Sexual violence can take many forms. It violates the most basic of human rights, and its effects resonate long after the act. It also perpetuates the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV infection.
In the developing world 2 out of 3 young people living with HIV are female.
In some countries in Africa young women are five times more likely to be infected than young men.
Mixing sexes in Saudi Arabia: Not so terrible after all? | The Economist.
Top Saudi Arabian religious officials have begun to endorse a clear distinction between the innocent meddling of the sexes and sinful behavior in recent weeks.
For decades, agents of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, (religious police) have enforced a strict separation of the sexes in Saudi Arabia. This policy has circumscribed the lives of women and girls and in some instances has resulted in tragic deaths.
In 2002, the religious police stopped girls from leaving their burning school because they were not wearing strict Islamic dress. The police also stopped men who tried to rescue the girls, warning, “It is sinful to approach them.” Several girls died.
Now, it seems, this was all a mistake. Religious officials have declared that prohibitions against the mixing of the sexes in public places come from conservative tribal customs not the rules of sharia.
This sort of confusion is nothing new, nor is it unique to Islam or Saudi Arabia. Religion has long been used as a way to reinforce ethnic and cultural traditions that limit the rights of women and girls, including the right to inheritance and access to education, healthcare and decent work. Religion has also been used to justify harmful cultural practices such as FGM and child marriage.
It is to be hoped that religious leaders throughout the world will continue on this path of making honest distinctions between true religious law and discriminatory practices against women and girls that have their roots in custom and tradition.
Today the United Nations marked World AIDS Day by highlighting the connection between human rights promotion and successful efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an urgent end to discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. “I urge all countries to remove punitive laws, policies and practices that hamper the AIDS response, including travel restrictions against people living with HIV,” said Mr. Ban. “Successful AIDS responses do not punish people; they protect them.”
We must ensure that AIDS responses are based on evidence, not ideology, and reach those most in need and most affected,” said the Secretary-General. “On this World AIDS Day, let us uphold the human rights of all people living with HIV, people at risk of infection, and children and families affected by the epidemic.
Progress in reversing the AIDS epidemic in some countries is outpaced by new infections on a global scale making AIDS one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. For every two people who begin treatment, five become newly infected with HIV. Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.
For this reason, laws that criminalize HIV transmission, such as the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Bill before the Ugandan legislature, can result in disproportionate prosecution of women and girls because more women are tested as part of pre- or ante-natal medical care and therefore know their HIV status. Women’s and girl’s inability to safely negotiate condom use or disclosure to partners who might have been the source of their infection is not recognized in this bill as defenses against criminal penalties. Women who transmit HIV to their infants after birth via breast milk would also be subject to criminal prosecution.
The punitive approach of this bill is likely to make people shy away from requesting testing or treatment. Experience has shown that programs that emphasize prevention and reduce stigma are far more effective in combating HIV/AIDS and are better for women and girls.
The United Nations hosted a special event at its New York Headquarters yesterday for the victims and survivors of human trafficking, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issuing a broad-based call to action for States to tackle the root causes and ensure swift justice against the perpetrators.
“Our fight against human trafficking is guided by three Ps: prevention, protection and prosecution,” he said in an opening address at the event at which four survivors bore living witness with accounts of their own horrific plight, including a girl who was abducted at age 14 by Ugandan rebels and kept as a sex slave for eight years.
“We must also empower victims. They need support systems, information and education. They need viable ways to earn a living. They also need criminal justice systems to pursue traffickers, and subject them to serious penalties. Conviction rates in most countries are microscopic compared to the scope of the problem. But when States help victims, the victims can help States break up trafficking networks.”
Mr. Ban cited a litany of abhorrent practices, including debt bondage, forced labor, torture, organ removal, sexual exploitation and slavery-like conditions. “Human trafficking injures, traumatizes and kills individuals. It devastates families and threatens global security,” he declared of a worldwide industry that generates billions of dollars in profit at the expense of millions of victims.
“Human trafficking touches on many issues, from health and human rights to development and peace and security. Our response must be equally broad, and must tackle this challenge at its roots,” he added, noting that the global economic crisis is making the problem worse as jobs and food get scarcer and rising social exclusion makes minorities and women especially vulnerable.
Survivors of human trafficking who addressed the event included Charlotte Awino, abducted at age 14 by Lord’s Resistance Army rebels in Uganda and kept as a sex slave for eight years; Buddhi Gurung from Nepal, trafficked for labor to Iraq to work on a United States military base; Kika Cerpa from Venezuela, forced into prostitution by a man she thought of as her boyfriend; and Rachel Lloyd, an activist who survived commercial sexual exploitation as a teenager and started a New York organization to aid girls victimized by sex traffickers.
