Nicole Kidman's message on International Women's Day

I became UNIFEM’s Goodwill Ambassador to amplify the voices of the women and girls who have been subjected to violence and abuse. One in three women may suffer from abuse and violence in her lifetime. This is an appalling human rights violation. But with your help, we can put a stop to this.

For International Women’s Day 2008, I would like to invite all Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to help me speak out by joining UNIFEM’s Internet campaign, “Say NO to violence against women”. It is easy and fast. A special website has been created at www.saynotoviolence.org. Through this web site, you can sign up and alert friends. And of course you also have access to a lot of useful information that will help you to further the cause.

You know I have a boy and a girl.  I want each of them to know they are equal in the world.  At the heart of violence against women and girls is inequality, so it is crucial that every girl and every boy recognize their equality to each other. I also want my children to know absolutely that violence against another person is wrong. I want them to know that most people are very good, and want to help, and that we have to work together to prevent violence.  I also want to inspire them, like my parents did for me, that we can and we must get involved.

As you expect, I will show them the UNIFEM internet campaign. I’ll explain that names are powerful, and we believe that the more names we collect in this book, the stronger our case to make ending violence against women a top priority becomes.

So my International Women’s Day message is: Every name counts. Join at www.saynotoviolence.org