My thought on the Human Trafficking Issues

After today conference I am clear that  NGOs, Government in United State and other countries,and the civil societies from different countries have established their own structure for ending the slavery as well as to rescue the victims. They have done all the solutions to this global issue. I found that each agent has an effective system to incorporate with their stakeholders to work on the same issues. Each organization have to continue to cooperate each other to establish a structure that  focus on the whole related issues to solve the problem  and not just focus  one direction. I believe that there are five main stakeholders such as the government which is the police department or department of Justice in USA, the civil society, the community, the individual, and the NGOs that have to work together very closely to against Human Trafficking . In the community the government could help them to select the leaders who are passionate and active on the human trafficking issues  and they can advocate the whole community for the example the four missions of  The Valley against sex trafficking,www.thevast.org, such as awareness, prevention, action, and the aftercare.  The leaders in the community have to cooperate with NGOs ,the government ,and the civil society to keep update information of the related issues of Human Trafficking and so on. The NGOs  will have to  keep continue to help to support the leaders and the community to produce the campaign and the media or film to raise the awareness and so on. They all have to work together closely in the long run in order the issues have become sensitive in the community. Beside that education is one of the place where the young people gather together to listen the issues, the impacts and the solutions. Thus the teachers play an important role in raising awareness, prevention and the other appropriate sessions for the kids in terms of the solutions of the Human Trafficking issues. What I believed is that the most effective solution to the Human Trafficking issues comes from a strong community that has the strong leaders, passionate and active toward the Human Trafficking issues. There are some countries that have been successful to overcome the issues and what we all should do is that we should spread the words, keep implement the best practices together with the stakeholders and keep building the strong networks in the long run.

Birlesmis Milletler Kadinin Statusu Komisyonunun (KSK) 15 Mart'a kadar devam edecek olan 57. toplantilari New York'taki Birlesmis Milletler genel merkezinde basladi. Birlesmis Milletler genel merkezindeki toplantilara paralel olarak Lehigh Universitesi ve Birlesmis Milletler arasindaki isbirligi sayesinde Lehigh Universitesi, Egitim Fakultesinde, 'Modern Zaman Koleligine Kuresel, Ulusal, Bolgesel ve Yerel Bakis' temali panel duzenlendi. Panel Lehigh Universitesi Kadin Merkezi tarafindan organize edildi.

Panele konusmaci olarak katilan Christy Gillmore modern cag'da koleligin ne oldugunun ve ne sartlar altinda gerceklestirildiginin altini cizdi. Tahminlere gore su an 21 milyon ile 30 milyon arasinda insan zorla calistirma, mecburi evlilik, zorla fuhus, borc esareti, ve cocuklarin cinsel istimari gibi yasa disi yollarla bir nevi modern cag koleligine mahrum edilmektedirler. Arastirmalara gore bu tur yasa disi yollara maruz kalanlarin sayisi ozellikle Asya ve Afrika'da artmaya devam etmektedir. Modern cag'da bu gibi yasa disi uygulamalarin ortaya cikmasindaki temel faktorler asiri yoksulluk, irk ve etnik ayrimciligi, toplumsal cinsiyet rollerine dayali esitsizlik ve silahli catisma ortami olarak belirtildi.

Christy Gillmore'un sunumunu bitirmesinin ardindan soz alan bas savci yardimcisi Daniel A. Velez Amerika Birlesik Devletleri Bassavcilik Dairesinin insan kacakciligina karsi mucadele ile ilgili yapilan calismalarindan bahsetti. Sayin Velez' in vurguladigi gibi Amerika Birlesik Devletlerinde son zamanlarda seks ticareti ve bu baglamda yapilan insan kacakciligi asiri bir sekilde artis gostermektedir. Bu baglamda, 2012 yili itibariyle Amerika Birlesik Devletlerindeki 50 eyalet insan kacakciligi ile mucadele kapsaminda gerekli yasal mevzuatin uzerinde titizlikle durmaktadir. Bassavci yardimcisi Valez seks ticaretine ve insan kacakciligina maruz kalan kisilerin genellikle ailelerini durumlarindan haber etmek istemediklerini, bu durumun arkasinda yatan nedenin ise bilgilendirmeleri halinde ailelerinin guvenliklerinin tehlikeye gireceginden korkmalari olarak ozetledi. Daniel A. Velez' in sunumuna ek olarak Beck Sullivan Amerika Birlesik Devletlerinde her yil 200.000 ile 300.000 arasinda cocugun seks kacakciligina maruz kaldiginin altini cizdi. Sunumlarin bitmesinin ardindan panel Egitim Fakultesinde verilen resepsiyonla devam etti.

