Mary Kay Inc. and the Mary Kay FoundationSM join forces with The UN Trust Fund to end violence against women and CARE USA on a global scale to eliminate gender-based violence

More than one in three women around the world experience either physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime1. These alarming statistics are exacerbated in times of conflict, natural disasters, and crisis. UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, which manages the UN Trust Fund on behalf of the UN system, has been tirelessly alerting and raising awareness of the alarming increase of violence against women during COVID-19 and its lasting consequences, putting women’s human rights at risk as nations work on rebuilding.

“Mary Kay has a decades-long commitment to ending violence against women and girls everywhere, it’s part of who we are,” said Melinda Foster Sellers, Chief People Officer of Mary Kay Inc. “Today we join forces with the UN Trust Fund and CARE, two remarkable stewards of women’s rights, who have made extraordinary achievements through social impact on the ground, gender data collection, and relentless advocacy work. Together, we are more determined than ever to achieve a world free of violence against women.”

“Since 1999, The Mary Kay FoundationSM has been committed to bringing an end to domestic violence,” said Anne Crews, Vice President of Public Affairs at Mary Kay and Board member of The Mary Kay FoundationSM. “Over the past 20 years, over 2,600 shelters advocating to eradicate gender-based domestic violence have received grants totaling near $47 million. We’ve supported over six million women and girls seeking shelter and services to be free from abuse. Our global partnerships with the UN Trust Fund and CARE will help us deepen and expand the scope of our fight to protect women and girls.”

Through the ongoing work of its four corporate foundations and these recent global partnerships, Mary Kay reaffirms its leadership in addressing and preventing violence against women and girls uniquely affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. These initiatives manifest Mary Kay’s overall commitment to SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

• Through its partnership with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, Mary Kay will contribute to funding projects to protect women and girls in 70 countries and territories.

The UN Trust Fund, as the only demand-driven, competitive grant-making mechanism specialized in ending violence against women and girls, is uniquely positioned to contribute to realizing this goal through funding contextually relevant initiatives and providing support to grantees, many of which are small, women-led and women’s rights organizations. Since its establishment in 1996 by UN General Assembly resolution 50/166, the UN Trust Fund has awarded USD $175 million to 572 initiatives in 140 countries and territories.

The UN Trust Fund grantees are on the front line of the response to the long-standing and ongoing pandemic of violence against women and girls.

Over the last four years, the UN Trust Fund reached over 22 million individuals with projects to prevent and end violence against women and girls and enabled the life-changing work of women’s rights and women-led organizations in their capacity on the front line in delivering services to survivors and implementing laws and policies. More than one million women and girls benefited directly from life-saving services, empowerment activities and protection from violence, including at least 107,428 survivors of violence. In 2019 only, the UN Trust Fund supported 137 projects and awarded 79 new grants in value of USD 35 million.

“Violence against women is the most widespread violation of human rights globally and knows no boundaries,’’ said Aldijana Sisic, Chief, UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. “It is the most severe expression of discrimination, a persistent pandemic exacerbated by the current COVID-19 crisis. The lockdown measures to curb the coronavirus together with an overburdened healthcare and law enforcement systems leave women and girls survivors of violence in a dangerous limbo. In this context, women’s organizations around the world play the pivotal role as first responders for survivors. Now is the time to join forces, step up and support them to ensure no woman and girl is left alone behind walls of silence. We thank our partners in Mary Kay for leading by example with its contribution to this work and walking this path together with us.”

• Mary Kay will support CARE programs fighting against gender-based violence, contributing to transform the lives of women and girls in 100 countries and territories.

Women around the world are disproportionately impacted by poverty and gender-based violence, making up the majority of the 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty. For this reason, CARE has a strategic commitment to gender – and is relentlessly advocating for women’s voices and leadership.

CARE’s emergency response to the global COVID-19 crisis has expanded with unprecedented speed, scaling up in 67 countries spiraling into a humanitarian emergency due to the pandemic and reaching approximately sixteen million people through direct programs, and providing over one million people with training and information about services to end violence against women. Identifying the need to highlight the gender impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, on March 31, CARE launched a Global Rapid Gender Analysis on COVID-19 (RGA), conducted in consultation with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Mary Kay’s support is uniquely informed by the fresh data and findings provided by the Global Rapid Gender Analysis on COVID-19 in 50 countries to date. CARE’s 50 Rapid Gender Analyses show that the pandemic has worsened the problem highlighting southern Africa and Europe, as well as reports of tens of thousands of women facing physical or sexual abuse during lockdowns and shelter in place.

