London summit aimed to eliminate sexual abuses against women

The kidnapping of hundreds of young Nigerian women by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram has done more to open the world's eyes to the plight of women around the world than any campaign, protest or even before it. And yet, still violence and abuse against women continue as a global epidemic.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The group's leader posted a videotaped message in which he boasted that the Nigerian government is powerless against him, and that the abducted girls would be sold on the open market.

Pray for the victims of sexual abuse.

These acts continue throughout the Muslim world, especially in Egypt where a United Nations survey from 2013 reported that 99% of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment, mostly involving unwanted touching or verbal assault.

Sadly, these events often happen in public, right on the streets where people go about their daily business.

Even the celebrations for the election of Abdel Fattah El Sisi was marred with violence, with multiple reports of sexual assaults against women during the inauguration in Cairo. One young woman was violently assaulted by a mob in Tahrir square, an act which was caught on video.

Outgoing president, Adly Mansour, called for a new law to criminalize sexual harassment, the first of its kind in Egypt, and an aggressor could face a minimum of six months in jail and a heavy fine.

In London, numerous foreign ministers, nongovernmental organizations and delegates from 113 countries gathered to discuss sexual violence against women and urge the world to act.

Actress and U.N. special envoy Angelina Jolie co-chaired the summit with British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

"It is a myth that rape is an inevitable part of conflict," Jolie said during the conference. "It has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power. It is done to torture and humiliate innocent people and often very young children."

Prior to the summit, 150 governments endorsed a declaration pledging to end sexual violence in war zones, with a goal of documenting crimes and having more prosecutions.

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