Angelina Jolie Pitt attended the African Union Summit where she participated in a panel discussion about sexual crimes against women around the world. Jolie Pitt met with African Union chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former British foreign minister William Hague, Senegalese activist Bineta Diop and Zainab Bangura, the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Jolie and Hague co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative in 2012. The theme of this year’s summit was “Year of Women Empowerment and Development.”
“There is a global epidemic of violence against women—both within conflict zones and within societies at peace—and it is still treated as a lesser crime and lower priority,” Jolie Pitt told the audience. According to People, the actress-director traveled to Pretoria, South Africa for the biannual event. “The near-total impunity that exists worldwide for crimes against women, in conflict zones in particular, means that we are seeing more and more armed groups turn it into their weapon of choice,” she continued. “Women and girls are bearing the brunt of extremists that revel in treating them barbarically. This is inextricably linked to our overall failure to prevent and end conflicts worldwide, which is causing human suffering on an unprecedented level.”