MEXICO CITY • South African actress Charlize Theron on Thursday said more than 50 female celebrities, from actress Reese Witherspoon to soccer player Megan Rapinoe, have joined her campaign to fight violence against women during the global coronavirus lockdowns.
The #TogetherForHer initiative, launched last month by the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project with Care and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, pledged US$500,000 (S$706,000) to domestic violence shelters in the United States and South Africa.
"(One in three) women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime; in the past year, 243 million women and girls have. Humanitarian crises like #Covid19 only make this worse," Theron said on Twitter. "I'm so proud that these exceptional, powerhouse women heard my rallying cry and are uniting as one."
More than 50 female role models from the worlds of film, sports, fashion and business have pledged money to the campaign to help women facing violence while forced indoors.
Actresses to join Theron's campaign include Michelle Williams, Salma Hayek and Laura Linney as well as Academy Award-winner Viola Davis. Donations to the fund will support women in up to 100 countries, according to a campaign statement.
"I am a child survivor of domestic violence. It is the last of the acceptable abuses," said Davis, who starred in Fences (2016), in a statement. "Providing funds to give (survivors) the means to get out and the emotional support to know they are worthy is everything."
Other women to join the campaign include Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, Somali model Iman and British fashion designer Stella McCartney.
Concern over abuse of women under lockdown has increased around the world, with calls to domestic violence hotlines in Europe rising by as much as 60 per cent during the pandemic.
Last month, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on governments worldwide to urgently tackle a "horrifying global surge" in domestic violence fuelled by coronavirus lockdowns.
Theron has a long history of campaigning against domestic abuse, serving as a UN messenger of peace with a special focus on ending violence on women since 2008.
The 44-year-old won an Academy Award for her role in the 2003 movie Monster, in which she played serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who came from a background of violence and abuse.
Theron has also had a personal experience with domestic violence. At age 15, her mother fatally shot her alcoholic father as he threatened the family in a drunken rage.
REUTERS