Women of Distinction Award

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I had a chance to attend a ceremony of the Woman of Distinction award that took place at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations. It was especially exciting for me since I am an international student from Kazakhstan at Lehigh University.

It was an adventure for me because I had to ask a professor to take a quiz in the morning for my evening class so I can attend this very special and inspiring event. My classmate gave a ride to me and I caught a bus that was going to NYC from Pennsylvania.

I arrived at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan at 6 p.m. I was very excited to meet representatives of NGOs who are passionate about the topic of preventing all forms of violence against women. There were more than 350 participants! Her Excellency Berganym Aitimova Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United Nations gave a speech welcoming the participants of the CSW conference at the mission.

I wanted to say that by attending the ceremony I also learnt that receptions and side events provide networking opportunities for representatives of various international NGOs to meet each other and discuss some ideas informally. So I had a chance to meet representatives of American NGOs from California, Florida and international delegations from Nigeria and the United Kingdom. From our conversations I understood that issues of gender inequality are global. They touch the United States and the United Kingdom as well. 

You can find more information about the Women of Distinction award following this link: http://www.ngocsw.org/woman-of-distinction

Here is short information about the recipients from the ngocsw.org:

“2013 Recipients

Bineta Diop (Senegal), is the Founder and President of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), one of the most recognised organizations involved in engendering peace processes in Africa. She has led numerous peacebuilding programmes in the Great Lakes region (Burundi, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo), Mano River region (Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) and the Horn of Africa (Somalia and Sudan). Ms. Diop’s track record includes a women, peace and security initiative that resulted in the creation of a strong West African women’s movement, the Mano River Women’s Peace Network, which was awarded the United Nations General Assembly Prize in Human Rights in 2003. Ms. Diop also mobilised a network of African women’s organizations that played an instrumental role in achieving gender parity within the African Union Commission in 2003, which culminated in the election of five female Commissioners. She has demonstrated vision and leadership, and is recognised as a champion on women’s human rights and gender issues, not only in Africa but at the global level.  Ms Diop is currently serving in the Global Civil Society Advisory Group of UN Women and as a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.  Ms. Diop has received numerous honours and awards and in 2011 was named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2012, the United Nations-mandated University for Peace awarded her a “Doctor Honoris Causa in International Peace Studies” and the French government awarded her the prestigious “Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur”.

Tawakkol Karman (Yemen) is the Yemeni political activist who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with two other female activists in 2011, becoming the youngest person ever to win the Prize. During the “Arab Spring” of 2010 and 2011, as activists were fighting entrenched rulers in countries like Egypt and Tunisia, Karman began leading Yemeni protests against the rule of President Saleh, earning the nickname “Mother of the Revolution.” She is also one of the founders of Women Journalists Without Chains, which works to provide a voice for women’s rights and freedom of expression in Yemen.”

Please follow the updates on twitter: @ NGO_CSW_NY

Thanks again for reading my entry. Let me quote the phrase that circulates at the UN: “May Peace Prevail on Earth.”

Building Awareness of Slavery

I was very fortunate to have been able to view the video feed of the presentation entitled, "The FBI, Free The Slaves, The Valley Against Sex Trafficking, & the Center for Public Health of Nigeria Present: Global, National, Regional, and Local Perspectives on Modern Day Slavery" that was hosted by Lehigh University earlier today.  This event was moderated by the Lehigh University Women's Center, and was a parallel event of the 57th session  of the United Nation Commission on the Status of Women.

