The Body Shop Takes on Trafficking

More reason to love The Body Shop!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/fashion/01Skin-2.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

http://www.thebodyshop.com/_en/_ww/values-campaigns/trafficking.aspx

The Price of Sex

A coworker showed me this great photodocumentary called The Price of Sex. It includes the stories of four survivors of sex trafficking in both first and third person as well as a segment on risk factors and one on why sex trafficking is such a huge problem. The effect is very powerful. The music is haunting and so are the looks that this women give the camera. It focuses on women in Eastern Europe, especially Moldova.

It brings up a lot of important issues: what do you do when you have nothing? The economies of Eastern Europe are weak and as an NGO worker points out, there are literally no jobs for people in the villages. So women and girls are lured by jobs in other countries: Russia, Turkey, etc. Except they are trafficked instead. Their passports are stolen, they are raped, and forced to work in brothels. I have heard many times that these girls know what they are getting themselves into. The risks are known, but who ever thinks something like that will actually happen to them? Young people especially think themselves invincible. This is also about survival. What do you do when there is nothing--no jobs, no food, no opportunity--for you at home?

One of the segments makes a very important point. Abolition isn't about stopping trafficking. It is impossible. I personally believe that nothing short of the collapse of capitalism and the world economy would stop the global trade in people. As we become more globalized trafficking will only continue to get worse and worse. The fight is about prevention--stopping traffickers from getting their hands on these girls. Part of this is about education, part of this is about changing norms.

A huge problem is corruption. One girl's story tells how her pimp was pulled over for drunk driving. He got out of it by prostituting her and another girl in the car out to the policeman. He should have been their hero but instead he became another part of the nightmare. Corrupt government and organizations are one of the biggest impediments to rescuing these abused girls.

I spend a lot of time thinking about these problems and the best angles to address them from. I've been thinking a lot about education lately and what can be done in that regard, but economics, other types of development, community and family ties, and corruption must also be addressed.

Take a look at this documentary. It's well worth it.
http://www.priceofsex.org/content/price-sex-women-speak

Jordan Working on Honor Crimes

Jordan has recently made some great strides to protect women in a patriarchal society. A fatwa was issued earlier this month to ban pre-marital virginity exams because they are humiliating to women and are used as an intimidation tool against women. If a woman does not pass, she can even be killed in the name of honor, which happens to about 20 women a year in Jordan. The country has even made a new tribunal to address the perpetrators of honor crimes, who too often slip through the system with little or no punishment.

It's too bad virginity checks can't be performed on men, but even if they could it wouldn't make a difference. In the same countries where women's lives depend on their virginity and honor, men have premarital sex and make arrangements such as temporary marriages (which I see as a form of prostitution, sex slavery, or rape) so that they can fulfill their "needs". Getting rid of premarital exams is crucial because it not only shows trust in women, it gives them back their dignity and allows them to have a normal life without fearing murder, even if they had been raped.

Paternal Mortality

I love Nicholas Kristof's column in the New York Times. He's not afraid to just say it like it is. His Thursday column was about maternal mortality. He followed the story of a young Pakistani woman delivering her first child. Her baby ended up dying because her in-laws would not pay to transport her to the hospital. The woman's husband said, "It is God's will...There is nothing we can do."

Kristof's answer?

"That’s incorrect. If men had uteruses, “paternity wards” would get resources, ambulances would transport pregnant men to hospitals free of charge, deliveries would be free, and the Group of 8 industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a top priority. One of the most lethal forms of sex discrimination is this systematic inattention to reproductive health care, from family planning to childbirth — so long as those who die are impoverished, voiceless women."

Slavery-Free Product Challenge

The Human Trafficking Project and Change.org are doing a cool little contest. On both of their sites are a list of 10 common products we buy (different lists on each site, I prefer the one on HTP). They want people to be more aware of forced labor and slavery in the production and supply chains of everyday products. So they are challenging everyone to find the 10 most "slavery-free" ways to get these products: "Where would you buy them? What brands would you choose? What labels or guidelines would you use to make better consumer choices?" HTP also lists the difference between fair trade/ethically or sustainably produced/made in the USA/country of production.

Looks like a cool little exercise to me. Sometimes when I'm bored at work or surfing the net I start thinking about how my consumerism might be affecting/supporting trafficking and what I can do to change. I guess this is my chance to start.

