An award for the life of every woman

The second annual Viva Award – for the life of every woman – was held on 25 November in São Paulo, Brazil.  Organized by the Avon Foundation Brazil and Marie Claire Magazine, the award recognises initiatives that raise awareness and promote actions to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

The award recognises winners in eight categories, all of whom have contributed towards the goal of ending gender-based violence.  The winners were chosen by a jury composed of experts working to end violence against women and girls as well as through online voting on the Marie Claire website.

Adriana Reis de Jesus, a teacher, the Representative category for her project “Empowerment: the school’s role in standing against domestic violence”, which teaches her students about the roots of  male chauvinism and how to tackle it.

The Civil Society category award went to Amanda Ferreira, founder of an organisation that provides care for children and teenagers in Manaus.  Amanda fights against sexual exploitation, pornography, human trafficking and sexual tourism.

In the Politics and Law category, Vanessa Grazziotin was recognised for her role in introducing laws around gender-based violence as well as a project to criminalize sexual harassment and the dissemination of rape content on social media.

Elza Paulina, the first woman to become head of the São Paulo Civil Guard, won the Public Security and Justice category.  The He for She category award went to Djair Moura, Sergeant of the Bahia Military Police, for his role in a project to teach men about violence against women and girls.

In the Health category, psychologist Elania Lima was recognised for founding a programme to educate teenagers about sexuality and relationship issues.  Entrepreneur Ana Fontes won the Economic Autonomy category.  Created from a blog where she used to share her experiences about entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneur Women Network is a platform that offers mentorship, promotes events and shares the latest news about entrepreneurship to more than 500,000 women.

Alice Juliana was the winner for the Education category for her work as a social educator leading an initiative supporting women and girls to improve their self-esteem, recognise harassment and invest in themselves.  Alice was inspired to become a mentor to other teenagers after becoming pregnant at 17.

“By recognizing the history of people that make a difference when it comes to ending violence against women and girls, we know that we are on the right path because we are putting the best practices in the spotlight,” says Daniela Grelin, executive director of the Avon Foundation Brazil.

“The Viva Award was inspired by the mutual desire of two brands that share the same purpose: end all forms of violence against women,” says Laura Ancona Lopez, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Magazine. “The idea is to raise awareness by recognizing initiatives from multiple areas – from health to civil society – with inspiring stories that had a positive impact.”