The event began with a video that was created by the organization, Free the Slaves.  This video did a great job of highlighting the global issue of slavery and some of the challenges that we face to eradicate slavery.  During her follow up session, Kristy Gilmour outlined the severity of the issue and estimated that 27 million people around the world today are currently working in forced servitude.  Obviously, this is a massive issue and it will take the collaborative efforts of local, international, and governmental agencies to begin working on solutions that will help eradicate slavery.

Although I was astounded but the sheer scale of slavery around the world today, I think the most shocking statistics shared during the presentation were found in the Lehigh Valley.  Unfortunately, I believe that many North Americans would feel that slavery is a significant issue around the world, but are unaware of how common the practice is within our own neighborhoods and communities.  As mentioned by Daniel Belas, 15 000 - 18 000 people are trafficked in the United States each year and slavery, especially sexual exploitation and forced prostitution, is all too common.  A major impediment to improving this issue is a lack of awareness on the part of community members, as well as the trafficking victims themselves.  As a concerned citizen, I feel that it is extremely important that we educate ourselves about the issues that our local communities face, and learn how we can help to solve these issues.

Fortunately, The Valley Against Sex Trafficking (www.thevast.org), has some great resources to help build awareness of this crucial issue in the Lehigh Valley.  As was mentioned throughout the presentation, trafficking in North America is a "hidden" problem because it is so difficult to identify.  Although this may be true, we need to understand that this problem exists, and that we all have a part to play in helping to eradicate this issue, not only in our local communities, but throughout the world.  

URGENT: Youth can change a world!

While attending a side event at the mission of Kazakhstan to the UN, I had a chance to talk to members of the Australian delegation and UN Women Australia.

YOUNG PEOPLE, Youth Representatives, students, interns! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! NEW date and time!




Where and when?

Foundations for a violence-free future: the role of young people in eliminating gender-based violence

Friday 8th of March, 2013
Time: 12:30 pm
Venue: Boss Room, 8th Floor, Church Centre

Global, National, Regional, & Local Perspectives on Modern Day Slavery.

Wednesday, March 6^th 4.15 PM U.S. EST time

Parallel Event – 57^th Session of the United Nation Commission on the Status of Women, organized in cooperation with Lehigh University and broadcasted from Lehigh University. It was moderated by the Lehigh University Women’s Centre.

The session started with a brief overview of the topic and the screening of the video about the issue of sex trafficking in the world on the topic of the session: “Global, National, Regional, & Local Perspectives on Modern Day Slavery.”

The session included guest speakers from the FBI, Free The Slaves, The Valley Against Sex Trafficking and the Center for Public Health of Nigeria.

I will share my personal experience of attending this side event at Lehigh University. The room, which was booked for the event was absolutely full and all interested students had to go to an extra room, which showed the interest of youth in the topic.

I had a chance to talk to a student who attended a conference and ask his opinion about the event and the topic discussed. I have talked to Alejandro Gonzalez who is a freshman at Lehigh University studying Engineering. I have asked Alejandro why did he come to the event and it is what he told: “I feel like slavery is one of those issues that people think disappeared, so I felt it was important to educate myself on what slavery is like today.”

To conclude, I want to emphasize that we should be educated about the issue of modern day slavery. People have dignity to be free and live a life of dignity. Please, follow some updates from the organization Free The Slaves (https://www.freetheslaves.net/SSLPage.aspx) and take a stand in your community.  

P.S. I will keep you updated on what is discussed at the event! Stay tuned! Thank you so much for reading our blog. Let us make a world a better place for all and stop violence against women! 

Pictures below: Alejandro Gonzalez and students

I must admit that being an usher at the CSW conference made it a little difficult to pay attention to every word from the speakers. Between helping people find their seats though, I made sure to pay attention to all of the great material that was being shared in each panel.  The panel that stood out to me the most was the one on Best Practices to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls, particularly when Sean Southey of PCI Media Impact (http://mediaimpact.org) spoke on the power of stories.

