Nicole Kidman Wants Protection for Women

    Nicole Kidman thinks  that Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects.

Photo: Nicole Kidman Wants Protection for Women

   The Oscar-winning actress testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that is considering legislation to address violence against women overseas through humanitarian relief efforts and grants to local organizations working on the problem.

  Asked by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., if the movie industry has "played a bad role," Kidman said "probably," but quickly added that she herself doesn't.

  Kidman appeared before the committee in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Development Fund for Women, known as UNIFEM, to promote the International Violence Against Women Act.

  "In the real world, the laws go unenforced and impunity is the norm," she said.

  The legislation has stalled in the past, but a sponsor, Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., said he and others plan to reintroduce it soon.

  The Australian star told Congress that the U.N. women's fund needs more resources.

  The Associated Press has contributed to the report.