Children

We all know that the internet is a powerful tool, in the click of a button I’ll send this post out to hundreds of thousands of readers. Every day we all sit there and can send our thoughts to just about anyone and anyone, and in that same moment that we; send forwards of jokes, search for lost friends, buy a new pair of jeans, look for a vacation or just read the news, millions of children are violated and abused.  Yes, in that same flash that you instant messaged your best friend about your date last night, an image of an abused child was sent across the world to be viewed by millions.

A pornographic image is not a onetime image of abuse, but every time that image is viewed that child is once again abused and violated. Once out in cyberspace that image is lost in the fast paced internet world, never to be fully recovered again. The issue of child porn is a sensitive one, for its victims are never allowed to escape their abusers, as their abuse continues indefinitely, once circulated.

While the persecution of pedophiles and the efforts of law enforcement have increased, so has the difficulty to catch these offenders and find their innocent victims. To prosecute on behalf of each and every child or image, one must prove the child is ‘real’, and this is where the law and reality begin to shift apart. You may find 100 images on one person’s computer, and there may be 80 different children involved, but in order to prosecute on behalf of each image and child you must find each child, and often use them for testimony. This is where law enforcement and reality seem to crash and burn, for the identities of most children may never be found, and even if some are found they may be scattered around the world, and therefore building a solid case is often marred by distance and economics.

The lack of funding has been the pitfall for many victims of child pornography. As law enforcement officials try to grapple with the increasingly quick spread of pornographic images, the victims of internet porn are getting younger and the images are increasingly more violent.

However on September 24th, the United States Congress passed the PROTECT Our Children Act, (H.R. 3845/S. 1738). What does this mean?

- Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.

- Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.

- Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

While the new US act will clearly aid in the detection and prosecution of those involved in the use of child pornography, it will not truly aid those millions of children who are left to deal with the idea of their image in cyberspace for the remainder of their life.

NEPAL: Stronger child protection needed for flood-displaced
As the numbers of people displaced by floods living in camps in eastern Nepal grow, aid workers are calling for stronger child protection measures. More than 60,000 people are displaced after the Koshi River – Nepal’s largest – burst its banks last month, flooding the Sunsari and Saptari districts. Of these, an estimated 20,000 are children younger than 18.

NAMIBIA: Government steps up birth registrations
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented Namibian children may be deprived of social service benefits, but a new government initiative launched at one of the country’s busiest hospitals hopes to change all that. According to Namibia’s latest Demographic and Health Survey in 2006, about 40 percent of Namibian children do not possess birth certificates - a prerequisite for applying for any social grants

PAKISTAN: Return of “lost” boys highlights the plight of street children
Asif, 16, was among 53 “lost” boys, aged between eight and 16, who boarded the bus on the morning of 16 August to return to his parents’ house. Social workers say Pakistan has a large population of runaway or lost kids, estimating their number at more than 70,000. Navaid Hasan Khan of Azad Foundation, an organisation working with street children, estimates there are between 13,000 and 15,000 in Karachi alone and the number is increasing. The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, estimates there are 10,000 in Karachi.

AFGHANISTAN: Attacks deprive 300,000 students of education
Afghanistan has made impressive progress in primary and secondary education since the downfall of the Taliban regime in late 2001. However, resurgent Taliban and worsening security have put the country’s hard-won educational achievements at serious risk. More than 600 primary, secondary and high schools are closed, mostly in the volatile southern provinces, because of prevalent insecurity and attacks on formal education, the MoE said.

Netherlands: Dutch schools to track girls forced into marriage
Dutch Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar has announced the creation of an emergency line where schools can raise the alarm if immigrant girls do not return from a holiday. Schools have found that immigrant girls are sometimes left behind in their countries of origin to be forced into an arranged marriage. According to the minister, this happens mostly in Turkish, Moroccan and Pakistani families. She will also study whether it’s possible to make such cases punishable by law. The move comes after pressure from the Labour Party.

United Kingdom: UNICEF welcomes British recognition of migrant children’s rights
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) applauded the decision by the British Government to grant children seeking asylum, migrant children and those trafficked into the country the same rights as British children, including their right to education, health care and social services. “The decision paves the way for vulnerable children who are subject to immigration control to enjoy the fundamental human rights spelled out in the Convention [on the Rights of the Child] for every child,” UNICEF said in a press release.

“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”
- Kofi Annan

The key to a prosperous future lies in the youth of the world, however if we ignore half of our future we will only have half of the prosperity.

