Because when you change the law, you can change everything. 

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Dear John

From Mexico to Uzbekistan to the Maldives, to neighborhoods all across the world, inadequate laws and biased attitudes help society explain away sexual violence, to justify it, to blame the victim, and to sweep it under the rug.

It’s day two of the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence, an annual campaign uniting activists across the world. Here’s what you might have missed from Equality Now so far this week.

This Monday, our Global Executive Director, Yasmeen Hassan spoke at the High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the Appraisal of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking In Persons.

Read her remarks ([link removed])
Around the world, laws are failing to protect women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence. We partnered with the Uzbek organization Nemolchi.uz to publish A Culture of Shame: Sexual Violence and Access to Justice in Uzbekistan ([link removed]) to highlight how ineffective rape laws and poor implementation deny access to justice for survivors in Uzbekistan.
Read the report ([link removed])
Sexual violence thrives in silence. It thrives in the silence of communities who excuse it as a ‘private issue’. It thrives in the silence of law enforcement who dismiss victim testimonies as not credible. And it thrives in the silence of the law that is itself based on victim-blaming tropes and imposes high evidentiary burdens for proving rape.

We have partnered with Uthema ([link removed]) to help disrupt the culture of silence around sexual violence and abuse that exists in the Maldives and create an environment where victims feel safe in coming forward and will get justice.
Read more about our work with Uthema in the Maldives ([link removed])
Missed our events this week?
Catch up on the recordings of our webinars on Sexual Violence In The Maldives & Across South Asia ([link removed]) and The Missing Link: Access To Justice For Survivors Of Sexual And Gender-Based Violence ([link removed])

Join our Fireside Chat on December 8th to hear from our global team on our work to end sexual violence around the world ([link removed]) . We hope to see you there.

Sexual violence is always a crime. No exceptions. No excuses. And while we have every confidence our supporters know this, it’s up to each and every one of us to use our knowledge to help generate change in our communities and the laws that govern them — because when you change the law, you can change everything.

We’re so glad you’re in this with us.

In solidarity.

Jacqui Hunt
Global Lead: End Sexual Violence
Head of Office - London

P.S. Mark your calendars: December 1st marks Giving Tuesday, and we have a special announcement coming up this weekend to kickoff the day of fundraising.

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