Here are the links to the posts:
http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/reader_challenge_can_you_find_10_slave-free_consumer_products
http://traffickingproject.blogspot.com/2009/07/htp-and-changeorg-team-up-slavery-free.html

A Second Chance: Women Taking their Lives Back

Last week I watched a video clip from ABC News about honor killings in Pakistan. It was leaving me feeling rather depressed when halfway through it switched to a completely different story. In the city of Lahore an anonymous foundation has set up a beauty parlor just for women. The interesting thing about this establishment, however, is that the group hires women who have been disfigured by acid attacks. They give them free training, pay them a salary, and pay for their surgeries. I thought this was a great idea—acid attacks often leave women isolated from society but this group was pulling them back in.

My current research is on trafficking victims, and from reading human rights reports I know that many countries do not make sufficient efforts to reintegrate women who survive this ordeal. So I wondered, is there anything like this out there for trafficked women? A Google search led me to an article from Dhaka, Bangladesh where the International Organization for Migration (IOM) began a pilot reintegration project in 2008. They opened up four “coffee shop[s] of freedom” called Kafé Mukti that employ former trafficking victims from shelters in the city. Zakia K. Hassan, an IOM officer in Dhaka, said, “The society usually isolates these women. By making them self-reliant we want to give them back their dignity and lost status in the society. Creating acceptance is also a goal.” The workers are trained in management and accountancy and grants are also available for them.

These coffee shops are part of an IOM project called “Prevention and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking in Bangladesh.” This reintegration technique seems like it would take away some of the helplessness and stigma of being a “victim” because the women are in active control of their situation and their futures. I hope they have similar projects going on in other countries, or that the success of Bangladesh will prompt more.

Domestic Trafficking in the US

I've been meaning to read this article for a long time but school got in the way. I think it sums up the trafficking situation of young, US citizens really well.

Article available from the New York Times

Pushed

I just finished reading this AMAZING book called Pushed: The Painful Truth about Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block. Some parts of it scared me, some parts made me so angry and some parts made me really excited to start a family (but not yet ;) ). Of course it was biased towards natural birth, but it brought up a lot of interesting points on both sides of the issue. I was already familiar with a lot of what was said, but I also learned a lot of new stuff:

*If you are having twins or your baby is breech, you are very likely to have a c-section whether you want it or not. Delivering breeches vaginally has become so rare that a lot of doctors don't even know how to do it--which is one of the criticisms I've heard about Canada's decision to begin allow vaginal breeches last week. However, the book provides extensive reasoning as to why delivering vaginally for both of these, and VBACs as well, can be very safe.

*There is an extensive illegal midwife network out there. You live in a state that doesn't allow midwives? Well there are probably practicing ones in your area anyway. It's just more secretive and they don't sign the birth certificates--on paper you delivered at home unassisted. These women give up a lot for their jobs: they are on call 24/7 and they even risk going to jail.

*I already knew I couldn't just walk into a hospital and allow all the routine interventions they use (EFM, lithotomy position, no moving, no eating, episiotomies, pitocin/amniotomy or other methods of induction, epidurals, forceps/vacuum, IVs, directed pushing, c-sections, lots of vaginal exams, no immediate skin-on-skin contact and breastfeeding, formula supplementation, no rooming-in, etc.)--but this book kind of drove home the point that unless you are really lucky in your choice of physician/on-call doctors and nurses, you don't have a lot of choice in what happens to you once you check in. Hospital regulations will stipulate that you can't move or eat and that you have the IV and exams, and really, what can you do unless you have merciful nurses and doctors? I'm starting to think maybe even a doula isn't enough. I'm thinking of birthing centers now, assuming I'm low risk and all that, since I think you have a lot more say over what happens to you there. Eventually I think home birth would be a great option too. All I know is that I am absolutely terrified of going to the hospital, having unnecessary interventions that slow or stop my labor, and then being sent in for a c-section for "failure to progress" or because my time limit is up.

It is so important to know your options and be aware of what is out there. Informed choice! I'm not trying to sound radical or offend anyone, but this is an issue I've been thinking a lot about in the past few months. Every woman should have a wonderful birth experience. All too often we hear that it doesn't matter what happens as long as the baby is healthy and yes, that is the ultimate goal: a healthy, beautiful child. But why do women have to suffer so much and often so needlessly for it? Some women who have terrifying birth experiences actually develop Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, besides those who have Post Partum Depression. A c-section is major abdominal surgery with all kinds of risks and simpler interventions like episiotomy still require long, painful recoveries, sometimes with lasting side effects. And yes, I know I might be singing a different tune when I'm this position myself, but I think it's like what they tell you about being chaste and keeping the Word of Wisdom when you're in Young Women's: just do your homework and make the decisions beforehand and it's a lot easier when the moment of choice comes.

