Angelina Jolie Delivers Tearful Speech In Washington With Her Daughter By Her Side
You may know Angelina Jolie as an actress, but she’s also an advocate for the rights of women and children.
In December 2021, Jolie and her daughter, Zahara, visited Washington, D.C., to work with lawmakers on the Violence Against Women Act. At the time, she wrote on Instagram, “Honored to visit Washington, DC, with Zahara, working with advocates and lawmakers to modernize and strengthen the #ViolenceAgainstWomenAct to include protections for children’s health and safety, communities of color, tribes, LGBTQ survivors, rural areas, and all survivors.” She added, “We need reforms including judicial training, trauma-informed court processes that minimize the risk of harm to children, grant programs for technology to detect bruising across all skin tones and create non-biased forensic evidence collection, and protections for the most vulnerable.”
View this post on Instagram
While in D.C., Jolie and Zahara met with Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and Senator Lisa Murkowski who are co-sponsors of the House VAWA Reauthorization.
In February 2022, Jolie and Zahara went to D.C. again, this time for the Senate’s introduction of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. During this trip, Jolie met with VAWA advocates as well as Senators Durbin, Ernst, Feinstein and Murkowski.
While in D.C., Jolie got choked up during a press conference. Her voice was full of emotion as she said, “Most of all, I want to acknowledge the children who are terrified and suffering at this moment.” She added, “The reason that many people struggle to leave abusive situations is that they’ve been made to feel worthless. When there is silence from a Congress too busy to renew the Violence Against Women Act for a decade, it reinforces that sense of worthlessness.”
Watch the video below to hear Jolie’s speech for yourself and to learn more about the VAWA.
