On the one hand, it’s easy to poke fun when a celebrity comes out against something as obviously egregious as, say, poverty. On the other hand, stardom is one of the only surefire ways to catch people’s attention—why not exploit it in the service of good? Such was the case with Nicole Kidman’s address at the United Nations this week, calling for greater awareness about the prevalence of violence against women. Seven months pregnant with her first biological child (she and Tom Cruise adopted two children), the Moulin Rouge star called violence against women “the most widespread human rights violation of our time,” pointing to the fact that one in three women worldwide is raped, beaten, or abused in her lifetime. The Oscar-winning mother-to-be also urged the public to sign on to UNIFEM’s Internet initiative calling for global action to end violence against women.

It seems to me that both the Internet initiative and Kidman’s high profile address are simply attention grabbers for what is an incredibly important facet of the U.N.that could use more funding: UNIFEM (the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women) is instrumental in establishing concrete programs that help women achieve financial, political, and social equality in all countries, but particularly those in or emerging from conflict. In stressing the progress initiatives like UNIFEM have made in the last quarter-century, executive director Joanne Sandler stated, “At least 89 countries have specific laws on domestic violence and more than 100 countries have made rape a crime.” I hate to see the glass as half empty, but I couldn’t help but note that this means about half of the governments in the world don't see rape as a problem, and more than half see no reason to punish men who beat their wives. It’s easy to forget that millions of people actually do not consider violence against women egregious at all—there’s a reason we need people like Nicole Kidman to remind us.  
 
Photo: AP