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International Women's Day: Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women

During a visit to Bangkok, Thailand, UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot met with the Prime Minister of Thailand and celebrated the International Women’s Day with the Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and with Ms. Joana Merlin-Scholtes, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Thailand.

Dr Piot also released a statement stressing the importance of addressing gender inequality and the feminization of the AIDS epidemics. “Women, inside and outside the home, must have the economic, social and political power to stand up for their rights and protect themselves and their families from violence and disease.” He also stated that “to stop the feminization of the epidemic, as well as the epidemic itself, we have to initiate legal but also social, cultural and economic changes to challenge some of the most pervasive social patterns and gender norms that continue to fuel the AIDS epidemic.”