Often when people talk and hear about sexual violence, it comes across as heavy news involving lots of sad statistics.  Personally, I feel a mixture of anger and helplessness because I have no sense of what I can do to prevent such occurrences.  But providing information through a story can transcend the problem of comprehending hard facts.  A story can provide a human face for people to experience and connect with someone that has had to face such violence.  When a story can focus not on the suffering inflicted on these women but on their own resolution to overcome it with the support of a community, then a sense of hope can overcome the statistics.  We can learn from the examples of these brave women that the horrors of sexual violence can be defeated, and actions can be taken to prevent further atrocities.

Yet such stories are not often heard in the current media.  Movies and music often sensationalize violence; news programs use shocking headlines and reports to garner a larger audience.  However, media doesn't have to be a negative influence.  Southey gave the example of a telenovela called Simplemente María, which aired in Peru in 1969.  The story described the trials of a single mother who worked hard to educate herself and start  her own fashion business.  The popularity of this show caused women around the country to enroll in literacy classes and take up sewing.  This demonstrates the potential of media to bring about positive social change.  Instead of glorifying the tragedy of sexual violence and injustice, it can be used to glorify the triumph of recovery and equality.

As consumers of various types of media, I think we should all pay close attention to the kinds of stories we listen to and share.  Are we following stories that often focus on the horrors of violence against women?  Or do we celebrate with the characters that overcome violence and discrimination?  One of the ways I learned to be active in the prevention of sexual violence is by paying attention to the stories that I am listening to and sharing with those around me.  We all can encourage each other to bring hope and solution to a problem that can often seem insurmountable.

Yesterday I attended the Consultation Day for the United National Commission on the Status of Women.  It was a unique opportunity as I do not have a UN badge or am not a representative of a non-governmental organization.  I went because of my class called Experiencing the UN that I am taking with the College of Education, in the Comparative and International Education Program at Lehigh University (http://coe.lehigh.edu/academics/disciplines/cie) was volunteering for the day.  I was able to meet and interact with many  of the participants as I greeted them outside to   Because of my previous work with gender-based violence prevention, I found this year’s theme- prevention of violence against women and girls (VAW) to be especially engaging and was thankful that I was able to sit in on some of the sessions throughout the day.  I found two of the speakers from the day especially engaging. 

The first was Ms. Mallika Dutt, CEO of Breakthrough. (http://breakthrough.tv/about-us/mission/).  The biggest campaign of her group was Bell Bajao or Ring the Bell (video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Li6FqK2MVc&playnext=1&list=PL17CE7B962F802F82&feature=results_video). It focuses on bystander invention by ringing a doorbell to distract men in potential violent situations of domestic violence.  They have a series of videos that have gone viral.  I had actually seen one before so it was great to hear the CEO of the organization speak.  In addition, I got to meet her and there is a picture of us together below.  The great thing about the campaign is that it that they are expanding it to men.  On March 8, 2013 (International Women’s Day), Breakthrough is launching a campaign tied to Ring the Bell called One Million Men- One Million Promises.  It is a way for men to engage in the movement to end violence against women. 

The second woman was Ms. Nancy Schwartzman (http://www.nancyschwartzman.com).  She made a movie called The Line where she tells her story about not being the “perfect” victim of sexual assault and how she came to terms of being a survivor, not a victim.  In it, she examines where people draw “the line” for consent and shows how multiple forces contribute to the rape culture that exists here in the United States.  In addition, she also created the app called Circle of 6 and has won several awards for it. http://www.circleof6app.com.  The app allows an individual to reach out to their “circle of 6” friends when they need help.  They can ask for advice, a ride, or have someone call you for an interruption.  It uses GPS to tell friends where the user is even if he or she may not know and gives the user resources to national hotlines or by location. 

