Nicole Kidman was the first to sign a United Nations movement to prevent violence against women, saying, "Think of it, actually being a woman puts you at risk."

"One in three women may suffer from abuse and violence in her lifetime. This is an appalling human rights violation, yet it remains one of the invisible and under-recognized pandemics of our time," Kidman said.

"Whether domestic violence, rape in war, or practices such as female genital mutilation, violence against women is a crime that cannot be tolerated," the Oscar awardee said. "And if it is recognized that violence against women is a crime, it must be prosecuted as one."

Kidman was at the launching Monday of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Internet campaign for support to the U.N. Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women that provides resources to local organizations in developing countries to find practical, hands-on solutions.

U.N. Trust Fund grantees have worked to prevent human trafficking in Ukraine, assisted survivors of domestic violence in Haiti and helped implement a new law on rape in war-torn Liberia.

"Projects like these demonstrate that the pandemic of violence against women is a problem with a solution," Kidman said.