Today in the world, there are more slaves than when slavery was legal. There are an estimated 27 million victims of human trafficking that live in every major city across the world. Contemplating this, we see a picture of suffering on a magnitude too staggering to comprehend.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, whose office organized the Giving Voice to the Victims and Survivors of Human Trafficking Special Event, stressed that persisting economic disparities, conflict and discrimination, particularly against women and migrants, continue to push those least able to protect themselves into dangerous situations from which they cannot escape.
The demand for prostitution is the main driver of the business of human trafficking. The best way to stop the demand for prostitution is to make the act of paying for sex illegal. See: Stopping the Demand for Trafficking in Women & Children and Norway Makes Paying for Sex Illegal.
There will always be some individuals who will not be stopped from buying sex by such legislation, but the experience of Sweden and Norway has shown that most are deterred by the risk of such penalties as having their name printed in the newspaper, having their car impounded, having to do community service or having to attend educational sessions on human trafficking.
There are many things that you can do to stop the demand for trafficking in women and children.
For more information go to:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html
Yesterday, I learned of a wonderful program that seeks to facilitate the integration of refugee and migrant women in Auckland, New Zealand, called Cooking and Friendship.
The concept is simple. Bring together women from many different cultures and create an environment for raising cultural awareness through sharing skills and other social values.
In Auckland, woman from Somalia, Burma, Sri Lanka and many other cultures join with women who are long-time residents to share recipes, learn new cooking skills, improve their English and make new friends. The result has been enhanced confidence and self esteem for the women.
This is a great idea that could be replicated almost anywhere!
In September of 1995 the United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. The official name of the Conference was “The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace”. 189 governments participated in the conference and more than 5,000 representatives from 2,100 non-governmental organizations.
The outcome document of this conference known as The Platform for Action set out a number of actions that were to lead to fundamental changes in the lives of women and girls. Section L of the document focuses on the girl child and contains nine strategic objectives with corresponding actions that were to be taken by governments and civil society.
The objectives are:
In 2010 the United Nations will review progress on Beijing. An important part of this Beijing +15 review will be to ask how and in what ways girls are better off or worse off than they were in 1995.
As an NGO representative at the UN working on girls’ issues I am interested in what you think, especially if you are a girl.
Can you cite one success and one failure regarding any or all of these objectives? Thanks in advance for sharing your ideas.
Read more at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/girl.htm
Every 30 seconds, a little child is inducted into slavery. A drug can only be sold once, but a person can be sold over and over again in the same night, that is why trafficking has become the 2nd most profitable illegal activity in the world.
Multiply that number by the estimated 27 million victims of human trafficking that live in every major city across the world, and we see a picture of suffering on a magnitude too staggering to comprehend.
Can you see why many ask,- “has humanity has lost it’s humanity?”
Our response is a resounding NO!
Please support Eric Proffitt as he runs 500 miles in chains from London, to Bristol, to Liverpool, to this year’s FREEDOM FESTIVAL in Kingston-Upon-Hull is to help rescue victims of trafficking, prevent future exploitation, and to stop the demand for modern slavery. During this 27 day journey Eric will be joined by Theresa Flores, a trafficking survivor, as a guest speaker, and together they will use music and personal experiences to motivate the world to END SLAVERY! Beginning at the graveside of abolitionist hero William Wilberforce, Eric will run across the country until he reaches the birth city of William, where he is scheduled to be a key presenter at the Freedom Festival.
This extreme marathon event is about awareness, consumer responsibility, and of course funding!
it is about triggering a tipping point whereby people all over the world become involved in the abolition of modern slavery.
Visit http://www.ericproffitt.com to see how you fit into the solution!
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Yesterday, United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in remarks to a special General Assembly Thematic Debate on Human Trafficking related the story of Grace Akallo.
“Grace Akallo was a young high school student in Uganda who dreamed of being the first person from her village to go to university. Then came the Lord’s Resistance Army. Rebels took her and 138 other girls from their dormitory and marched them into the forest.
Grace told her story at the Security Council last week. I listened with the heaviest of hearts. “My spirit died,” she said, recounting how she was forced to kill and was repeatedly raped.
She was followed into the forest by the headmistress, Sister Rachele, who confronted the rebels. They threatened to kill her in front of the girls. She was asked to leave, but instead she faced them down, risking her own safety so that others could be freed. In the end, she was able to rescue more than 100 girls.”
