Angelina Jolie has opened a four-day summit in London in a bid to end sexual violence in war zones. On Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actress arrived at the ExCeL London with her co-host William Hague for the start of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, the largest event of its kind.
Angelina, dressed all in white, told reporters she was "so, so happy to be here" and help highlight the plight of rape victims of war."
On our way over, we spoke about the women we met recently on our last trip, and in particular one woman who said she had yet to tell her child that she had been raped because she was so humiliated and she could not bring herself to admit it to him," the mum-of-six said."
And she felt that having had no justice for her particular crime, in her particular situation, and having seen the actual man who raped her on the streets free, she really felt abandoned by the world.
"On the way over, we thought, 'What is she going to think of this day?' This day is for her."Every year, 150 million girls and women are raped in conflict around the world, along with 70 million men and boys. The majority of these victims never get justice."
"This is an unacceptable crime practised on a vast scale," Mr Hague told Sky News. It has been two years since the Foreign Secretary and Angelina launched their campaign, a Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, which has since been endorsed by 141 countries. The aim now is to take more concrete steps, including providing more help for survivors.
Mr Hague told the BBC that the issue had been a "taboo" for too long, and that it was time to get rid of the "stigma and shame attached to it".
The summit will run from Tuesday until Friday, with dozens of free events open to the public until Thursday.
Events include an exclusive screening of The Land of Blood and Honey, with the opportunity to hear its director Angelina and Mr Hague discuss how the film inspired the initiative that led to the summit.