Mary Kay Inc. and The Mary Kay FoundationSM have partnered with CARE USA, a humanitarian global leader, and the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.
More than one in three women around the world experience either physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime [1]. These alarming statistics are exacerbated in times of conflict, natural disasters and crisis. UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, which manages the UN Trust Fund on behalf of the UN system, has been tirelessly alerting and raising awareness of the alarming increase of violence against women during COVID-19 and its lasting consequences, putting women’s human rights at risk as nations work on rebuilding.
“Mary Kay has a decades-long commitment to ending violence against women and girls everywhere, it’s part of who we are,” said Melinda Foster Sellers, chief people officer of Mary Kay Inc. “Today we join forces with the UN Trust Fund and CARE, two remarkable stewards of women’s rights, who have made extraordinary achievements through social impact on the ground, gender data collection and relentless advocacy work. Together, we are more determined than ever to achieve a world free of violence against women.”
Through the ongoing work of its four corporate foundations and these recent global partnerships, Mary Kay reaffirms its leadership in addressing and preventing violence against women and girls uniquely affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. These initiatives manifest Mary Kay’s overall commitment to SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Through its partnership with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, Mary Kay will contribute to funding projects to protect women and girls in 70 countries and territories.
“Violence against women is the most widespread violation of human rights globally and knows no boundaries,’’ said Aldijana Sisic, chief of the UN Trust Fund. “It is the most severe expression of discrimination, a persistent pandemic exacerbated by the current COVID-19 crisis. The lockdown measures to curb the coronavirus together with an overburdened healthcare and law enforcement systems leave women and girls survivors of violence in a dangerous limbo. In this context, women’s organizations around the world play the pivotal role as first responders for survivors. Now is the time to join forces, step up and support them to ensure no woman and girl is left alone behind walls of silence. We thank our partners in Mary Kay for leading by example with its contribution to this work and walking this path together with us.”
Mary Kay will support CARE programs fighting against gender-based violence, contributing to transform the lives of women and girls in 100 countries and territories.
“Achieving real equality for women and eradicating gender-based violence (GBV) can transform the world in so many ways,” said Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of CARE. “In the world’s most marginalized communities, girls and women bear the brunt of injustice. The COVID-19 crisis alone may cause 31 million more GBV cases over six months of virus-related lockdowns. We know this staggering possibility is preventable, and we must address these horrific abuses before they happen. Investing in local women’s grassroots movements is among the highest and most powerful good that we can do to create social and societal change.”
