Deputy-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and SDG Advocate, Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, gave a joint interview on the Spotlight Initiative at the European Development Days (EDD) in Belgium.
The Spotlight Initiative is a partnership led by European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG).
The Initiative aims to focus attention on this issue and place it at the centre of efforts to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Her Majesty Queen Mathilde spoke about how the Spotlight Initiative sets out an array of society-wide support mechanism to support women who are victims of violence. She also noted that Spotlight is preventative, and will help to reduce violence against women and girls.
Her Majesty also spoke about the importance of mental health for women and girls. She explained how the mental health effects of violence manifest themselves not just on the victim, but on the community as well.
The Deputy Secretary-General said that the greatest impact of the Spotlight initiative so far is re-establishing zero-tolerance for violence against women and girls. She said that to achieve this, we must work both at the family and community level, as well as at the government level, to make sure that violence against women is put on “the garbage heap of history.”
Full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfvxzureCQQ&feature=youtu.be
To learn more about the Spotlight Initiative visit their website here or read the factsheet here.
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- Twitter handles: @SDGaction @UNinBrussels @Spotlight_VAWG
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