Queen Elizabeth II honours Angelina Jolie (PHOTO)

• Posted on October 13, 2014October 13, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Friday made Hollywood star Angelina Jolie an honorary dame for her campaign to end the scourge of sexual violence in war zones.

In a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Jolie was presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George.

Jolie, 39, is a special envoy to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and she co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with former British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

“It is a myth that rape is an inevitable part of conflict,” Jolie said in June during the London opening of the biggest summit of its kind aimed at ending sexual violence in conflict. “There’s nothing inevitable about it. It is a weapon of war aimed at civilians. It has nothing to do with sex, everything to do with power.”

The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, hosted by the UK government, brought together representatives of more than 100 countries, as well as hundreds more experts, survivors, faith leaders, and staffers from NGOs and international organizations.

According to UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, more than 150 million young girls and 73 million boys experience sexual violence every year, and children in conflict-affected countries are the most vulnerable.

Few perpetrators are ever prosecuted or convicted.