Girls’ education and ending violence against women and girls focus of world-leading experts

World-leading experts today focussed on the importance of girls’ education and ending violence against women and girls at the second meeting of the Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC) under the UK’s G7 Presidency.

The meeting saw Cynthia Nyongesa, Youth Leader from the Global Partnership for Education, speak with the Council about the transformative impact education can have on girls’ lives and her work as an advocate in Kenya.

Alongside this, the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Priti Patel, discussed the Home Office’s Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which will work together with a complementary Domestic Abuse Strategy to improve support for victims, achieve better outcomes through the criminal justice system and improve approaches to dealing with perpetrators.

GEAC member Dr Denis Mukwege spoke on tackling violence against women and girls and preventing sexual violence in conflict.

Minister for Women & Equalities, Liz Truss, and the Council’s Chair, distinguished author and journalist Sarah Sands, convened the meeting of world-leading experts including scientists, vaccinologists and business leaders, across the G7 countries and beyond. This included Professor Sarah Gilbert, CERN Director-General Dr Fabiola Gianotti and Harvard Professor Iris Bohnet.

The Council will build on work done by former G7 presidencies, and the Gender Equality Advisory Councils convened by Canada in 2018 and France in 2019, and champion the core principles of freedom, opportunity and dignity for women and girls around the world.

It will set out recommendations to leaders at the G7 Summit in June on how to ensure that women across the globe are at the forefront of the pandemic recovery and at the heart of the build back better agenda.

Members have been selected from each of the G7 countries and beyond, united by their commitment to democracy and women’s empowerment.

The first meeting of the GEAC took place in April.