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

The Duchess of Edinburgh is in Ethiopia to help support two key issues

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

The royal, 58, visited Tigray, Ethiopia on Sunday to highlight work that supports women who've been victims of sexual violence during conflict and war.

Alongside a team from UNICEF, it is Sophie's latest trip to see, firsthand, the far-reaching impact of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and gender-based violence.

"The Duchess has championed the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), and survivors of CRSV, for a number of years, and has travelled widely to bear witness to their testimonies," Buckingham Palace said in a press release.

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Earlier this week, Sophie, 58, also visited Sabacare IDP Camp in northern Ethiopia, which cares for more than 16,000 Internally Displaced Persons — many of them women and girls. At Ayder Hospital’s One Stop Centre (OSC) for survivors of gender-based violence, the Duchess was shown the range of medical and counseling treatments that have aided hundreds of women in the midst of the country's humanitarian crisis.

She also visited the Women’s Development Centre, a charity that equips vulnerable women, many of them survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, with skills to lead an independent life with secure employment, the palace said in its release.

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 for skilled sewing activities and "visited a child-friendly space in the camp, where kids have a safe place to play, learn and thrive," the palace release added.

It is a key cause 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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The second is eyesight health. As 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 to tackle the infectious and blinding eye disease trachoma.

During her visit, she is expected to see eye health in action by meeting specialists, case workers and government representatives, and spend time with patients whose sight has been restored. Sophie will also visit a school where children are learning how to protect themselves from trachoma through face washing and good hygiene practices. The visit comes as World Sight Day is marked on Oct. 12.

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

Much of Sophie's recent work on the world stage has been to help lead campaigns on avoidable sight issues.

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

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

Sophie noticed immediately that he "had a pronounced squint," the source added. There was a senior eye doctor among the entourage and Sophie pointed out the patient and the doctor "jumped in and said he would treat the child for free. And he did.”

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On another trip to the African country of Malawi, "she saw that there was a blind boy in the class and she went and sat with him for a few minutes," said a former staffer. "She was sitting tenderly with him and talking to him. It was a wonderful moment of compassion and understanding.”

“She is able to find a connection with people across cultures and languages and background," the source told PEOPLE. "I think of it as scattering magic dust."

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