By Tim Saunders on
Actress Reese Witherspoon has launched a new campaign to end violence against women.
The 32-year-old has launched the new Women’s Empowerment necklace, designed to save and improve women’s lives worldwide, at an event in Washington DC on Tuesday, March 3.
“Nearly a billion women worldwide are affected by violence,” she said during the launch. “The Empowerment Necklace is an easy way for all women to take action and demonstrate solidarity to reduce the worldwide epidemic of violence against women.”
Witherspoon is a global ambassador for cosmetics brand Avon and an honorary chairperson of the Avon Foundation for Women. The necklace follows the release of the Women’s Empowerment Bracelet that was released last year to raise awareness of the issue. According to the Foundation’s website, "the Women’s Empowerment initiative was created to raise awareness about the need to speak out against the violence that affects women around the globe. In support of this mission, proceeds from the Women’s Empowerment Bracelet launched the Avon Empowerment Fund, which contributed $1 million to the UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women and funded local UNIFEM projects in 13 countries. In addition, more than 30 Avon countries around the world launched partnerships with local domestic violence agencies during 2008, and Avon global grantmaking for the cause exceeded $7.4 million."
“I think we all know people who have been touched by domestic violence in our lives, whether it’s your mother, your sister or your girlfriend,” Witherspoon told ABC News. “I personally know many people who have dealt with the situation, and I think it’s important to stress that there are ways to talk about it.”
The new necklace costs $5 and is available here.
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