I am a woman who is growing up in the age of technology.  The internet was invented when I was six years old.  I own an iPhone, have a Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest account.  I watch You Tube videos as a pastime.  I do my research online instead of in a library.  I am in the technical age and the fact that these two women were able to capture that was really exciting for me.  

Kadinlara ve Kizlara Yonelik Siddetin Onlenmesi

Birlesmis Milletler Kadinin Statusu Komisyonunun (KSK) 57. toplantisi 3 Mart 2013 tarihinde genis katilimci profili ile New York' ta duzenlendi. 57. KSK toplantisinin temasi olarak 'Kadinlara ve Kizlara Yonelik Siddetin Onlenmesi' belirlendi.

57. KSK toplantisi tiyatro gosterisi ile basladi. Gosterinin ardindan, Birlesmis Milletler Genel Sekreter Yardimcisi ve BM Kadin Platformu Direktoru Michelle Bachelet katilimcilara hitaben kisa bir konusma yapti. Daha sonra toplanti 'Kadinlarin ve Kizlarin Ticareti' konulu panel ile devam etti. Buna ek olarak, panelde erkeklerin toplumdaki baskin konumlari ve bu durumun olusmasinda silah kullaniminin nasil rol oynadigi konulari hakkinda sunumlar yapildi. Kadinlara karsi siddetin onlenmesi icin izlenmesi gereken yollardan birinin toplumdaki silah kullaniminin kisitlanmasi gerektigine dikkat cekildi.

Ogleden sonraki oturum 'Kadinlara Yonelik Siddetin Onlenmesinde Erkeklerin Rolu' paneli ile basladi. 'Kadinlara Yonelik Siddetin Onlenmesinde Erkeklerin Rolu' panelinde ilk olarak 'Sonke' adli sivil toplum kurulusunun kidemli uzmani ve kurucu ortagi Bafana Khumalo soz aldi. Bafana Khumalo kadinlara ve kizlara karsi siddetin onlenmesinde okullarda uygulanan mufredat programlarinin onemine dikkat cekti. Kadinlara ve erkeklere esit sekilde onem veren bir ogretim programinin toplumdaki onyargilari giderecegini vurguladi. Buna ek olarak, Khumalo medyanin siddetin onlenmesinde cok onemli bir rol usttlendigini ve genclere ulasmakta bir arac olarak kullanilabiliecegini belirtti. Sosyal medyanin aktif kullaniminin ve genc nesillerin cesitli egitim programlari araciligiyla bilgilendirilmesinin toplumdaki siddet olaylarini azaltacaginin altini cizdi. 'Kadinlara Yonelik Siddetin Onlenmesinde Erkeklerin Rolu' panelinin sonlanmasinin ardindan, program 'Kadinlara ve Kizlara Karsi Siddetin Onlenmesinde En Iyi Uygulamalar' ve 'Iletisim ve Sosyal Medya Egitimi' temali paneller ile devam etti. Dunyanin dort bir yanindan gelen katilimcilar kadinlara ve kizlara karsi siddetin onlenmesi konusunda simdiye kadar ne tur girisimlerin yapildigi ve daha nelerin yapilmasi gerektigi hakkinda gorus alisverisinde bulundular.

Panellerin sonlanmasinin ardindan genc katilimcilar bir araya gelerek 'Ilerlemeye Devam Edecegiz' isimli sarkiyi seslendirerek 57. KSK toplantisini sonlandirdilar.

Violence Against Women and Girls

The NGO CSW Forum 2013 was organized today by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women based in New York. There were hundred NGOs around the world joined this consultation day and there were several speakers and panelists’ from the head of NGOs from different countries.

The consultation was mainly focused on the issues of the different forms of violent against women and conflicts, the challenges, the solutions and the progresses that have been made. The best practices to prevent the Violence Against Women and girls also have been shared in the discussion. The questions and answers have been provided at the end of panelist discussion.