Gender inequality not only damages the girl child, but the generations of girls, boys, women and men, it leaves a scar on the whole of our global society. Until we see a real end to gender discrimination, one will not see the end at the light of the development tunnel.

Gender equality is the key to ending poverty, as it opens the doors of education, and helps to close the door on gender based violence. The key to a prosperous future lies in the lives of generations of girls.

The quest for parenthood is nothing new, however in our increasingly busy Western lives we are waiting longer and longer to get married and have children. The result of older motherhood has led many families to face infertility and difficulties in conceiving. The idea of having fertility treatments is no longer shocking and taboo, so should one really be shocked if India has decided to cash in on it!

India’s booming baby market is thriving; with over a 100 clinics and hospitals providing treatments at a fraction of the price, at 1/5th to 1/8th, of the cost in the west, it’s no surprise. The issues of surrogacy and fertility treatments raise questions of morals and ethics for many, while others just see it as a normal changing of the times. The world is full of orphaned children and many ask why not adopt if you cannot have children, international adoptions appear to be the in thing to do, especially if you’re a celebrity.

Regardless of how you look at it, there is potential risk, and that risk is becoming all too clear in India as the fate of one child is now left in the hands of the courts. Der Spiegel recently looked into ‘what happens when a baby is born that suddenly belongs to no one?’, the article also looks at the trauma and heartache of one surrogate mother. The article delves into the emerging potential for social problems as India becomes a ‘baby factory’.

While the long-term social outcomes are unclear, the economic benefits to a country that is both riddled by poverty and marginalization in many of its communities clearly out way any doubt in most minds of potential surrogates. India is also an emerging business, technological and medical power house, providing those desperate for a child in the west an opportunity that they may not otherwise be able to afford back home. While one child remains a virtual orphan, many others are leaving India as one happy family.

Around the world millions up on millions of girls continue to remain marginalized. September 24th, International Girl Child Day, looks to bring light to the issues and awareness to the plight of girls across the globe. The fight for equality is far from new, and while historical battles have been fought and won across the globe, they are far from over. Around the globe the girl-child suffers needlessly, as daily struggles are increased by the relentless hold of history and cultural taboos. These battles for gender equality are compounded by the bureaucratic process of governments and politics.
 

Gender Inequality Facts:
- An estimated 39 million women and girls are “missing” in India alone due to infanticide and sex-selective abortions.
- More than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), mainly in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries. (Frequently Asked Questions on FGM.)
- Of the estimated 500,000 to 2 million persons trafficked each year, the majority are females.
- 62 million of the 115 million children in the world who are not in school are girls.
*Sources: United Nations Development Fund for Women, “Violence Against Women — Facts and Figures”; UNICEF, “Basic Education and Gender Equality

The fight for the girl-child, is more than a fight for equality, but a fight to brake the chains of poverty, violence, illiteracy, modern slavery…it is the fight to sustainable solutions for the prosperity of all women, men and children. 

 India, the worlds largest democracy, is embattled in a fight for equality and this year Indian based CRY (Child Relief and You) has launched a new effort which will be focused solely on the discrimination against girls.For more information on gender inequality please see my previous posts here.

September is Washington D.C.’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the event which was established thanks to the efforts of the DC Task Force on Human Trafficking. The Task Force was established in 2004 with the DC police department and the DC US Attorney’s office. Since the establishment of the Task Force, membership has grown to over 30 diverse government and non-government organizations, which meet on a weekly and monthly basis. Thanks to the efforts of the DC Task Force, there have been more than 35 traffickers prosecuted, over 70 victims of trafficking have been rescued, and successfully advocated for the DC City Council to make September Human Trafficking awareness month.

This month as the city’s activists and abolitionists unite to bring the face of modern slavery and human trafficking to the forefront, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has taken top priority. The hotline was established by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is a service funded by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide information and resources to victims of human trafficking, other individuals or organizations seeking information about this phenomenon, and accept tips from individuals wishing to provide information about possible victims. The hotline is administered and run byrun by DC-based Polaris Project.

If you are a victim of trafficking, know a victim of trafficking, or suspect a case of trafficking please contact the Resource Center, call 1-888-373-7888, or email nhtrc@polarisproject.org.  The toll-free hotline operates year round, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

DC Trafficking Facts:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers Washington, DC one of the top 14 sites in the country for sex trafficking of American children. (FBI, 2005)
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) Task Force members maintain that hundreds of sex and labor trafficking cases in the Washington, DC area remain undiscovered each year.

