Celebrate, Support and Empower Women: International Women's Day

Today, March 8th is International Women's Day and with that we wanted to take a moment to honor and thank all of the amazing, strong, beautiful and intelligent women across the globe. We want to especially take a moment to thank all the amazing and courageous survivors who embody a relentless spirit few are ever able to possess.

While Bridge to Freedom Foundation does not work with female survivors alone, women and girls comprise 80% of modern slavery victims.   Therefore we ask on this day to not only thank the women in your life, but to honor and support those women and girls who are fighting daily for their basic freedoms and rights. While we not only use this day to honor these women we also celebrate the inspiring and courageous work that so many women -and men- around the world are doing to secure and ensure that the rights of women and girls are put into place to see a future for all that is both more tolerant and sustainable for all. Please remember that many voices have been silenced in the battle for gender equality -speak loudly so that their silence will be forever broken.

This year we ask you consider making a donation to our Violence Prevention Program, where a $45 donation will give a survivor a 3 hour specialized self-defense (Krav Maga) workshop.  Even a donation a little as $10 will make a great impact.  Please click here to learn more about the program and donate.

International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women

The presence of domestic violence mars the reputation of any nation regardless of how far in terms of women’s rights that nation has come. Nevertheless, as the U.N. points out, the problem “continues to be a global pandemic” and “up to 70 percent of women experience violence in their lifetimes.” Indeed, it is abundantly clear that “violence against women is a consequence of discrimination against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women.” Gender, therefore, matters because differential treatment based on the variable is still very real even today, years after the movement toward equal rights has commenced. It matters because many still consider it relevant in the determination of one’s personal characteristics, abilities, and behavior. Most importantly, gender matters because it is still quite common for mistreatment, objectification, and violation of women to be considered acceptable ways of promoting a service, selling a product, or gaining an audience.

A closer look at the messages in many commercials and advertisements, for example, reveals that sexual violence and aggression exhibited by men is what every woman wants even if she says no. Such messages contribute to the myth that a woman who wears a certain dress, or a skirt, or a shirt, a woman who uses a specific perfume is non-verbally asking for a man to assault her. Allowing these contagious messages to infect generations of young people facilitates the development of common beliefs that a heinous crime such as a date rape is in some way solely the girl’s or woman’s fault and therefore, must not be acknowledged as a global or societal problem. The recent date rape case in Steubenville, Ohio indicates that violence against girls and women is often seen as a joke or a way to exhibit one’s manhood. To successfully address the issue and bring a resolution, therefore, we must involve both men and women in the fight for equality, but we also need to engender a paradigm shift—a meaningful change in the way society as a whole views, addresses, and treats women.

Today, the world honors the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, but it is important to remember that this is an issue that must to be addressed every day. It is not an issue at the personal level; it is not an issue at the national level; it is an issue at a global level because violence against women ultimately threatens progress and development. It could also contribute to the financial hurdles of a nation; as highlighted by the U.N., “the cost of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceeds $5.8 billion per year: $4.1 billion is for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.” Such facts emphasize the comprehensive and deep impact of violence against women and demand decisive actions toward a resolution.

To help empower women to achieve freedom from fear, violence, and discrimination, please consider sponsoring a free Violence Prevention Workshop for survivors of modern day slavery and human trafficking. 

International Day of the Girl Child

Today Bridge to Freedom Foundation (BTFF) is proud to celebrate the second annual International Day of the Girl Child. Enacted by the United Nations in 2011, this day offers an opportunity to highlight gender inequality and the fulfillment of human rights for all women and girls -including the elimination of violence.

The International Day of the Girl Child provides not only everyone at BTFF a greater platform to raise our voices and improve the lives of women and girls around the globe, but for you to join us and make your voice heard. It is that reason BTFF is proud to announce the launch of our Violence Prevention Program on this very special day dedicated to girls around the world. Please help us ensure that girls are not only able to lead thriving lives, but are able to walk through their daily lives aware and empowered to fight against violence!

We hope you will join us in honoring the Day of the Girl Child, as well as October being Domestic Violence Prevention Month, by donating to our Violence Prevention / Self-Defense fundraising campaign.  Please click here to see how you can sponsor a free 3 hour workshop for a survivor.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Global development podcast transcript: ending gender violence
Next month's meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women will bring together nearly 6,000 leaders from civil society to address ways to eliminate violence against women and girls, said Lakshmi Puri, deputy executive director of UN Women. About one-third of the delegates will be from grass-roots organizations, which Puri said means that "what is accepted here globally by member states will be implemented at the regional level, national level and at the local level.

'It was like dying': a raped woman in Congo DRC speaks out Mark Tran interviews female rape survivors at a rehabilitation center in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 200,000 women have been sexually assaulted since 1998, according to the United Nations. Tran also interviews a former child soldier who says he was forced to rape women by militia commanders. Marie was 13 when she and her mother fled their village as it was attacked by Rwandan Hutu militia, but they were caught. Marie was taken into the bush where she spent eight months being repeatedly raped. Marie. Now 26, this softly spoken woman lives with other abused women at a rehabilitation center outside Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Heal Africa , where Marie receives support, life and job skills; says the number of women and children raped rose sharply last year because of a surge in rebel militia activity. It registered 2,517 cases in the first half of 2012.

