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Actress and advocate Robin Wright will serve as the global ambassador for the Congolese aide organization, Women’s Synergy for Victims of Sexual Violence.

Women’s Synergy for Victims of Sexual Violence (Synergy) provides psycho-social, medical, and legal defense services to victims of sexual violence in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

“I’ve been to the Congo I have seen Synergy’s work first-hand. The medical care and support they provide to victims of sexual assault is life-saving,” said Robin Wright. “I am proud to serve as their Goodwill Ambassador because I know their work is making a difference in the lives of women and girls every day.”

Synergy unites the experiential skills of 35 Congolese organizations to address the psycho-social, medical and legal defense needs of women and girls. Synergy is one of the front-line organizations supported by Donor Direct Action, a project of Equality Now.

“It’s a war against women. When two sides fight the one punishes the other by raping women. When I see the women come to me in search of hope, I say to myself, I must continue to fight for them,” said Synergy founder Justine Masika Bihamba. “We are honored to have Robin Wright acting as our goodwill ambassador. She will help us shine a light on this ongoing struggle and bring hope to hundreds of thousands of women and girls in the Congo who need our help.”

For more than twenty years, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been at war, leaving nearly six million dead. Both soldiers and armed rebels wield rape as a weapon, and recent studies find an increase in rapes by civilians in the new, commonplace prevalence of sexual assault.

“Synergy makes a difference in the lives of women and girls who have suffered through extreme violence in the DRC. We are proud to support Synergy as one of Donor Direct Action’s first front-line organizations because they exemplify the work we aim to bring greater attention to: direct, on-the-ground programs that make a difference every day,” said Donor Direct Action founder Jessica Neuwirth.