NYC Event Dec 1: A Conversation Between Eve Ensler and Dr. Denis Mukwege
11/27/2006
The Center for Global Affairs at NYU
and
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
in collaboration with
V-Day, the Global Movement to End Violence Against Women and Girls
PRESENT
A Conversation between Eve Ensler and Dr. Denis Mukwege
Healing the Wounds of War:
Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Join Eve Ensler and Dr. Denis Mukwege – long-time advocates for improving the lives of women and girls in violent situations – for this special evening as they discuss sexual violence in the Congo and beyond, and examine mechanisms for prevention and ways to influence policy change on the ground.
Background
The scourge of sexual violence connects many of the humanitarian emergencies of our time, from Darfur and northern Uganda, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Bosnia, Timor-Leste and beyond. Faced with an estimated 25,000 cases of rape and other sexual violence against women and children reported per year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UN Under-Secretary-General Jan Egeland recently described the plague of sexual violence that has prevailed in the country’s eastern provinces for nearly a decade, as a “cancer that seems out of control”. The effects of sexual violence are catastrophic, rending the bonds of family, community, and society. Despite the recognition that rape can constitute a crime against humanity -- a charge second in gravity only to genocide -- the problem continues unabated today in too many environments like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur, where the mere act of foraging for wood or fetching drinking water exposes hundreds of thousands of women and girls to grave danger, and where systematic rape -- and near-total impunity – continue to define the crises. Each year, V-Day focuses its spotlight on a specific group of women experiencing violence, with the goal of raising awareness of the problem and funding for the aid organizations addressing it. In 2007, the V-Day Spotlight will be on Women in Conflict Zones. This event, a dialogue between two long-time advocates dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in violent situations, will contribute to expanding the awareness of sexual violence in the Congo and beyond, examining mechanisms for prevention and ways to influence policy change on the ground.
Friday, December 1, 2006
6pm - 8pm
New York University School of Law
Vanderbilt Hall, Tishman Auditorium
40 Washington Square South at MacDougal Street
Pre-registration required. Register online at www.scps.nyu.edu/preventviolence
EVE ENSLER is an Award-winning Playwright/Performer/Activist and Founder of V-Day, a global movement that supports anti-violence organizations throughout the world
DR. DENIS MUKWEGE MUKENGERE is the Director and Founder of the ground-breaking Panzi General Referral Hospital in Bukavu, South Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo
Please note:
Arrive promptly at 5:30 PM to ensure priority seating. Please note that pre-registration is required but does not guarantee a seat if you arrive late. Because our events are presented at no charge, it is our policy not to hold seats once a program is about to begin.
For more information please call (212) 992-8380 or email scps.global.affairs at nyu