Irish leader apologizes for infamous Magdalen laundries Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny offered an emotional apology Tuesday for government involvement in a harsh system of laundries run by Roman Catholic nuns, where women and girls labored long hours behind locked doors, unpaid and often bewildered about why they were there. The apology came two weeks after a report found that the Irish government had been involved in the infamous Magdalen laundries, helping to send girls and women into the workhouses, paying them through government programs and contracts, and bringing runaways back in the hands of police. The report painted a picture of a punishing regime of work and prayer, imposed on women and girls who felt trapped, often told little or nothing about why they were at the laundries and when they could leave. More than 10,000 women worked in the laundries between 1922 and 1996, it found.

Myanmar lauded for child soldiers' release The release of 24 child soldiers from Myanmar's military should help the country reach its vow to end child rights violations sooner, the United Nations said. The two dozen children were officially discharged Monday at a ceremony in Yangon, attended by senior officials of the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, and government and U.N. officials, UNICEF said in a release. In June, the United Nations and the Myanmar government signed an action plan establishing a timetable and measurable activities for the release and reintegration of children associated with armed forces, as well as the prevention of similar recruitment in the future. Myanmar is one of 14 countries with armed forces or armed groups identified as committing grave child rights violations that is working with the United Nations to end grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Women and girls make up 75% of all trafficked people
An estimated 20.9 million people are trafficked worldwide -- about 58% for purposes of sexual exploitation and another 36% for other forms of forced labor, according to a report of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Traffickers target more women and foreign nationals than in other crimes, pulling from at least 136 nationalities in 118 countries, the report said.

Social cause game's aim: To help girls win
A Facebook game scheduled to be introduced next month will promote awareness of issues affecting woman and girls, including child prostitution and female genital mutilation. The three-year undertaking, Half the Sky Movement: The Game, is based on a book and allows players to help a female character by donating virtual goods to nonprofits including the United Nations Foundation.

Legal recourse out of reach for women in developing world
Many governments are denying women and girls equal protection under the law, according to a report by the International Development Law Organization. Many women are unaware of their rights or are unable to bypass informal systems for formal courts.

Global campaign protests violence against women
Thousands of women in Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday joined women worldwide to draw attention to rape and discrimination as part of the One Billion Rising campaign. In India, women demonstrated using music and dance.

Celebrating Women and Freedom: International Women’s Day

Today, March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD), which was established to commemorate the struggle women and girls across the globe continue to endure in obtaining their basic human rights. In 2011, the United States made the presidential proclamation that the entire month of March will be Women’s History Month. 2012′s theme is Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures; by connecting girls with resources to ensure their basic rights, girls will see their potential and future. Inspiring girls’ futures betters the community, the country and the world.

 Each year the United Nations also declares an overall International Women’s Day theme. The UN’s 2012 theme is Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty. Women and girls in rural areas face the largest disparities and barriers than any other population in the world. Rural women and girls comprise one in four people worldwide. They work long hours with little or no wadges, yet produce a large proportion of the food agriculture. These women and girls are one of the biggest keys in the fight against poverty. “Providing women farmers with equal access to resources would result in 100 to 150 million fewer hungry people. Providing women with income, land rights and credit would mean fewer malnourished children. Studies show that higher levels of gender equality correlate positively with higher levels of per capita gross national product. Opening economic opportunities to women would significantly raise economic growth and reduce poverty,” stated Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, on the importance of addressing this year’s UN theme (UN Women).

 To Read the rest of this post by Executive Director and Founder, Cassandra Clifford on the Foreign Policy Association's Children's Rights Blog please go here.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

The business of human trafficking
Companies often use complex global procurement systems to deny their part in human trafficking but what can responsible businesses do to address the issue? Seven years ago, David Arkless took a call from the first lady of an African state. She wanted to know what his company was doing about human trafficking. His answer was blunt: "What human trafficking?" The question prompted him to investigate. The figures proved startling. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, more than 2.4 million people are being exploited by traffickers at any one time. Some campaign groups suggest the annual number of victims could be as high as 27 million.

Put an End to Blood Minerals
Imagine your 15-year-old daughter walking to the corner store to get a carton of milk. She has walked along this street nearly every day growing up. But this afternoon on the way home, a group of men pull her into the bushes. Each man takes a turn raping her, the last one with the barrel of his AK-47. Left bleeding and unable to walk, she takes shelter in the nearby forest. Why doesn’t she go home, you ask? She can’t. The rape is considered her fault. She is now disowned by her family. After surviving weeks on berries and sugar cane she is discovered by a man who thought he smelled a rotting corpse. But the stench is the result of a rape so brutal that the passageway between her vagina and anus broke down, becoming one gaping wound.

MYANMAR-THAILAND: Undocumented workers exploited post-floods
BANGKOK, 8 November 2011 (IRIN) - While the Burmese government has re-opened a key border checkpoint between Thailand and Myanmar to accommodate thousands of migrants fleeing Thailand's flooded factories, undocumented - and now unemployed - migrants face extortion and abuse as they try to return home, according to migrants and activists.

Zimbabwean girls struggle to access education
One-third of primary-school-aged girls and 67% of those at the secondary school level are unable to access education in Zimbabwe, according to a study from Plan International. Poverty, sexual abuse and child marriage are among the major factors adversely affecting school attendance for girls.

11,000 girls are recruited to promote India gender equality
Red Cross societies across the Indian state of Haryana are gearing up to train more than 11,000 predominately female college students to persuade parents not to abort fetuses shown to be girls. “These students will turn into parents in coming years, and we hope that they won’t forget the importance of girls. As parents, they will be in a position to make a change by deciding against gender bias,” said Syham Sunder, secretary of the Red Cross Society in the district of Yamunanagar.