No Real Surprise

Out of all the Millenium Development Goals, the two that are lagging behind the most are goals 4 and 5: decreases in maternal mortality and child mortality. I think economic goals probably receive more attention because they contribute to the overall economy of a country more fully in the short term--however, maternal and child mortality play huge, albeit subtle, roles in the economy. When mothers die others must take care of her children, which may take them out of or reduce their time in the paid labor force. Children are the promise of any society and when they die so does the future: future laborers, future visionaries, future inventors...More effort needs to be put into these two goals; President Obama is busy reworking the healthcare system and I hope he factors maternal mortality into his plans.

A Victory for Turkish Women Against Domestic Violence and Why it Probably Doesn't Mean Anything

This week the ECHR ruled that Turkey failed to protect a woman against her abusive ex-husband, whose behavior eventually led to the murder of her mother. He claimed that he killed her because she had threatened his honor by taking his family away and leading his wife into an "immoral way of life." I don't know what he meant by that, but I am so tired of women's bodies and sexuality being used as tools to justify men's violence and the oppression of women.

While this case may be extreme, statistics show that 4 out of 10 Turkish women are beaten by their husbands, including 1 out of 10 pregnant women. Pregnancy is one of the most vulnerable times in a woman's life and she is especially susceptable to problems such as domestic violence. Domestic violence is also bad for the fetus, both in terms of the mother's stress levels/ psychological state as well as the possibility of injury. Men who commit violence against their pregnant wives show that not only do they not value her, but they do not care about their children at all. But I digress...Perhaps the saddest statistic is that 40% of Turkish women believe they deserve to be beaten. I wish I could just shout out to the women of the world (and have them believe me) that there is NO JUSTIFICATION for domestic violence. Ever. It doesn't matter what happens, whether a wife burns dinner or has an affair--violence is always wrong. This goes for the women as well.

The ruling for the case, which is Opuz v. Turkey, said that "discriminatory judicial passivity in Turkey created a climate that was conducive to domestic violence." Those are harsh but very straightforward words. According to the article, "Legal experts said the ruling sets a precedent throughout Turkey and Europe for governments to protect women from domestic abuse." Precedent is good, but my line of works has made me rather cynical. The upside to this case is that Turkey is interested in joining the EU and knows it has to make many, many changes before it has the slightest chance of being able to accede.

The downside is that that probably isn't enough. I read CEDAW reports all the time for work. They laud the accomplishments of the country and try to make it sound like a paradise (if the country is Myanmar, they just come right out and tell you it's a paradise for women). Yet there is almost never any change. Countries create lots of programs and pass lots of laws, but it is much rarer to see an actual change in practice. Mechanisms such as CEDAW are self-reporting and so you are much more likely to see exaggeration of good things and minimalization of bad things. Case in point: according to Myanmar their maternal mortality ratio is 1. One! The best countries in Europe aren't even that low.

So to conclude, I am glad that the ECHR has taken this opportunity to address a really important issue and I hope it leads to some change, even if just in the short-term. However, until there are real, tangible consequences, little positive change is likely to be enacted for Turkish women.

Horray for Breastfeeding

Here's just one more study to show why breastfeeding trumps artificial feeding, and this is about mother's health benefits! The human body really is a miracle.

Read it in the New York Times

Lessons from Slovakia

Sometimes finding solutions takes creativity. Slovakia has become innovative in its efforts to encourage businesses to support workers with families. In 2000 they started a competition called the Family-Friendly Employer “with a view to motivating Slovak employers to develop activities for the reconciliation of work and family life and actively promote equality between women and men. Within the competition 3 categories are evaluated: the family policy, the introduction of measures to promote equality between women and men, and the most original measure to benefit the family. The number of contesting organisations has been annually increasing.”

In comparison, First Lady Michelle Obama gave a speech just last week (May 8) about the state of the American workplace. She said, “Workers should have paid sick days, schedules that give them time for their family responsibilities, such as picking up children or taking them or parents to doctors' appointments, and quality child care on the job. Also needed is paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or to deal with serious illness.” She goes on to say that there are about 22 million women in the US labor force who do not have paid sick days, and the Family Medical Leave Act does not allow for paid maternity, adoption, or sick leave.

Maybe we should start our own Family-friendly Employer competition here to draw attention to the challenges of being a working parent, because both mothers and fathers need support from their workplace and from society in order to have successful family and work lives. Mrs. Obama said she wants to focus on the issue of balancing work and family while she is in the White House—I hope the US sees some new legislation and more family-friendly practices in the near future.