The Secretary-General then challenged those present. “If this seemingly powerless educator from Uganda could face down armed rebels, surely we in this room can stand up to this threat with bold and decisive action.
Trafficking in weapons, drugs and blood diamonds has long been on the UN agenda. Now we must add people to that list.
I spoke just now about Uganda, but examples could be drawn from any of a number of countries from Asia, across the Americas, to Europe. Millions are bought and sold like chattel, most of them women and children.”
He called on member states to:
The Secretary-General’s call for a coordinated effort to combat forced labor and human trafficking comes at a time when, because of the world financial crisis and increasing restrictions on legal migration more people are likely to fall victim to traffickers. The most vulnerable, people already living in poverty, especially women and children will suffer the most.
According to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) entitled “The Cost of Coercion”, the value of the work done by people who are trapped in forced labor is over 20 billion US dollars per year.
Trafficking and forced labor are a scourge that reaches across the globe. The ILO report highlights facts and figures from each region.
Europe and Central Asia
Trafficking in Europe reflects shifts in patterns of economic development and the gradual enlargement of the European Union. While most of the victims identified by authorities are women trafficked for sexual exploitation, the number of cases of men trafficked for labor exploitation is on the rise. A recent case in Italy illustrates the international nature of the business of trafficking. Police discovered a group of Chinese workers trapped in forced labor in a hidden factory. A lengthy investigation revealed that the leader of the trafficking ring that brought these workers to Italy lived in a suburb of Paris.
Asia
The biggest share of the world’s forced laborers are from Asia. Many are migrants, either from elsewhere in Asia or from their home country. Three issues are of particular concern.
Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the third highest incidence of forced labor in relation to population after Asia and Latin America. It reflects long-standing patterns of discrimination against vulnerable groups, sometimes linked to the historical legacy of slavery. People in areas of conflict are at risk, an extreme example being child soldiers. There is trafficking of people for labor and sexual exploitation both within and across African countries and to Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Women are especially affected.
Americas
Latin America accounts for the second largest number of forced laborers in the world after Asia. Those most at risk are migrant workers in sweatshops, agriculture and domestic service. The main form of forced labor is through debt bondage.
Forced labor in Latin America is closely linked to patterns of inequality and discrimination especially against indigenous peoples.
In the United States and Canada the increased focus on human trafficking have brought to light more and more cases of forced labor among foreign workers, particularly in debt bondage in agriculture and domestic service.
Middle East
Forced labor and human trafficking are closely intertwined with migration in the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf States where there is a high proportion of migrant workers mainly from Asia. Labor recruitment companies operating in source countries alter contract terms and charge high recruitment fees, which the worker must ultimately repay. Employers retain control of work visas and illegally buy, sell and trade them. These costs are also passed on to the workers creating a situation of debt bondage.
The United Nations General Assembly is considering the request of some member states for a Global Plan of Action on trafficking and forced labor. The Secretary-General urged all States, whether they support this proposal or not, to move beyond fine rhetoric and moral outrage to deeds particularly by mainstreaming the fight against human trafficking into broader programs, from poverty reduction to reducing gender discrimination.
Links
Has your country ratified the UN anti-trafficking protocol? Find out here: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/countrylist-traffickingprotocol.html
Resources on human trafficking from the International Organization for Migration
UN.Gift – Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking – http://www.ungift.org/
President Obama said recently he will work with Congress to double US support for global food security to over $ 1 billion. What does this mean for the 963 million people in the world who do not have enough to eat? (963 million is more than the populations of the USA, Canada and the EU combined.)
It’s not enough. The World Food Programme, which is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global, provides food assistance to about 100 million people in 80 countries every year. It’s the world’s largest humanitarian organization.
WFP needs about $6 billion in 2009 to meet the needs of those 100 million and it depends on the United States as its largest donor to meet about 40% of those needs.
The US made an extraordinary effort in 2008, providing WFP over $2 billion in contributions. But current US food aid budget appropriations for fiscal year 2009 can only sustain a US contribution of about $1.3 billion this year.
Let’s take a closer look. In our world:
The number of undernourished people in the world increased by 75 million in 2007 and 40 million in 2008, largely due to higher food prices.
Hunger is not caused by a shortage of food. In fact there has never existed such an abundance of food, yet 963 million people in the world go hungry. Read about what causes hunger here: http://www.wfp.org/hunger/causes
The economic stimulus passed by the US Congress earlier this year included $20 billion in additional funding for food and nutrition programs for the economically vulnerable in the United States. This is good and right. No one should go hungry in the richest country in the world. The question is, can we Americans and citizens of other rich countries dig deeper during this time of economic challenge? If the US provided a little under a billion more in new food assistance we could continue to sustain our commitment at a $2 billion level during this fiscal year. Are you willing to write to your Congressman, or Senator, or Member of Parliament to make sure your country continues a high level of financial support to global food assistance programs?
