After reading through, go to www.showyourselfie.orgto upload your visual petition for youth and take a stand against violence with your UpsideDownfie - an upside down selfie!  

The #Showyourselfie campaign, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, is mobilizing thousands of young people and those who support them to show world leaders that the needs and rights of young people must be a priority in the future of development. Over the next 10 months, we will be placing the spotlight on the6 biggest issues affecting the world’s youth ahead of the largest selfie handover to world leaders at the United Nations in September 2015.

Beginning today, International Human Rights Day, we’re focusing on eliminating violence and harmful practices against young people, especially adolescent girls.

Too many young people, especially women and girls, are exposed to violence everyday.

Many adolescents, especially girls, face harmful rituals such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. 125 million women and girls across the world have faced the horrific practice of FGM, and it’s estimated that 1 in 3 girls in the developing world will be married before the age of 18. Did you know that:

• One in three women globally will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during her lifetime.
• 140 million girls and women in the world have suffered female genital mutilation.
• Every day, 39,000 girls become child brides.
• More than 140 million girls live in fragile states affected by armed conflict.

Hundreds of millions of young people confront social, economic & other obstacles to their well-being. Governments, communities and families all have a role to play in tearing down these barriers.

Today, we’re shifting the selfie around with an UpsideDownfie - an upside down selfie.

We cannot change the challenges young people face if we keep looking at them in the same way. Governments need to prioritize young people’s rights and needs, so the world will be the right way round!

NOW is the time to turn violence against women and girls on its head. We need you to lend YOUR voice to the movement. Without the support of thousands of people worldwide, there is a huge risk that decision makers won’t invest in young people. Collectively, we need to challenge negative attitudes, gender stereotypes and behavior that can lead to violence.

Upload your UpsideDownfie towww.showyourselfie.org and tell world leaders why you want to turn violence against women and girlson its head.

Your voice is a powerful tool that can be used to fight violence and change the world we live in. Use it to make an impact today!

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Leticia Pfeffer