Angelina Jolie Criticizes UN Peacekeepers For Not Tackling Global Violence Against Women

Angelina Jolie remains one of the strongest voices for women worldwide, and she did not hold back in addressing the UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial Conference in Vancouver on Tuesday with her keynote speech.

“Sexual violence is everywhere – in the industry where I work, in business, in universities, in politics, in the military, and across the world,” she said during her keynote address on Wednesday. “All too often, these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offense by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need,” she continued. “But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive.”

Jolie didn't specifically address the Harvey Weinstein fury, although Angelina has previously told the New York Times that she rejected Mr. Weinstein's unwanted advances in a hotel room in the late 1990s, never again worked with the disgraced producer and warned other women about not working with Weinstein.

In her Vancouver speech, Angelina Jolie cited violence against women -- and specifically the female Rohingya refugees seeking asylum in Bangladesh -- as "a critical obstacle to achieving women's equality and our full human rights."

Citing the common perception that societies tend to make light of male harassment of women, saying he's just being a guy. "All too often, these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offence by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need," Jolie stated in her keynote speech. "But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive."

The Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reminded attendees that rape and violence against women are critical weapons of war.  “It is cheaper than a bullet, and it has lasting consequences that unfold with sickening predictability that make it so cruelly effective,” she explained, urging her audience to promote changes in laws in their countries. 

Her comments were critical of global leaders for failing to take decisive action; for seeing sexual violence against women as an inevitable part of conflict, instead of an issue that should be addressed when it comes to peace negotiations and punishments.

"[It's] hard, but it is not impossible,” she said. “We have the laws, the institutions, and the expertise in gathering evidence. We are able to identify perpetrators. What is missing is the political will."