Avon signs deal to stop violence against women

The cosmetics company Avon has created a partnership with the United Nations to address the issue of violence against women.

The US-based group, which brands itself globally as ‘the company for women’, is committing $1million (£500,000) to the Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. The fund is managed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem), and the contribution will be made through the Avon Empowerment Fund, established as part of the Avon-Unifem partnership.

Joanne Sandler, Unifem’s executive director, expected Avon to be ‘an engaged and long-term partner’. She said that the partnership will lobby governments to introduce laws and programmes that reduce violence against women.

Avon’s annual revenue is over $8billion, generated mainly by direct sales in customers’ homes in more than 100 countries. The company will add to the fund with profits from a ‘women’s empowerment bracelet’ selling at $3. The Avon Foundation concentrates almost exclusively on women’s issues.