“My name is Richard Branson. Yesterday I was at a clinic we run in Africa called Bhubezi Clinic and there were 40 women in the room. Somebody asked the women if any of them had ever been raped, and there was laughter amongst the women. We asked why they were laughing. The women said, ‘Ask the question: Has anybody in this room not been raped?’ Not one woman put up her hand. As men, we all have something to give. We all have the power to do our own part to stop the global pandemic of violence against women and girls. It is holding us all back. We can all be leaders here, in ways small and in ways grand — in Africa, in Europe, around the world, in our own homes and circles. So join me and become one of of the million men making one million promises to help end the violence against women.”

More about Sir Richard:

Sir Richard Branson is an English business magnate, best known as the founder and chairman of Virgin Group. Branson built Virgin Group from a single record store into a global empire encapsulating more than 400 companies in a variety of industries, including recording, air travel, telecommunications, publishing, and retail. In 2007, Branson formed The Elders – a small, dedicated group of leaders, working objectively and without any vested personal interest to solve difficult global conflicts – with Peter Gabriel, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, and Jimmy Carter. He has committed himself to numerous other humanitarian efforts, particularly in Africa. Branson is also a signatory of the Global Zero campaign for the global elimination of nuclear weapons and serves as commissioner of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, a UN initiative that promotes worldwide, universal access to broadband services.

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