Mary Kay Inc. and The Mary Kay FoundationSM have also provided a $100,000 contribution to Together For Her’s international gender-based violence relief efforts, housed at CARE. The funds will be used for programs around the world that support victims and survivors of violence; providing PPE for staff who accompany survivors of violence to court hearings and delivering food, hygiene and cleaning items to women victims who are receiving psychological, medical and temporary shelter services.

"Achieving real equality for women and eradicating gender-based violence (GBV) can transform the world in so many ways," said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE. "In the world's most marginalized communities, girls and women bear the brunt of injustice. The COVID-19 crisis alone may cause 31 million more GBV cases over six months of virus-related lockdowns. We know this staggering possibility is preventable, and we must address these horrific abuses before they happen. Investing in local women's grassroots movements is among the highest and most powerful good that we can do to create social and societal change."

• It is estimated that of the 87,000 women who were intentionally killed in 2017 globally, more than half (58 per cent) were killed by intimate partners or family members.

• Therefore, every day, 137 women across the world are killed by a member of their own family.

• Some 650 million women and girls in the world today were married before the age of 18. Approximately 15 million adolescent girls (aged 15 to 19) worldwide have experienced forced sex (forced sexual intercourse or other sexual acts) at some point in their lives.

Source: UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, Annual Report 2019.

One of the original glass ceiling breakers, Mary Kay Ash founded her beauty company more than 56 years ago with three goals: develop rewarding opportunities for women, offer irresistible products, and make the world a better place. That dream has blossomed into a multibillion-dollar company with millions of independent sales force members in nearly 40 countries. Mary Kay is dedicated to investing in the science behind beauty and manufacturing cutting-edge skin care, color cosmetics, and fragrances. Mary Kay is committed to empowering women and their families by partnering with organizations from around the world, focusing on supporting cancer research, protecting survivors from domestic abuse, beautifying our communities, and encouraging children to follow their dreams. Mary Kay Ash’s original vision continues to shine—one lipstick at a time. Learn more at MaryKay.com.

Guided by Mary Kay Ash’s dream to enrich the lives of women everywhere, The Mary Kay FoundationSM raises and distributes funds to invest in breakthrough cancer research to find a cure for women-related cancers and ending domestic violence against women. Since 1996, The Mary Kay FoundationSM has contributed more than $80 million to organizations aligned with its two-fold mission. In addition, the Foundation supports awareness initiatives, community outreach programs, and advocates for legislation to ensure women are healthy and safe. Together, we can make the world better for women. To learn more about how to educate, advocate, volunteer and donate, and join life-saving work to support and empower women, visit marykayfoundation.org, find us on Facebook and Instagram, or follow us on Twitter.

The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund), managed by UN Women on behalf of the UN system, is the only global grant-making mechanism exclusively dedicated to eradicating all forms of violence against women and girls. In the 24 years of its existence, it has supported 572 organizations, investing in innovative and evidence-based civil society-led solutions and life-changing projects. The projects funded focus on preventing violence, implementing laws and policies to address and eliminate violence against women and girls, and improving access to essential services for survivors. Learn more at untf.unwomen.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE has more than seven decades of experience delivering emergency aid during times of crisis. Our emergency responses focus on the needs of the most vulnerable populations, particularly girls and women. Last year CARE worked in 100 countries and reached close to 70 million people around the world. To learn more, visit www.care.org.

Together for Her is a call to action to stand in solidarity with women and girls around the world by deploying funds and supporting the global response against domestic violence during the time of COVID-19. The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), CARE and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) have come together to amplify the dire need for resources. Charlize and CTAOP provided a lead gift, and Charlize called upon women everywhere to join forces and help shine a light on this critical effort. Through our collective voices, we stand in solidarity to show that we are stronger together; we are Together for Her.

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1 World Health Organization Report. 2013

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