Anyone can become a victim; there isn’t one face to human trafficking and modern slavery. How do you know if you have come across a victim? Trafficking can take place in any environment and any location. Some Red Flags to look for include:

• Restricted freedom of movement
• Is under 18 and is providing commercial sex acts
• Signs of physical abuse
• Fear or depression
• Not speaking on own behalf
• No passport or other forms of identification

While our nation’s capital is taking a great step in the fight against modern slavery, there is still much that needs to be done to end the trade of human flesh. Take the first step today and open your eyes…“See it, Report it!”


Links and Resources:
Fact Sheets - in Multiple Languages for Download
Order Free Posters and Materials to distribute and post
DC Stop Modern Slavery - DC Based Citizen Activist Group

This month Free the Slaves, the United States oldest anti-slavery/abolitionist organization launched the Freedom Awards, honoring those who have struggled for freedom and won, those who fight in the name of those who have been silenced by the chains of slavery, those who never look back and face hardship as if it were only a small stone in the road…Free the Slaves honored heroes and fighters.

I had the pleasure to attend the Freedom Awards reception in DC, where I had distinct honor to sit down one on one with some of the awards recipients’. All of the recipients’ are inspirational and amazing; however two in particular struck personal cords with me. Ricky Richard, who won the Harriet Tubman Reintegration Award with his organization, Friends of Orphans. One look into the eyes of Ricky and you are beyond moved and inspired by his story of bravery, courage and triumph…you are energized into action. From across the room one notices the pride and ambition of James Kofi Annan, who with his organization Challenging Heights, was awarded the Frederick Douglass Award. James smile alone is enough to incite one into action.

Both men, spent their childhoods enslaved, Ricky as a child soldier, James as a child laborer in the fishing industry, both escaped the shackles of modern slavery and neither one could turn their backs on the countless children just like them. Both Rickey and James are powerful heroes who have used their struggles to establish organizations which not only work for freedom, but work sustainably to brake the chains of slavery by addressing the root issues, especially focusing on education, which fuel the modern slave trade.

If people like the Freedom Award winners can work to give the gift of freedom to so many others, than we as an international community have no excuses, or reason, as to why we cannot each make our own dent in the fight to end slavery worldwide. What these heroes have taught us is that regardless of where you live and what you have had to overcome, you can make a lasting difference in your own community. Slavery exists in every corner of the globe; regardless of whether we walk with our eyes open or choose to keep them closed we are all affected by the effects of modern slavery.

Please go to the Freedom Awards on the Free the Slaves website, to watch the Freedom awards ceremony that was held in LA. On the site you can also learn more about all of the awards and the stories behind those heroes honored and the impact they are bringing to their communities.

Please stay tuned for upcoming in-depth interviews and articles with this years Freedom Award winners.

In Haiti the term Restavèk, a Creole word derived from the French “rester avec”, meaning “to stay with” or “to remain with”, is deeply rooted in the countries history. While sending your children away to work as a domestic may be deeply rooted in the impoverished countries history, however the modern reality is that some 300,000 children in the country are enslaved as domestic workers according to the UN. Essentially a child is sent to live with a family that is better off under the guise that they will benefit from living with the family via education and economic opportunity, however the children are enslaved in a daily life of domestic labor, receiving little to no education, and they are most often abused physically, mentally and sexually.

Haiti who fought for freedom from slavery, winning independence from France in 1804, at which time slavery was officially abolished, has now ironically become a major global hub for modern slavery, seeing victims trafficked both with in the country and internationally. In neighboring Dominican Republic the sugar plantations are feed almost solely off the backs of Haitians, and children are sold like common goods as was seen when Nightline took a A Shocking Look into Child Slavery in Haiti.

Despite the nations historical triumph over slavery and freedom the Restavèk system has continued to remain in place. However these vulneralble children have been left even more vulnerable in the wake of hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. UNICEF estimates that some 300,000 children have been affected by the storms. The Times recently ran the story, Children in Servitude, the Poorest of Haiti’s Poor , highlighting the increased abuses and suffering that Restavèk children are facing in the shadows of hurricane season. Food aid arrives in Haiti but delivery is still difficult, which has left many of the Restavèk children clamoring for the scraps as they are pushed aside and marginalized once again. The situation has left many to fear that Haiti could face new food crisis after storms.

While many organizations have missed the plight of the Restavèk children, others like Limyè Lavi work daily on the ground to see that not only are the rights of children improved, but that the root causes that have enabled the Restavèk situation in Haiti to continue are address. Until the economic and educational roots of such problems in Haiti are addressed, the plight of thousands of children each year looks to remain teetering in the shadows.

