The Group „Journalists against the violence” received the Women’s Courage Award

On the occasion of the global campaign “16 Days of Activism”, Avon Company awarded the Women’s Courage Award as part of the End Violence against women campaign and presented it to the Group Journalists against Violence, with the aim to support brave women and recognize their efforts in the fight against gender-based violence.

The award was symbolically presented in front of the Sculpture depicting Women’s Courage, on the anniversary of its installation. Last year, in cooperation with Usce SC, Avon Company set the Sculpture, as a symbol of Belgrade. The aim is to encourage women and support them to walk through life with their heads held high, powerfully facing everything that prevents them from leading a fulfilled and healthy life. The goal of the Women’s Courage Award is to praise individuals and organizations that raise their voice and are selflessly committed to the brave and responsible fight against violence.

“Together with our Avon Representatives and associates across the country, we have been raising awareness of violence against women in Serbia for more than a decade because we believe that the commitment of the entire society is crucial to preventing and ending this problem. It is a great honour for me, on behalf of the company, to present the first award for this kind of commitment to journalists who show women’s courage every day in work they do. In cooperation with our long-term partners from the non-governmental sector, we selected Journalists Against Violence because of their commitment to this socially important topic, courageous and ethical reporting on it, professional attitude in drawing attention to professionals and dedicated work on their education,” said Marija Radakovic, Regional Sales Manager at Avon Serbia.

Although women are in a much better position now than in previous years, violence against women remains one of the most common forms of human rights violations. In fact, every third woman over the age of 15 has experienced some kind of physical or sexual violence, and women of all ages and educational categories, from all regions and types of settlements, social groups and different family statuses are exposed to it.

“We want to send a message to all women, from those who are victims of domestic violence to those who suffer discrimination at work, that they are not alone. There are many women going through similar problems at the same time. We try to tell them every day that they are worth the effort, that there is a way to get out, to win and live normally, safely and that they deserve the respect of their families and the wider environment. Our role is to show them the way, how they can do it and the people who can help them along the way.

We try to point out specific problems and ways of solving those problems through daily work, work with other journalists, organizations, education and consultations. I believe that we will persist in that,” said Ana Manojlović, a journalist, and a member of the group Journalists against Violence against Women.

Journalists Against Violence is a group of over 30 journalists who fight openly against violence against women. The group advocates for reporting on violence against women as a social problem, pointing out its causes, clearly condemning any form of violence and calling for accountability of perpetrators and institutions responsible for protection against violence. Journalists against violence are trying to build a network throughout Serbia that will contribute to the fight against violence against women through joint media activities.

“I think I’m speaking on behalf of the whole group when I say that we are extremely grateful to AVON for recognizing our work. It is a special honour for us that this is an award for women’s courage, because when we started, we did not know that we would need courage for what we were doing, and then it turned out that we needed it. Of course, we would never have succeeded without the support of UNDP Serbia and the B92 Fund. We are here to be brave, for all women and colleagues who have not yet gathered courage or do not know-how. I want to tell them that we are here for them. None of us got into this because of honours and awards, but it really means a lot that someone recognized what we do and saw us as important and brave. That is why this gives us the wind in our backs to continue to work even harder and better on what we see as the mission of the Group Journalists against violence against women and we promise to do our best not to let down any woman or girl,” said Jovana Gligorijević, a journalist and a member of the group Journalists Against Violence Against Women.

Avon’s campaign End violence against women was launched in 2008, and through educational programs and donations, advocates for stopping and preventing violence against women. So far, as part of this Avon’s campaign, 3 safe houses in Serbia have been equipped with a donation of security systems and the project “ONAsnaživanje” has been supported, as well as the project of the Autonomous Women’s Centre ” I can choose to say NO – Love is not Violence” To raise public awareness on this topic, a Sculpture depicting Women’s Courage was set up, and numerous campaigns were realized, such as “You can do it differently”, “You are not alone”, as well as “Sports fight is a challenge, a family fight is a crime” and information campaigns were conducted to raise awareness about this problem.

End violence against women is funded through the entire gross profit from the sale of specially labelled Avon products for courage. In this way, all Avon donations and campaigns directly involve Avon Representatives, who support the End violence against women campaign by purchasing these products.