - hunger
and gender-based violence."
Mandy, who is co-director of Restored (ending violence against
women) will be using social media to keep supporters updated during
the Commission which runs from March 4-15.
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http://cofeuncsw.wordpress.com/
Email: cofeuncsw@gmail.com