Please see my other posts on the current situation of children in Haiti here.

Links and Related Articles:
“Children of Shadows” - documentary
Restavèk: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle Class American - book by Jean-Robert Cadet
Restavek Fact Sheet
Fondasyon Limyè Lavi (Light of Life Foundation) / Free the Slaves
Rule of the rapists in Haiti

Today, September 21st, marks International Day of Peace, as per a resolution declared by the The United Nations in 1981 to coincide with opening of its General Assembly. In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new resolution that declared 21 September of each year as the International Day of Peace

“…International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day . . .”

On this day the “Peace Bell”, which is made from coins donated by children from across the globe, at UN Headquarters is rang.  The bell, which was a gift from the government of Japan, and its ring are thought to be a unified symbol of solidarity, is referred to as “a reminder of the human cost of war.  The Peace Bell is inscribed with:

“Long live absolute world peace.”

Look for events in your town, school, or set one up of your own, but regardless use this day to work towards peace in your life and share it with those around you…peace is contagious!

ISRAEL-OPT: Thousands of East Jerusalem children not in school
Thousands of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem do not attend school as there is no room for them in the state school system, parents and rights groups said, adding that the drop-out rate remained the highest in the Israeli school system.

PAKISTAN: Swat conflict takes toll on girls’ education
For the 300,000 children of Swat aged between three and nine, there are 842 boys’ and 490 girls’ government-run primary schools. But only 163,645 boys and 67,606 girls are enrolled at either private or public schools, according to official figures. Even before the destruction of schools began, about 50,000 were unable to get an education due to the scarcity of places.

MYANMAR: Health of cyclone-affected children improves
The health of children under five in cyclone-affected Myanmar is improving, say specialists, despite huge challenges. The nutritional status of children was poor even before Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar, leaving almost 140,000 people dead or missing and affecting 2.4 million people more. Approximately one-third of children in Myanmar are malnourished, and about one-fifth of newborns are underweight, according to this year’s State of the World’s Children report.

AFGHANISTAN: 1.8 million children to be immunised against polio on Peace Day
The Ministry of Public Health, backed by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), is planning to immunise 1.8 million under-fives against polio between 21 and 23 September.

ETHIOPIA: More parents saying no to FGM
“The knowledge [that FGM is harmful] is increasing,” said Abate Gudunfa, head of the Ethiopian National Committee on Traditional Practices (commonly referred to as EGLDAM - its name in Amharic]. A network of 40 NGOs, including EGLDAM, the government and international organisations, are involved in anti-FGM campaigns in Ethiopia. Policies have also been reviewed to ensure participants are punished. A 2007 survey conducted by EGLDAM found that prevalence across the country had dropped from 61 percent in 1997 to 46 percent.

KENYA: Young girls the new bait for fishermen
Jaboya (a customer who is also a lover), the only way for fish traders to make a living, some say and now there is stiff competition for a catch that is often less than plentiful means offering their own bodies is no longer enough, so desperate traders have now resorted to making available their younger, more nubile relatives - many of them under 18 years of age - to ensure they have an edge. The updated version of the jaboya system puts a new generation in the crosshairs of the pandemic, local health workers say. Nyanza Province has an HIV prevalence of 15.3 percent, the country’s highest. According to statistics from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, prevalence among Kenyan fisher folk reached 30.5 percent in 2006.

RWANDA: Vulnerable children living on the margins
“There are at least 2.8 million vulnerable children in the country,” said Gisele Rutayisire, the officer in charge of social protection and governance for child rights with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Kigali. An estimated 100,000 Rwandan households are headed by children. “There is a lot of vulnerability not only for children whose parents died in the genocide but also those whose parents are in prison as well as unaccompanied returnee children,” Rutayisire added.

NEPAL: Concern rising over illegal adoptions
A recent report, A study on inter-country adoption and its influence on child protection in Nepal by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Swiss NGO for child relief, Terre des hommes Foundation (TDH), revealed that the sale, abduction and trafficking of children was taking place in an under-regulated environment. The 62-page report was the result of six-month study conducted by researchers from a national NGO, the Centre for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities and child rights advocates in Nepal.

VIETNAM: Dramatic rise in child abuse cases
A Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), surveys indicate that the number of reported cases is skyrocketing. Statistics released by MOLISA on 22 August in a preliminary report available only in Vietnamese show violence against children in the home tripled between 2005 and 2007. Violence committed by teachers against children increased 13 times.