London Tube advert part of major Amnesty International campaign to protect Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls in conflict

Amnesty International has launched a two-week London Underground tube poster campaign to increase awareness of the prolific use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

The striking image of an extended bullet with the caption ‘rape is cheaper than bullets’ is intended to provoke Tube travellers to text Amnesty International to find out more about its work to protect Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls from violence in conflict.

The adverts are part of the organisation’s wider Women's rights's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights Campaign and in particular its global campaign to ensure Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls’ needs and rights are upheld during conflicts and also in the peace and reconstructive stages.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

“The ‘Bullet’ ads send a clear message to Tube travellers that rape is one of the horrific realities of many wars which is rarely discussed.

“In previous and current conflicts, such as in Darfur and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, hundreds of thousands of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls – some as young as six – are subjected to horrific acts of rape and sexual violence by armed forces and their perpetrators regularly go unpunished.

“Even one-off incidents of rape in war are recognised as war crimes but widespread systematic rape is considered to be a crime against humanity and Amnesty International is vigorously campaigning for an end to such atrocities. Globally, tougher measures need to be in place to protect Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls in conflicts from this abuse, and those who carry out such acts have to be brought to justice.”

In a report produced last September, Amnesty International gathered testimonies from numerous girls and Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights who had been subjected to sexual violence in the escalating crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo.

One six-year-old girl was raped by a fighter from a rebel group and was later found to have developed a serious genital infection and severe psychological trauma from the attack.

Kate Allen continued:

“Sexual violence against Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls is not only devastating and ruinous to the victim but it destabilises the family and the community at large. Unless we address human rights violations such as rape in conflict, then lasting peace and economic regeneration will be more difficult in the post-conflict stage.

“We have a global responsibility to do all we can to put a stop to such dreadful atrocities. So we’re hoping that millions of Londoners will respond to these adverts and get involved with Amnesty International’s Campaign to Women's rights's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights.”

The ‘Bullet’ adverts are appearing in the London Tube carriages across the London Underground Network from now until Wednesday 11 March, across International Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights’s Day which is celebrated on Sunday 8 March.

The advert was a joint design by Amnesty International and creative design agency, Different Kettle.

For more information on the campaign please visit: www.protectthehuman.com/Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights