The following is a post writen by Vital Voices Human Rights Intern, Kristian Hinson.

June 14 marked the release of the Department of State’s 10^th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The TIP report was established by the Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). The report ranks 177 countries on their compliance with the TVPA’s minimum standards to combat human trafficking within their borders using a three-tiered scale. A tier one ranking indicates that the government is fully complying with the minimum standards whereas a tier three ranking indicates that the government is not actively trying to meet these standards. Although tier placement rates compliance, it does not necessarily reflect the size of a country’s trafficking problem.

The 2010 TIP report includes several hallmarks. First, the report ranks the United States for the first time. The United States received a tier one ranking for governmental efforts to combat trafficking such as increasing enforcement of anti-trafficking laws. But, the report does recognize that the U.S. has a serious problem with trafficking within its borders. Second, the report notes the growing number of females among trafficking victims.

Women and girls make up approximately 56 percent of all trafficking victims.

During her remarks at the report’s release, the Undersecretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Maria Otero, labeled this growing trend the “feminization” of human trafficking. Women and girls are more likely to be targeted for sexual exploitation than men and boys. In addition, they are increasingly found in situations of forced labor that were previously thought to predominately affect male victims.

The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons which was created by the TVPA uses the “3P” approach to address trafficking: Prosecution, Protection, and Prevention. At the June 14 release, Secretary Clinton introduced a fourth P to this paradigm; Partnership. Clinton states, “human trafficking is not someone else’s problem” and that government, law enforcement, NGOs, and faith-based organizations need to ban together to fight this global epidemic and lend support to those who are not meeting the standardsp>

Women | Tools | Technology: Building Opportunities and Economic Power
Ashoka’s Changemakers, ExxonMobil, and The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) have issued a global challenge for innovations which enable women to access and use the power of tools and technology to expand their opportunities for economic advancement. See Women | Tools | Technology for competition details and deadlines.

Women ONE2ONE
Women ONE2ONE is a growing voice made up of people who know that maternal health, girls’ education, economic opportunity and women’s empowerment are key to fighting poverty and preventable disease for everyone. This campaign recognizes women as change-makers, community-builders and peace builders. Harness your power to connect, take action and shape the future. Learn more about Women ONE2ONE.

Women for Women International
Join Me on the Bridge
To honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world, Women for Women International is hosting a global campaign called Join Me on the Bridge on International Women’s Day: March 8, 2010. Women from Rwanda and Congo will come together in peace on a bridge between their countries to demand an end to war and to demonstrate that women can build the bridges to peace and development. At the same time and in solidarity, women (and men!) will come together on bridges throughout the world, creating a truly global movement that says NO! to war and YES! to peace and hope. Learn more about Join Women on the Bridge.

The following is a post written by Dinah-Kareen Jean, who joined Vital Voices in the fall of 2009 and is currently a Consultant with the Vital Voices Human Rights Program. Dinah-Kareen graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in Political Science and Community Health.

On January 29th, 2010 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced his decision to appoint Margot Wallström as his Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. The Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict position was created in response to Security Council Resolution 1888, adopted on September 30th, 2009. The resolution called for the Secretary General to create the position in order to coordinate efforts between non-government organizations, governments and the military to address the issue of sexual violence in armed conflict.

Ms. Wallström is currently the outgoing Vice-President of the European Commission for Institutional Relations and Communications and was previously the Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders Ministerial Initiative. Her career in politics began in 1979 when she was elected to the Swedish Parliament. Ms. Wallström plans to apply her wealth of knowledge and experience to an issue that she regards “as one of the most important and yet one of the most overlooked and ignored in modern conflicts.”

In her role as a Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ms. Wallström will be given the opportunity to provide first hand observations of conflict situations to the Secretary-General and to communicate the issues of those working on the ground to the greater UN community.

Curbing sexual violence in conflict is ‘mission irresistible’ for new UN envoy-UN News Centre

Senator Barbara Boxer at the introduction of I-VAWA, joined by Senator John Kerry and Representatives Bill Delahunt, Ted Poe, and Jan Schakowsky

On February 4, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined Representatives Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Ted Poe (R-TX) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) to introduce the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) to both Houses of the 111th Congress. The bipartisan bill would authorize the development of a 5-year strategy to “reduce, prevent, and respond to violence against women and girls around the globe,” expanding on a goal of the Obama Administration to address violence against women as a component of American foreign policy.