The Panelists on the Role of Men in Violence Against Women and girls has been emphasized on the changing the mind-set of the men and the family. It is important to encourage the men more   engage in all actions to against the violence against women and girls. For example men participate in the discussions of gender base violence, create atmosphere for young boy on how to treat girls rightly. Men also have to share equal responsibilities in their housework.  

Ms. Mallika Dutt,the President and CEO of the Breakthough Organization which is working on the media campaign, mentioned the campaign called “Ring the Bell” which aimed to call and urge all the men to against the domestic violence against women and girls. The campaign also aimed to set the men in India to put themselves as the promise “one million men, one million promises” on the domestic violence against women and girls in their community.

The Panelists on the Best Practices to prevent the violence against women and girls have shared how would we help the women and girls to prevent from the violence such as connection with the victims, how important to talk to the victims and what should we tell them. We have to choose the right story to tell them and the right story can change the world.

The best practices to prevent violence against women and girls in Georgia have been shared such as preparing volunteering group for door to door approach and training, establishing of consulting center with providing hot-line service, working to coordinate with the state fund to support the victims, conducting training to the stakeholders. The panelists also focused on the setting the approached that doable and preventable.

The issues and challenges on the violence against women and girls as have been identified as  the global issues and one of the most challenges of the global issues is the human trafficking as it is the cross border issue and it is very hard to deal with.

At the end of the meeting, all the youth in the meeting were asked to sing the song for the consultation day under the theme of  Gonna Keep on Movin’s Forward  as the following content:

“Gonna keep on moving forward (3x)

Never turning back, never turning back

Standins’ up for women and girls (3x)

Never turning back, never turning back

Bringing light to all the nations (3x)

Never turning back, never turning back

Gonna work for women’s freedom (3x)

Never turning back, never turning back

Gonna keep on loving boldly (3x)

Never turning back, never turning back”

Do you know Zenaib Hawa Bangura ?

If you are at all affiliated with the UN or ever hope to , you should know her. The title is Special Representative On Sexual Violence in Conflict and the position has been created because countries in conflict are using sexual violence as a war tactic. Don't be shocked! This kind of violence has been around for a long time, Ms. Bangura told us. The problem is not going away and that's where she comes in. Millenium Development  Goal number 3 is gender equality. And Ms.Bangura is working toward this goal with gusto.
She has a strong desire to speak to colleges and universities because she knows this problem is bigger than her and spreading the truth will grow advocacy and students might have a fresh and new idea might help generate solutions. In just this one briefing, she mentioned that in Burundi, if a woman is raped, she must feed the perpetrator until time of his trial. I wonder how many women tried to poison their assalants! In another country, the woman must marry the man who raped her. Some recent news that Ms. Bangura mentioned was the woman in Somalia that reported her rape and she, her husband , a newspaper reporter (that interviewed her) and 2 other people were arrested! The newspaper reporter did not even publish the story. Silencing women, silencing the press will not help this problem go away. One thing Bangura does is lay the facts in front of country leaders in order to help them admit the problem. The problem is so big and so few women are willing to talk about it, it is a huge undertaking.
 It looks like, Ms. Bangura is the right woman for the job. She comes from Sierra Leon in Africa. She is all too familiar with war and everything that comes with it. She knows conflict and she doesn't hide from it. She explains,"This is a human issue,not just a woman issue." It used to be war was fought between nations. Now war is fought within nations. Within these nations, women and children are being raped time and time again. Horrendous things are being done to their bodies all in the name of war. Bangura is spreading awareness, advocating education for the women and looking for ways to end this violence toward women. She is a gifted speaker, a passionate leader, and graceful human being. In her eloquence, I believe she is  going to make major strides. In her words, if she can end rape in conflict, even if it's on her last day, she will be happy.

Happy Valentine's Day---UN staff call for an end to violence against women

http://www.unwomen.org/2013/02/as-un-staff-rise-to-end-violence-against-women-un-secretary-general-calls-on-governments-to-commit/

President Obama Signs Memorandum Institutionalizing the Office of Global Women’s Issues