 |
| Actress Angelina Jolie has urged United Nations peacekeepers to crack down on sexual violence while Speaking at the U.N. Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference |
The 42-year-old actress referenced the recent sexual misconduct allegations in Hollywood โ which have seen several big-names, including Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey accused of sexual harassment โ in a forceful speech in which she called for the โabuseโ to be taken more seriously.
Speaking at the U.N. Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference in Vancouver, she said: โSexual violence is everywhere โ in the industry where I work, in business, in universities, in politics, in the military, and across the world.
โAll too often, these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offence by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need. But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive.โ
Angelina described sexual violence as โa critical obstacle to achieving womenโs equality and our full human rightsโ and asked peacekeepers to treat it as a weapon and to help to prevent it.
She added: โIt is cheaper than a bullet, and it has lasting consequences that unfold with sickening predictability that make it so cruelly effective.โ
In October, Angelina admitted she had previously tried to โwarnโ other women about working with Weinstein after having a โbad experienceโ with him during her younger years.
She said: โI had a bad experience with Harvey Weinstein in my youth, and as a result, chose never to work with him again and warn others when they did.
โThis behaviour towards women in any field, any country is unacceptable.โ