In his remarks, Senator Kerry said that I-VAWA has “crucial, long-term importance,” and will serve to strengthen national security by promoting peace and stability abroad. He went on to say that women are “peacemakers and change agents” who should no longer be suppressed by gender-based violence that currently affects 1 in 6 women internationally. While acknowledging that some of his colleagues are weary of authorizing additional funds at this time, Kerry stated that support for I-VAWA and investment in the eradication of violence against women “will reduce expenditures in so many other ways.” Pledging his support for the legislation, Kerry said:

“societies that do respect and empower women are all around healthier…[which] makes all of us safer.”

Representative Delahunt echoed his colleague, expressing his support for a bill that will not only reduce violence against women globally, but also “make the world more stable and less prone to conflict.” He added that female education has proven critical to the eradication of extremism.

Senator Boxer recognized the efforts of former Senator and current Vice President Joe Biden, who authored the Violence Against Women Act, passed in 1994. Noting that there is not merely a “moral dimension” to ending violence against women, Boxer cited evidence that societies with less incidence of gender-based violence tend to be more prosperous.

“Women are engines of peace and prosperity…”

Continue Reading »

In commemoration of National Freedom Day, Ambassador Louis CdeBaca of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. State Department released a statement recognizing the courage of those around the world “whose pursuit of freedom was and continues to be unflagging.” On the anniversary of President Lincoln’s signing of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution, which formally abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, CdeBaca said that we honor the sacrifices made by abolitionists who gave their lives to the cause of freedom. He went on to renew the pledge of the United States to the eradication of modern day slavery and human trafficking:

“The United States recommits itself today to pursue a world without modern slavery by utilizing every means necessary to shine a brighter light on this heinous crime, thereby ensuring the protection of victims, the prevention of future occurrences, and the prosecution of traffickers.”

Read Ambassador CdeBaca’s full statement here.

In 2010, the international community marks the 15^th anniversary of the historic Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China in 1995. It was in Beijing that former-First Lady and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared:

“human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.”

In preparation for this significant anniversary, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has requested member governments to respond to a questionnaire on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, which was adopted at the conference to guide progress on women’s rights around the world. UN regional commissions are simultaneously evaluating achievements and considering challenges in the period from 2004 to 2009.

Among the 26 nations to recently submit their questionnaires, Turkey has released a report that highlights legal developments made while noting that implementation of various laws has proven difficult. Gender-sensitive advancements have been made to legislation including the Labor Law, Criminal Code and Civil Code. Adopted provisions now extend equal rights of employment to all women and formally abolish discrimination against women and girls. Patriarchal and derogatory language has been removed from the national Civil Code, replaced with language that emphasizes the joint responsibility and ability of spouses to make decisions in their household. A National Plan has also been developed to guide action on women’s rights in the spheres of education, poverty, health and the environment, among others.

Perhaps the most problematic area for women’s rights in Turkey, as noted in the government’s response to the questionnaire, is the prevalence of violence against women. Despite legal provisions, the implementation of the Criminal Code and violence-prevention measures remains a significant challenge. Further, “the sexist point of view in the societal structure creates barriers against women’s participation in social life and their enjoyment of the existing legal rights.” The report concludes with a call for collaboration between agencies and organizations of the state in an effort to advance gender equality.

Questionnaire to Governments -Turkey Responds

Related:

The Significance of CEDAW in Turkey: Interview with Urun Guner

With critical elections scheduled in April, women in South Sudan are rallying for an increased role in the rebuilding of government infrastructure and civil institutions, reports IPS News. A nation severely weakened by conflict and violence, Sudan and its citizens are in desperate need of reform and development –a process that has many women campaigning for full and fair participation in political life. Hannah Dario, a social worker in Lakeside State, says that it is time for change in Sudan:

“We believe this change will come through an engendered decision-making process, as well as in implementation of these decisions…No one should gamble with the peace for which we have paid such a high price to enjoy.”

Members of grassroots women’s organizations say that the future of their nation should be shaped by an equal partnership between men and women. Sudanese women are gathering to discuss and debate important issues surrounding political, social, and economic life, preparing to offer a unified and representative platform as election season gains way. According to IPS, “the meetings also serve to collect and articulate women’s grievances and issues to be passed on to those women who occupy elected and appointed seats in government.”