You can also help fight world hunger this Mother’s Day by feeding a hungry child in your mother’s name.
“I am 60 years old and I have never experienced so much flooding, droughts hot winds and hailstones as in recent years . . . I am surprised how often we have these problems. Whatever the cause, more crops are failing and production is lower.”
Chandrika Tiwari, Nepal
Climate change is affecting everyone, whether they realize it or not. But it is women like Chandrika who are suffering the most, simply because they are women, and women are poorer. Women make up 70 percent of the world’s poor. This is true even in the United States where the gap in poverty rates between men and women is wider than anywhere else in the Western world. Here in the United States in 2007, 13.8 percent of females were poor compared to 11.1 percent of men. The current economic crisis has only worsened this situation. Throughout the world, women have less access to financial resources, land, education, health, and other basic rights than men and are seldom involved in decision-making processes. This makes them less able to cope with the impact of climate change and less able to adapt.
This vulnerability can be seen most tragically following a natural disaster like a hurricane, a cyclone or a flood when the mortality rates are reviewed. Almost always, significantly more females die than males. The reasons they die are well understood. Warning information is often transmitted by men to men in public spaces, but rarely communicated to the rest of the family. Long skirts hamper running and swimming. Many women have never had an opportunity to learn to swim or to climb trees. In some cultures women are not allowed to leave the house without a father, husband or brother to accompany them, so they wait for their relatives to return to take them to a safe place. Women tend to stay behind in order to look after children and the elderly and to protect property. In rescue efforts in some countries, boys are given preference over women and girls.
What is not well understood is that women have important knowledge and skills that can help their communities to both adapt to climate change and to mitigate its effects. It’s a fact that when women are given access to resources and training and allowed to participate in community decision-making – the whole community benefits. Here are some examples of adaptation and mitigation of climate change from around the world that succeeded because women participated.
The municipality of La Masica in Honduras did not have any fatalities from Hurricane Mitch on 1998. This outcome can be directly attributed to a process of community preparedness that began six months prior to the disaster. The project involved the establishment of local organizations in charge of risk and disaster management, training in geographical mapping of hazards and an early warning system. Men and women were equally involved with all of these efforts. When the hurricane struck the municipality was prepared and vacated the area promptly, thus avoiding deaths.
The country of Mali is two-thirds desert. 90 per cent of the country’s energy needs are met by burning wood and charcoal. As a result, deforestation is intensifying and desertification is accelerating. Loss of wood cover is intensifying erosion, which in turn makes the soil poorer for farming, and exposes loose soil that is more vulnerable to flood. Flooding happens more often with the heavy rains, and this is seen as partly due to climate change. The Sinsibere project works to reduce desertification by developing sustainable sources of income for rural women as an alternative to their commerce in wood. These alternative livelihoods include vegetable gardens and making shea butter products like soap. After six years, 80 per cent of the participating women no longer cut wood for commercial purposes, or have substantially reduced their woodcutting.
Béni Khédache in Tunisia is a mountainous and dry region, vulnerable to drought in summer and sometimes-torrential rain and landslides in winter. A wide-ranging sustainable environmental resource management project was undertaken. The project was comprised of numerous initiatives tackling desertification, water stress and erosion, through a variety of methods often based on traditional knowledge. The participation of women was particularly important for identifying local knowledge for reducing desertification. Techniques included rainwater harvesting, innovative irrigation, and increasing the area’s biodiversity and plant cover. The initiative worked to reduce risks of hazards likely to be exacerbated by climate change, such as desertification, and landslides triggered by extreme weather.
A collective of 5,000 women spread across 75 villages in southern India is now offering chemical-free, non-irrigated, organic agriculture as one method of combating global warming. The women follow a system of interspersing crops that do not need extra water, chemical inputs or pesticides for production on arid, degraded lands that they have been regenerated with help from an organization called the Deccan Development Society.
Women in wealthy nations have a role to play too. While everyone should take action to reduce climate change, those of us who live in wealthy nations have an even greater responsibility because our lifestyle, our disproportionate consumption of resources is largely responsible for the problem. The people of the United States make up five percent of the world’s population, but are responsible for 25 per cent of annual green house emissions. Women can play an important role in lowering this number by making three changes in their families’ lifestyle.
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