United Nations Radio

Mary Quinn (Avon) and Geena Davis

Prominent women from the entertainment and business fields came together at the United Nations on Monday. They urged philanthropists to focus on women's empowerment as an effective way to boost development around the world.

Academy-award winning actress Geena Davis is working with UNIFEM, the the UN Development Fund for Women, to change the way the media represents women and girls.

Another UNIFEM partner is the Avon Foundation for Women. Its Senior Manager, Mary Quinn, said the foundation has contributed 1 million dollars to the UNIFEM Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, the single largest private donation to the Fund.

A key note speaker at the UN event, which coincided with International Corporate Philanthropy Day, was Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Through the Sarah Ferguson Foundation, she supports the UN's Millennium Development Goals, especially the ones on gender equality and maternal health.

victim of trafficking

Trafficking in persons is a global crime, affecting virtually every country in the world, and still largely committed with impunity. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, for every 800 victims of trafficking, only one perpetrator is ever convicted of the crime. At a recent expert panel organized by the UN Department of Public Information's NGO section, social workers and researchers discussed why the crime of trafficking is so intractable and what can be done to confront it.

Producer: Bissera Kostova
Duration: 14:00