Interesting Tactic

Oh, and take a look at this CNN story about sex and political reform in Kenya. I never would have thought of this one...

Did she ask for it?

I was excited to see this op-ed printed in yesterday's New York Times, especially since this sensitive issue was being tackled by a man, Nicholas Kristof (I love him by the way, he's written lots of pieces about trafficking). I've watched a lot of Law and Order in my time and in every rape case they treat the victim well, expedite her rape kit, have results almost instantly, and then go out there and catch the bad guy.

Well...that's not quite real life. Human Rights Watch released a 68-page report last week about the status of rape kits in LA County and the results were positively frightening: "...in Los Angeles County, there were at last count 12,669 rape kits sitting in police storage facilities. More than 450 of these kits had sat around for more than 10 years, and in many cases, the statute of limitations had expired."

Ok, so rape kits can be expensive and unfortunately not every woman who she was raped actually was. Yet we let this small small minority of cases taint the way we see all rape victims. Not to mention the social stigma--if a woman walks around in revealing clothing or makes any sort of overture to a man then she must have been "asking for it." Kristof asserts, and I agree, that the lack of urgency assigned to rape indicates that sexual crimes are still not seen as the serious rights abuses that they are.

Equal Pay for Equal Work!

What do you think about this: "April 28 symbolized the day in 2009 when the average woman's wage will finally catch up with those paid to the average man in 2008. In the U.S. women are paid only 78¢ on average for every dollar paid to men."

At least we're only 1 year behind now?? President Obama mentioned the recent Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in his 100 days speech today. It's progress and I'm glad, but is this seriously still an issue? Equal Pay Day is "designated every April on a Tuesday as a reminder that Tuesday is the day on which women’s wages catch up to men’s wages from the preceding week. On average, female workers have to put in more than six days of paid work to earn what men earn in five."

And let's not even get into the childbearing wage penalty (last I heard it was around 7% per child?) and the economic consequences of the "mommy track." Someone needs to create a business using the feminist model, stat...

Natural Birth

This story about a woman's natural birth is amazing. If only all women could experience such a peaceful delivery at this most important time in their life.

New Book about Chinese Comfort Women

A new book has been released about Chinese comfort women. Comfort women were slaves from China, Korea, and other Asian countries that were used as 24 hour prostitutes by Japanese soldiers during World War II. I'm glad that this is something that can now be talked about instead of being shameful. Now I just wish we could have a dialogue about what American soldiers are doing to local women in the countries where they are based...but that's a story for another time. This is what the press release by the All-China Women's Federation (中华全国妇女联合会)says:

"A memoir containing 400 pictures and the stories of 67 surviving Chinese World War II comfort women was published on December 11 in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Li Xiaofang, the author, said he spent three years visiting over 70 women all over China and South Korea. "Most of them lead a miserable life without a secure source of income," he revealed.

Fifteen old ladies from Qinxian and Wuxiang counties in north China's Shanxi Province made public their real names for the first time in this book.

Li Jinyu, one of the 15 elderly women, recalled that she was imprisoned by the Japanese army at the age of 14 in 1944 and forced to serve as a prostitute for two months. She became sterile due to the tragic experience."

Why the Family is Essential to Stopping Child Sex Trafficking in Sri Lanka

A few weeks ago I read a report about child sex trafficking in Sri Lanka that left me depressed, but which also made me think and gave me some ideas. The report highlighted a paradox that faces Sri Lankan women, many of whom travel abroad as domestic servants to make money to send home: “Sri Lanka has the highest proportion in South Asia of females working abroad for employment, and these comprise primarily women who have young children.” Not only do some of these women end up in bad situations abroad, such as being trafficked themselves or being forced to work for abusive employers, but their very act of leaving may spell doom for the children they left in order to help. One of the findings indicated that children whose mothers went abroad were more vulnerable to sexual abuse and trafficking at the hands of their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, friends, neighbors, etc.

In many parts of Sri Lanka girls who have been sexually abused are considered unclean and are forced to leave their homes and families as they are considered a bad influence on other children. Often rape and trafficking victims will end up in state children’s homes for their “protection”. They may have been rescued, but as prostitution can be treated like a crime and the court system is slow it may take years for children to get out of these remand centers. Yet another problem is lack of knowledge about trafficking among children, adults, and even police and other officials who are supposed to help victims. One of the saddest issues the report mentions is that the exploited often become the exploiters because the system does not give them justice and the cultural setup alienates them from returning to a normal life.

