(London)—June 12, 2014. The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict today launched the world’s first-ever global network of sexual violence survivors focused on rape and gender violence in conflict.

The Survivors United for Action network will connect survivors’ voices to global leaders, bridging the gap between grassroots activism and national and international policymaking. The network’s diverse steering committee features women leaders from conflicts across the globe who have turned their experiences into powerful grassroots activism to end sexual violence in their own communities.
 
Members of the network will be able to:
Connect with other women in similar situations
Receive media, advocacy, fundraising and other training
Engage with policymakers at the local, regional and international level
Members of Survivors United for Action members will guide all programming decision-making, while the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict provides all the necessary logistical and financial support related to the work.
 
Shirin Ebadi, Nobel peace laureate and co-chair of The International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict, said: “All too often, survivors’ voices are absent from national and international policymaking tables – the missing link in the struggle to end rape and gender violence in conflict. With the creation of Survivors United for Action, we are moving the voices of survivors to the centre of our collective movement to end sexual violence in conflict.”
 
Note to journalists:

The launch event takes place between 12.30pm and 1.15pm today at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, Excel London. It is hosted by Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, and actor of The Walking Dead, Danai Gurira, and will be attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands H.E Mr Frans Timmermans, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway B. Brende other government representatives, Nobel Peace Laureates, survivors and activists.
 
Media are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact
 
Rachel Vincent
Director, Media & Communications
[email protected]
+44 (0) 790 440 0208   or  1 613 276 9030
 
Becky Slack
Managing director, Slack Communications
[email protected]
07854 221 568
 
Aoife Twohig-Donfield
Communications executive, Slack Communications
[email protected]
07850 4000 94