Sex Trafficking of Women

Sex trafficking, also known as sex slavery, is a horrific problem that is growing worldwide. Trafficking is defined as a type of slavery that involves the transport or trade of people for the purpose of work. According to the U.N., about 2.5 million people around the world are being held in the trap that is human trafficking at any point in time (Soroptimist 2010). Human trafficking is a 42 billion dollar annual industry, and it is flourishing every day.

Sex trafficking specifically is the exploitation of women and children for the purposes of forced sex work. This can include pornography and prostitution of those that are trafficked. About 800,000 women and children are trafficked across international borders each year, and additional numbers are trafficked within their native countries (Soroptimist 2010).

Many people know that this type of forced sex is occurring throughout the country, but as with most issues, people think that it could never happen to them. It is a common misconception that no one should believe. In the movie “Taken”, two young American girls travel to France alone and are captured by a group of Albanian men whose specialty is sex slave trading. The father of one of the girls is a former CIA operative who takes it upon himself to travel to France and save his daughter. The movie takes the journey with him throughout France as he is looking for his daughter and it shows the audience a close interpretation of how sex trading can happen. In the following clip from the movie, you get an idea of how atrocious sex trafficking can be.

Taken Trailer

            As you can see from the clip, sex trafficking among women is a major problem and one that is extremely serious. It is a growing epidemic that reaches just about every country on the globe and it is something that can happen to ANYONE. To read more stories about human trafficking, and specifically sex trafficking among women,  check out Soroptimist's website.

The Girl Effect Video

Kiva: Aid the Journey in Alleviating Poverty

Meet Pendo Luisi. Pendo borrowed $175 from Kiva on November 22, 2007 in hopes to open a café in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Less than one year later, she paid her loan back in full and her café continues to thrive to this day.

Over the years, there have been millions of intense debates, common round table discussions and serious research being done in hopes to find resolutions for individuals around the globe who are financially lacking and unable to enhance their lives. Two passionate and extremely creative individuals, Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley, frequently discussed the topic of entrepreneurship along with serious talk of trying to alleviate poverty. In 2004, the determined couple created and began working on a valuable project called Kiva.

“Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.”

Kiva thrives to empower individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the world. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending. Kiva’s founders believe: “people are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way; the poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given the opportunity; by connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.”

Microfinance is a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals of to those who do not have access to typical banking services. The idea to microfinance is to help encourage individuals by giving them the change to overcome poverty through their own personal efforts.

To date, Kiva has loaned approximately $168,203,825 to enthusiastic individuals who hope to begin their own businesses. Another remarkable percentage is the refunded amount of money back to the lenders from the loaners of over 98%. John S. Johnson, writer for The Huffington Post, commented, “Kiva.org allows people the very American satisfaction of both helping someone and getting their money back.”

Former President Bill Clinton informed and motivated other Americans to look into the powerful effects of Kiva by stating, “If you look at Kiva.org, people with a very modest amount of money can make a huge positive impact all around the world. There are so many people who want to give but don't really know how to do it. Through Kiva.org, people around the world can become micro-bankers to developing world entrepreneurs, who have their own ideas, so we can give them a chance to raise their kids with dignity, send their kids to school, and in troubled places like Afghanistan we can marginally increase the chance that peace can prevail, because people will see there is a positive alternative to conflict.”

By visiting Kiva.org, you can find more information on the installation of Kiva and how they have not only helped alleviate poor individuals but also aided in alleviating poverty across the world. On their website, you are able to search through a list of people requesting money for certain entrepreneur projects and are able to select whoever catches your eye. Also on the website is more information on becoming a Kiva supporter or partner. Help support the journey to minimize poverty. It is simple! LEND!

Kiva: Loans That Change Lives

Women helping women

Women are playing a large role in U.S. politics these days, and there has been much talk of their efforts in recent media coverage of the upcoming elections. According to an article published today by CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Politics, several Democratic women are struggling to maintain their positions in the House and Senate. In the article, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said she and her female colleagues feel compelled to help each other out as much as possible in order to keep their seats. Those who are ahead and secure in their individual races are rallying support for fellow female candidates by campaigning alongside them.
The article also stated that the White House has been making moves to assist women candidates and voters. First Lady Michelle Obama and VP First Lady Jill Biden recently helped out with the Women’s Leadership Forum, which works to spread awareness of women in politics and motivate female voters. President Obama also has been traveling the country with Democratic female candidates and making appearances on their behalf.
I think it’s great that women are working together to better their group as a whole and embracing the “girl power” idea. Although our country has come such a long way in obtaining equal rights for women, equal respect is still something that wavers here. There are still those people who are stuck in their old-fashioned ways and prefer women to be in the kitchen, but maybe this is because they’re afraid of what women are capable of when they leave the kitchen. I like that these intelligent, driven women are taking matters into their own hands. Women helping women is a powerful theme that could be very beneficial for females around the world.


To read more of the CQ article, click here.

Stereotyping Women in the Workplace

It has been common since the 1950's to see women portrayed in a negative light when it comes to employment. During this time, numerous companies have expressed sexist views of women. There has been a stereotype that women cannot handle jobs that men have and that they should stick to the traditional "housewife" or secretary role. In this Family Guy clip from youtube, we see how the show portrays women from the 1950's and how these stereotypes still exist:

Family Guy - Women Stereotype

As you can see from the clip, the commercial focuses on how women are interpreted as being objects rather than people. Even the comments from viewers show how these stereotypes still exist. One other Family Guy clip shows the main character Peter Griffin saying to his wife Lois "Hey I'm starvin, how bout a sandwich?" Then he proceeds to give her a smack on the rear end. It's pretty embarrassing to see this continue even today. However, things are improving tremendously. Women hold positions of power in different types of companies all over the world. One area that must see improvement however is women in the middle east. They have little rights in some countries and it's very important that it is changed. With the significant progress that has been made, it's vital that it continues.

Shows like Family Guy continue these stereotypes and we must use media literacy when viewing these shows. That means not reading into these shows and viewing them solely as entertainment and not actual facts or knowledge. I actually did a project on some of the stereotypes Family Guy promotes and discriminating against women was one of the main ones the show promotes. Part of a Woman's Journey is overcoming obstacles like these shows. As we continue, we will provide even more instances of this and how women are overcoming the odds.