So what can be done to change this? The report outlines many factors that affect children being trafficked, such as parents being detached, a lack of sexual education, the incentive of money, etc. There are many ways to address these issues, some of which require fairly simple measures like education programs, training, and new legislation, but deep societal change is also necessary, which is much harder. Beyond educating school children about sexual abuse and trafficking, more fun and creative measures can be applied such as extracurriculars and vocational training: the report cites music, English, and computer classes as ways that children can gain skills to keep them from being lured into prostitution and also to help them reintegrate into society if they are victims. Harder to solve are the problems that involve the family and communities. It appears that mothers are vital in keeping their children safe, but the economic situation forces many abroad. Another related problem is alcoholism among fathers. The report suggests economic workshops, help finding employment, and welfare programs to help parents.

While the report emphasizes that mothers should stay in Sri Lanka to protect their children, I think the real issue here is that when they do leave, people these children should trust are violating their rights. It would be ideal if mothers did not have to leave their children and go abroad to find work, but that is the current economic reality of Sri Lanka. What must change is relatives, friends, neighbors, and communities seeing these children as easy targets to manipulate instead of vulnerable children who need their help more than ever. The support structure of the family and community is where it seems like the focus is really needed in order to help Sri Lankan children stay safe from sexual abuse and trafficking.

Come On, Afghanistan

Afghanistan is supposed to be getting better, right? The Taliban has been kicked out of power (they still have their strongholds and they're becoming more active--not good) and even though they are doing things like preventing girls from attending school in some parts of the country they don't have the power to make misogynistic laws anymore.

Enter Hamid Karzai, the President elect. Apparently he's really enjoying being in power and doesn't want to lose that come August, so in an attempt to placate extremists he pulled a very Taliban-like measure by rushing the Shia Family Law through Parliament. This law LEGALIZES marital rape, as well as "tacitly approves child marriage and restricts a woman's right to leave the home." What is he going to do next, create a power-sharing agreement with the Taliban?

This move is undefendable and disgusting; even people in the government are calling it electioneering. No wonder the US and Europe are trying to create a prime minister position to dilute Karzai's corrupt power. I really hope he gets voted out in August because Afghani women deserve much better than they are getting.

Mary Wollstonecraft

You know who was an amazing writer? Mary Wollstonecraft. She wrote the book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (full text available) in 1792--can you believe a woman could publish a feminist book back then? I read part of it for my Woman Studies class and I was blown away by her eloquence and her fire. She is so blunt about the subjugation of women and she doesn't hold back in tearing Rousseau and other philosophers' writings concerning women apart. It's such a breath of fresh air and it's still relevant today. She talks about socialization and education and lots of topics we still struggle with. Other women who I think deserve applause today: Phyllis Wheatley and Anne Bradstreet.

Argentina doesn't get it right

Last year Argentina finally passed a law prohibiting trafficking in persons! Yes! But...there is a stipulation in it that required that trafficking victims over the age of 18 prove that they did not consent sexual exploitation, which implies that women may consent to being trafficked. I really don't care whether she was kidnapped (rare), lured by promises of a job, or even knew she was going into prostitution. Trafficking is wrong--PERIOD. It takes advantage of women no matter how they become ensnared. Some women's and human rights groups asked President Cristina Fernandez to partially veto the law, which otherwise looks good. I'll have to do some looking and then update.

Link to the news report: http://www.wunrn.com/news/2009/02_09/02_23_09/022309_trafficking.htm

An Eye for an Eye?

CNN ran this article today about a woman who was blinded by an acid attack from a spurned stalker. She wants his punishment to be the same as hers--to be blinded by acid drops in his eyes. Apparently his appeal was rejected and it will happen. What he did was unforgivable, but this seems to push the envelope a little. The article quotes, "I don't want to blind him for revenge...I'm doing this to prevent it from happening to someone else." But it also says, "I told the judge I want an eye for an eye," Bahrami said. "People like him should be made to feel my suffering." I can't blame her for not wanting to accept "blood money"--seriously, I'm sorry I threw acid at you so I'll pay your medical bills that I caused? How is that ANY recompense? It's a little tempting, because I somehow feel that fighting acid with acid would make these attacks look much less glamorous to the sick men who perform them...but let's face it. Everyone has rights and I am not comfortable with a court having the power to torture and maim people, even if they deserve it. It's a lose-lose situation, as much as I want justice for this girl.

Pilot

This blog is meant to discuss the reports I read for the WomanStats Database, current events, and to share my research on sex trafficking. More to follow...