Movie star Jolie working with NATO to combat sexual violence

BRUSSELS – Movie star Angelina Jolie says she and NATO’s chief have agreed on ways to help the military alliance better combat the use of sexual violence against women and children in conflict zones.

Jolie said Wednesday that wherever sexual violence occurs “peace is far harder and far more costly to achieve. It therefore has a direct bearing on NATO’s efforts to protect stability.”

Speaking after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, she said: “We are going to focus on training, reporting, monitoring and awareness as a way of ending impunity.”

Jolie, a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, warned that rape is being “used as a weapon to achieve political or military goals.”