Womankind in Ethiopia

In 2010, Womankind’s work reached over 550,000 women, girls, men and boys in Ethiopia. We supported women and girls to change their lives by:

• Eliminating violence against women – particularly domestic violence and harmful traditional practices  

But inequality and discrimination continues. Supporting women’s voice in decision making remains a crucial part of our work to eliminate violence against women. 

Eliminating high levels of violence against women

The situation

Ethiopia is a deeply traditional society where violence against women is an acceptable way of life:

• 75% of women aged 15 – 49 years have undergone FGM
• 8% of all married women have been abducted into marriage
• 81% of women believe that their husbands have a right to beat them
• 59% will experience sexual violence from their partner at least once in their lifetime
• 62% of women are married before they are 18 years old

The government has enacted many laws to protect women and girls from violence but they are not fully implemented.

What Womankind is doing

We are working with partners to:

• Support communities to abandon harmful traditional practices such as FGM
• Support women and girl survivors of violence
• Empower women economically so they can protect themselves from violence
• Support girls to remain in school by encouraging communities to abandon FGM, child marriages and bride abduction
  

How you can help

£46 could pay for a week’s salary of a trained counsellor based at the shelter in Addis Ababa assisting survivors of violence. You can help by giving today