Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Visits African Victims of Gender-Based Violence 

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh is giving voice to two of her key causes.

The 58-year-old royal visited Tigray, Ethiopia on Sunday to highlight work supporting women who have been victims of sexual violence during conflict and war.

With the UNICEF team, this is Sophie’s latest trip to see first-hand the far-reaching impact of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and gender-based violence.

“The Duchess has been an advocate for the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) and CRSV survivors for a number of years, and has traveled extensively to witness their testimonies,” Buckingham Palace said in a press release.

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Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh at Camp Sabacare 5, Tigray, Ethiopia.

UNICEF Ethiopia 2023 Demissew Bizuwerk

Earlier this week, Sophie, 58, also visited the Sabacare displaced persons camp in northern Ethiopia, which cares for more than 16,000 internally displaced people — many of them women and girls. At Ayder Hospital’s One Stop Center (OSC) for survivors of gender-based violence, the Duchess was shown a range of medical and counseling treatments that have helped hundreds of women amid the country’s humanitarian crisis.

She also visited the Women’s Development Center, a charity that provides vulnerable women, many of whom are survivors of sexual violence in conflicts, with skills for independent living with secure employment, the palace said in a statement.

Sophie, who shares daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 18, and son James, Viscount Severn, 14, with her husband Prince Edward, 59, also joined some of the women in crafty sewing activities and “visited the child-friendly area at the camp, where children have a safe a place to play, learn and progress,” the palace statement added.

It is a key reason for the duchess – who received her title when King Charles gave his youngest brother Edward the title of Duke of Edinburgh on his 59th birthday in March – and one of two main reasons for being in Africa.

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Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh at Camp Sabacare 5, Tigray, Ethiopia.

UNICEF Ethiopia 2023 Demissew Bizuwerk

The second is eye health. As a global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), Sophie is in Ethiopia to celebrate the work of international eye care charity Orbis in the fight against the contagious and blinding eye disease trachoma.

During her visit, she is expected to see eye health in action by meeting with experts, caseworkers and government representatives, and spending time with patients who have had their sight restored. Sophie will also visit a school where children learn how to protect themselves from trachoma through face washing and good hygiene practices. The visit comes as part of World Sight Day, which is celebrated on October 12.

Sophie will also attend a conference where delegates from the government, health and charity sectors will have the opportunity to share insights and chart the way forward to end the blinding disease for good.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh joins women and children at a camp in Tigray, Ethiopia.

UNICEF Ethiopia 2023 Demissew Bizuwerk

Much of Sophie’s recent work on the world stage has been helping to campaign on preventable vision problems.

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In November 2017, she visited Bangladesh, where women were taught about the importance of nutrition and diabetes awareness, including the fact that diabetes can sometimes cause vision loss. Sophie sat in a group of about 200 people to listen.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh at a camp in Tigray, Ethiopia.

UNICEF Ethiopia 2023 Demissew Bizuwerk

A source shared at the time that the 8-year-old boy showed interest in Sophie during her visit “and she took him on her knee.”

Sophie immediately noticed he “had a pronounced squint,” the source added. Among the entourage was a senior ophthalmologist and Sophie showed the patient, and the doctor “stepped in and said he would treat the child for free. And he did.”

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh visits Ayder Hospital in Tigray, Ethiopia.

UNICEF Ethiopia 2023 Nahom Tesfaye

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On another trip to the African nation of Malawi, “she saw there was a blind boy in the class and she went and sat with him for a few minutes,” the former employee said. “She gently sat with him and talked to him. It was a beautiful moment of compassion and understanding.”

“She has the ability to connect with people from different cultures, languages ​​and backgrounds,” a source told PEOPLE. “I think of it as scattering magic dust.”

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Source: HIS Education