Gemma Chan, Andrea Riseborough, Jane Horrocks, Jaime Winstone and Laura Carmichael have teamed up with ActionAid this Christmas to star in a powerful new film calling on the British public to sponsor girls at risk of sexual violence.
‘Safe From Harm’ sees the five actresses sharing powerful testimonies from the survivors of sexual violence in Zanzibar and Bangladesh, whose safety is in such doubt that they are unable to share the stories for themselves.
‘Halima's story is hard to hear, but the fear of this violence is a reality for millions of girls living in the poorest parts of the world,’ said Humans actress Gemma Chan. ‘ActionAid is transforming the lives of many girls who have suffered so much and I hope people will dig deep to protect and support these girls keeping them safe from harm.’
‘The story of 10 year old Zayana, a victim of sexual violence in the most horrendous form, is unfortunately not unique,’ added Laura Carmichael. ‘Millions of girls around the world living in poverty are violated and abused. A way of tackling these issues is to talk about them. I hope that with this film we can bring the reality home in the hope that people will keep a girl safe from harm by sponsoring a child this Christmas.’
ActionAid helps women and girls in some of the world’s poorest areas by giving them a safe haven to recover in and helping them find justice after being abused. In the long term, the charity works with the police and women’s groups to help put a stop to the violence.
‘This violence can happen to any girl or woman, anywhere,’ said Chief Executive, ActionAid UK Girish Menon. ‘This Christmas we encourage the UK public to listen to these powerful stories and to support our work by sponsoring a girl living in one of the world's poorest communities. With child sponsorship people will be supporting our work tackling the root causes of this horrific violence, and protecting girls from harm so they are able to shape their own futures, and have the opportunity to thrive.’
Watch the video below and visit ActionAid to sponsor a girl now.
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