Angelina Jolie dedicates pioneering war rape centre in London to ISIS sex attack survivor

The actor, director and human-rights activist joined William Hague as part of her mission to end rape as a weapon of war

Helen Nianias
Wednesday 11 February 2015 15:31 GMT
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Angelina Jolie Pitt, pictured, will begin teaching as a visiting professor from Autumn 2016
Angelina Jolie Pitt, pictured, will begin teaching as a visiting professor from Autumn 2016

Angelina Jolie opened a new centre in London that aims to put a stop to war rape.

Speaking at the centre based in the London School of Economics on Tuesday, Jolie said: "There is no stable future for a world in which crimes committed against women go unpunished."

LSE's Centre for Women, Peace and Security will carry out research aimed at preventing sexual violence used against women during war.

Jolie dedicated the centre to a teenage girl she met in Iraq. The 13 year old had been captured as an Isis sex slave and had been cast out from her community because she was a rape survivor.

"What we have begun at LSE today is for that Iraqi girl and others like her, who pay the price for the culture of impunity for crimes against women, and our failure to prevent conflict," Jolie said.

The centre's staff will examine the practical side of the problem of rape during war. This will include the best ways to prosecute perpetrators of sexual violence and how to help women rebuild communities and stay safe after conflicts. The centre pledges to put women in conflict zones at the heart of decision making.

"There is no stable future for a world in which crimes committed against women go unpunished; a world in which young girls are unable to reach their potential; where children see their mothers disrespected, violated and murdered," Jolie added, "where it is considered acceptable for a husband to reject his wife and the mother of his children because she was raped, or normal for a woman to be forced to marry her rapist."

Hague said that the centre was "about the enlargement of human freedom".

From this September, students will be able to study a module in Women, Peace and Security at LSE. From 2016, students will be able to apply to study for an MA in the subject.

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