#Time to Act

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual worldwide event where bloggers write about a single topic since 2007.

Earlier this year over 800 Blog Action Day participants took part in a poll to help identify what the theme should be for 2013. The most popular votes and suggestions all fell under the banner of human rights, making it a topic that many people in the Blog Action Day community feel passionate about.

A key theme that we have been focusing in human rights is the use of rape and sexual assault as a tool of war.  Woman are the main victims but children and men also suffer. In addition to the physical and psychological trauma suffered by survivors, sexual violence adds to ethnic, sectarian and other divisions – leading to more conflict.

The majority of survivors never receive justice and face considerable challenges in accessing the support necessary to help them rebuild their lives. Britain is leading an initiative to address the culture of impunity for sexual violence and replace it with accountability by increasing the number of perpetrators brought to justice both internationally and nationally.

On 24 September, 113 countries (including Brazil) signed a declaration at the UN supporting this initiative.  Now we want to put this into practise. We will keep you informed on our progress.

Violence against women is rightly an issue more and more foreign ministries are doing more work on. Here in Brazil, the Itamaraty have recently promoted several initiatives. Firstly, for Brazilian women who experience violence of any kind, can ask for governmental assistance by phone.

The Call International 180 is a totally free service, sponsored by the Brazilian Federal Government, through the Women Policies Secretariat, which offers information, guidance and assistance to the Brazilian women victims of domestic violence (psychological and/or physical) and of sexual exploitation abroad. The service is active 24/7, and the connection can be made from any phone in Portugal, Spain or Italy.

Brazilian diplomats also took part in a UN friendly football match in support of combating violence against women. The friendly match took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, 68th, on September 26.

There are many ways we can combat violence against women and sexual violence. The key though is that it is time to act!