Deborah Tito, a housewife and member of the Women’s Union organization, which branches across all states in northern and southern Sudan, says that women must be regarded as equal stakeholders in the political future of the state. Tito goes on to say that women’s leadership must be engaged and recognized in its many forms:

“It’s very unfortunate that the debate about women and leadership has degenerated into the number of seats we can or should have.”

Tito insists that the women’s movement in Sudan be focused on the quality, as opposed to quantity, of leadership as it affects women. The path to equality, she argues, will take more than a high percentage of female representation in government. As Sudan rebuilds, and many women are uniting to join in the effort, still others are struggling to secure basic needs of survival. One government representative says:

“For most women, even with the end of the war, survival precedes all else. As long as they can put something together to feed the family, then all else is luxury, including a more balanced gender make-up in government.”

As elections near, women’s organizations continue to mobilize citizens in an effort to communicate their needs and ideas as a community.

SOUTH SUDAN: Women’s Eyes on the Political Prize -IPS News

We recently ended the Swedish tour of SEVEN in the Hague in the Netherlands. It was a wonderful final to a year of so many meaningful meetings, reactions, actions in response to the testimonies in SEVEN.

We were invited by the Swedish Embassy to open the conference Women in Warzones, an international conference arranged jointly with the Dutch government.

We decided early on that for this occasion we would put together an international ensemble of actors, and with the help of the Swedish embassy and the contacts of Riksteatern we ended up with actors hailing from Sweden, Great Britain, Palestine, Iran/US, the Netherlands and Kamerun/Russia. Continue Reading »

The Jakarta Globe reports that women in Papua are being forced out of their homes as a result of mining expeditions led by the government. In a nation where women struggle for economic independence, Papuan women largely live from their land, and are now threatened by forced evictions. Heidi Maeka, who works for a Women’s Support Group, says that the women are at an added disadvantage because of a lack of adequate education, partly due to the remoteness of Papua:

“Many of them don’t finish school…They are unable, for instance, to write up a good proposal to start up a small business.”

Maeka and her organization plan to set up an informal school “to provide women with basic education and technical skills to sustain livelihoods.”

Women in Papua Continue to Suffer- The Jakarta Globe

The following is a post written by Breese McIlvaine, a former intern with the Vital Voices Latin America & the Caribbean Program.

Small agricultural projects are developing around the world that empower marginalized populations, create livelihoods, improve health, and help the environment.

All around the world, women face societal restrictions that inhibit their social and economic independence and rights. Many traditionally lack the opportunity to create a livelihood of their own, and as a result, rely on male family members or husband. Their dependence on others can make women vulnerable to abuse of all kinds, including verbal, physical, or sexual. They lose their independence and lack equal rights.

Historically, the role of women in many cultures throughout the world has been to tend to the home, but also the garden and the family’s crops. Therefore, developing women’s capacity to sustainably grow their own food and earn an income from the surplus has proved a successful way to alleviate poverty, improve health, and improve women’s self esteem and social status in their communities as they become more independent and confident.

In the provincial town of Natagaima, Colombia, a local NGO called Manos de Mujer (Women’s Hands) started a project in 2001 that engages local women in cultivating plants that are compatible with the local ecosystem using natural techniques without pesticides or weed-killers. The women are diverse – white, mestizo, and Pijao (the indigenous tribe of the region) come from many villages, towns, and Pijao reservations in the area. The region that used to be mostly tropical dry rainforest has over time become increasingly more desert-like due to unsustainable agricultural methods, deforestation, and cattle ranching. The project has not only given the women a livelihood and self-sufficiency they are proud of, it has also helped restore the ecosystem that had been destroyed.

Such projects not only serve to help women in rural areas. Similar projects are undertaken in cities around the world, several in Africa. In Zimbabwe, urban gardens help women and their communities survive while facing increasingly difficult economic, political, and health circumstances. In Ethiopia, a USAID-funded urban garden project works with HIV/AIDS-positive women and their children to help provide them with sustenance, incomes, and to help build and incorporate them in their communities.

Some of the positive effects of small agricultural projects such as these include improving gender equality, poverty alleviation, helping to address health issues such as malnutrition, and restoration of ecosystems. The communities and countries where they take place benefit from the easing of tensions resulting from the problems addressed by the project, and the increased productivity of its population.

“Colombia: Women Empowered by restoring desertified land,” by Helda Martinez.

“POVERTY-ZIMBABWE: Gardening Lifeline for Urban Women,” by Ignatius Banda.

“Beyond Urban Gardens: Meeting The Growing Needs Of Ethiopia’s Urban Population.”