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Salvation Army of Omaha director to speak before United Nations

This week’s United Nations session of the Commission on the Status of Womenwill include a Salvation Army of Omaha representative.

The overall theme of this year’s Commission, which begins Tuesday, is ending violence against women and girls. Linda Burkle, the Salvation Army of Omaha’s divisional director of social services, will represent the organization’s Central Territory.

Burkle says her presentation will focus on human rights and ending violence.

"We’ve always been very zealous, really, as far as advocacy for human rights and social issues such as this one here, which is really egregious and widespread throughout the world, but even in Omaha, Nebraska, I’ve had firsthand testimonies of horrific cases of violence toward women."

Burkle’s presentation is called “Violence Against Women and the Church’s Response: A Salvation Army Perspective.” She says in some nations, violence against women and girls is culturally accepted. Burkle's done humanitarian work in 20 countries and discussed women's rights issues at forums in eight nations.

More information on the Commission on the Status of Women is available at www.un.org/womenwatch. Other topics that’ll be discussed during the Commission are gender equality and the shared responsibilities of caregivers.