Fact: “Hey! Did you know that October is also…..”

Pink whistles for the referees.

Pink gloves for the linemen, for the quarterbacks.

Pink cleats for the kickers.

Pink ribbons for….everyone.
Pink ribbons on cars in the parking lot...pink...pink...everywhere you turn you see pink!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the NFL and the fans are all joining the party on the fields of America’s favorite fall past time.

I am glad we see pink on the football field. Even so, there are equally insidious assaults against women unknown to the stands of fans and fields of players. Yes, breast cancer kills, and it is terrible and no woman should ever have to go through it. However no woman, girl or child should ever go through physical or sexual assault or abuse.

Did you know; however, that October is also Domestic Violence and Fair Trade Awareness Month?  If you are shaking your head no, do not feel badly. Feeling guilty is not going to help. What will help is getting the word out. If even half the money that goes into Breast Cancer awareness campaigns also went into domestic violence, Fair Trade and Human Trafficking it would no longer be a a hush hush conversation or a shock to ones ears.

The fight against domestic violence and the cruel brutality of modern slavery -human trafficking- can be just as big as breast cancer.  We have so many stories of hope floating around breast cancer survivors, and they are there thanks to the prominent pink ribbons that everybody knows what stand are for.  That same effort, money and commitment that made such a difference and has led to even more survivors could also be poured into the fight to end violence and discrimination against so many who fight under a cloak of darkness and silence in homes, on streets and in fields across the country and globe.

The tables can turn. You can help. Talk about it. Tell your friends…

“Hey! Did you know that October is also Domestic Violence and Fair Trade Awareness Month!"  So lets turn the tables today!

Check out an article I wrote more ineptly on Domestic Violence Awareness Month for the Examiner here: End the Cycle of Violence: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Myanmar military releases 42 more child soldiers
Myanmar authorities released 42 more child soldiers from the armed forces [last] Monday, a move to further end recruitment of under-age children in the armed forces, reported Xinhua, citing local media. The 42 children, who are from across the country;s regions and states, were handed over to their parents in the presence of officials of the ministry of social welfare. The move came after an agreement was signed between Myanmar government and the United Nations in late June on prevention of further recruitment and use of under-age children in the armed forces.

Opinion: Anti-slavery law needs saving

With the upcoming elections, you can't turn on the television without seeing a negative campaign ad or heated news segment giving Americans a glimpse of the political divisions that currently exist in out country. While politicians argue over our future government, we lose sight of how the actions of our current government are impacting the lives of real people right now, like the millions of enslaved men, women and children in the U.S. and around the world at risk if Congress fails to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act by the end of the year.

NY taxi drivers get sex trafficking lesson
New York City taxi drivers will soon not just be taking passengers around the city, they're being asked to help spot potential sex trafficking victims. Under a new city law, drivers should be on the lookout for clues that a passenger is a victim of a sex trafficking activity.In a little under three months the law will kick into effect, and drivers will be required to alert authorities if they see suspicious situations in their cabs which may cause them to believe there is a trafficking victim in the backseat. The city plans to run a training course for the drivers of taxis and private cars for hire. A video is planned to teach what to look for.


A Move That Could Help Reduce Child Labor
Campaigners for the abolition of child labor in India welcomed a Cabinet decision Tuesday which would ban the employment of children under the age of 14. The government's ministers called on Parliament to pass an amendment to the Child Labour Act 1986, a law which, until now, has allowed children below 14 to be involved in "non-hazardous" work. The amendment, if passed, would impose a maximum three-year jail term and 50,000-rupee fine for anyone employing a child under the age of 14 in any kind of work or engaging under-18s in hazardous work. The change would be the most significant development in India's child labor laws since the introduction of a partial ban in 1986, according to activists working for an end to the practice.

Fair Food Program helps end the use of slavery in the tomato fields
Since 1997, the Justice Department has prosecutes seven cases of slavery in the Florida agricultural industry - four involving tomato harvesters - freeing more than 1,000 men and women. The stories are a catalogue of horrors: abductions, pistol whippings, confinement at gunpoint, debt bondage and starvation wages. Thankfully, those enslaved workers may be among the last found in Florida's tomato fields. Today, virtually all Florida tomato growers have joined the Fair Food Program, which includes a code of conduct outlawing debt bondage and requiring human conditions of labor and a more livable wage. Shade stations, toilets and drinking water are appearing in the fields, and educators are spreading word about the code to the harvesters.