A picture says a thousand words: Tokyo marks London PSVI Summit
British Embassy Tokyo hosts an art unveiling event to mark the PSVI (Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative) Summit in London from 10-13 June and to promote the twitter campaign #TimeToAct.
Minister Longbottom showing her support to #TimeToAct initiative with two Japanese artists and a Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs official
On 11 June, Minister Julia Longbottom hosted an art unveiling at the British Embassy to mark the PSVI (Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative) Summit in London from 10-13 June.
PSVI
PSVI means Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. It was launched in 2012 by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Special Representative for Refugees Angelina Jolie. Last year Japan signed the G8 declaration in London. Today over 140 countries have joined the UN declaration. Just as we have abolished the use of chemical weapons in war, PSVI is designed to stop the use of rape as a weapon of wars today and in the future.
The London PSVI Summit
This week, UK Foreign Secretary Hague and UN Special Representative for Refugees Angelina Jolie are co-hosting a Summit in London to end the use of sexual violence in conflict. Governments, civil society, the media, military, judiciary and the public are taking part. We are discussing practical steps that will create real change: shattering the culture of impunity that surrounds these crimes; providing more support to victims; shifting the stigma of shame from victims to perpetrators; and launching a new International Protocol to overcome one of the greatest barriers to justice, which is the lack of evidence.
Tokyo art event
To mark this, UK Embassies across the world are hosting various events. In Tokyo, Minister Longbottom hosted an event to unveil art to illustrate the problem. She said that ‘a picture can say a thousand words’ and that art can tackle difficult issues.
Artists Mr Kazuyoshi Morita, Mr Hiroshi Soma, and Ms Pomme were inspired by the PSVI produced one art piece each. Although Ms Pomme could not attend in person, Mr Morita and Soma explained the meaning behind their art and answered audience member questions. We will be uploading a short video of this soon.
Members from civil society and wider public also attended, asked some very thought-provoking questions. They also participated in our PSVI twitter campaign #TimeToAct. This is designed to show international support for this initiative – photos of our event were broadcast at the London Summit.
We hope that you can also participate to show your support.
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More photos from the event are available at the British Embassy Tokyo Flickr