Avon partners with WAGGGS to help more women and girls to #SpeakOutListenUp on gender-based violence

- Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women have announced a new $300,000 partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS)

- The partnership will build awareness and education about gender-based violence to reach millions of women and girls

- Announced in line with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the beauty giant will encourage more people to #SpeakOutListenUp for signs of violence, harassment and abuse

LONDON, Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP): Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women has today announced a new partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to combat gender-based violence. Launched in line with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the partnership announcement follows Avon Foundation-funded research which revealed 38% of abuse victims are unsure where to seek help and 60% do not believe they will be taken seriously¹.

Avon will work with WAGGGS to ensure more women and girls are able to identify gender-based violence and identify resources to safely seek help. As part of the partnership, the organisations will launch a new training and awareness programme for Avon's Representative network, and girl guides and girl scouts in three countries: South Africa, Philippines and Argentina.  Ultimately, the partnership aims to create campaign materials that can be utilized across the world, with the potential to reach over 15 million women and girls represented by Avon and WAGGGS.

The programme is designed to address the silence around gender-based violence, empowering women and girls experiencing violence and abuse to safely speak out and to access the support they need.

Chair of the Avon Foundation for Women, Amy Greene, said: "The Avon Foundation is committed to breaking down the barriers that hold women and girls back.  One in three women² is directly affected by gender-based violence around the world, and domestic violence kills more women than any other issue.  Too often, women and girls suffer in silence, and spotting the signs of violence and abuse can be difficult for friends and family to recognise. Avon wants to open up the dialogue about violence against women and girls, to help educate and empower people to speak up. Together with WAGGGS we have a powerful combined reach that can make a tangible difference."

CEO of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Sarah Nancollas, said: "Violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive and widespread global human rights violations and is at epidemic proportions. By partnering with the Avon Foundation we will support young women and girls to become change makers within their communities, to feel they have a voice to advocate, and to raise awareness and dispel harmful myths surrounding violence and discrimination. We are grateful for the support of Avon and the Avon Foundation in taking forward this important work."

Alongside the WAGGGS partnership, Avon is committed to using its global voice to shed light on the many forms of violence, harassment and abuse experienced by women and girls. Throughout the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Avon will donate funds from special product sales across the world to frontline gender-based violence support organisations, building on the $65m the Avon Foundation and Avon have already donated globally.

Notes to editors

1. Avon (2018). Avon Global Women's Survey: Violence against women and girls. Global survey of 14,400 women across 15 countries on their attitudes and perceptions of gender relations and violence in its different forms.
2. World Health Organisation, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, South African Medical Research Council (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence.

About Avon Products Inc.
For more than 130 years Avon has stood for women: providing innovative, quality beauty products which are primarily sold to women, through women.  Millions of independent sales Representatives across the world sell iconic Avon brands such as Avon Color and ANEW through their social networks, building their own beauty businesses on a full- or part-time basis.  Avon supports women's empowerment, entrepreneurship and well-being and has donated over $1billion to women's causes through Avon and the Avon Foundation.  Learn more about Avon and its products at www.avonworldwide.com. #stand4her

About Avon Foundation for Women
The Avon Foundation for Women is committed to supporting issues that matter most to women. Since its inception in 1955, the Avon Foundation has promoted or aided charitable, scientific, educational, and humanitarian activities, with a special emphasis on programs that improve the lives of women and their families. Through 2018, Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women have contributed over $1 billion in over 50 countries to support its efforts to eradicate breast cancer and to help end violence against women and girls worldwide. Today, Avon global cause programs focus on breast health awareness and prevention through the Avon Breast Cancer Promise, and to help end violence through the Avon Promise to Help End Violence Against Women and Girls.

To encourage more women to open up and speak out about their experiences, Avon has also partnered with Peace One Day to tell three survivor's stories. Launched on Peace Day, September 2019, the films chart the experience of three women in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Mexico who are survivors of intimate partner violence. The films can be viewed here.  

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership and used by activists around the world as an organizing strategy to call for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence. The core 16 Days campaign takes place every year between November 25 and December 10 and is run by more than 6,000 organizations in 187 countries.

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