Liberty Line: Happy International Women's Day!
Tell Congress: Law Enforcement Can’t Exploit Trafficking Victims
Hello Activists,
Happy International Women’s Day! As you’ve probably noticed, things have been pretty quiet on our end over the last few weeks and that’s because I’ve been mourning the loss of a very important woman in my life: my mom. No one knows quite like women do, the important, critical impact a strong woman can have in ones life — A figure who serves as a bedrock for us and is perpetually there to encourage, guide, nurture and help us grow.
Fun Facts about my mom:
She was raised in a rural Texas town, the same town I was raised in.
She was a strong single mother of 3 strong-willed daughters.
Embracing her experience as a retired paramedic and working as a city administrator, she once delivered the baby of a woman who rushed into the city hall, not having time to make it to the hospital.
I first handedly saw her stand in the gap and advocate for justice for a woman who’d been a victim of sexual assault.
Coming home from school at age 12, I was crying to my mom after witnessing severe bullying of a classmate in my grade. After consoling me for a minute, my mom looked at me with her kind eyes and asked me a question that challenged me in a way that will forever stick with me. “What can you do about it?”.
Challenge of the day: Send some special love to those important ladies in your life and tell them how much they mean to you!
Abbi Capps: Jan.14, 1958 - Feb.19, 2021
Let’s take action together
A recent Arizona case involved ICE officers having sexual activity with people in massage parlors they were supposedly investigating. It goes without saying that law enforcement should be criminally barred from participating in sexual activity with anyone they may wind up arresting or in the context of an investigation. We’re asking you to support the Closing the Law Enforcement Consent Loophole Act by signing this petition. This important legislation makes it a crime for law enforcement to engage in a sexual act while acting under color of law.
👉Click here to sign the petition
Click here to learn more about our “why”.
As always, thanks for being part of our growing community of activists and as a reminder, we love hearing from you! All feedback is welcome!
This Week..
ACTIVISTS OF THE WEEK:
Kate Garbers
Photo credit to: University of Nottingham
Kate is a Founder and former Director of the antislavery NGO Unseen. Kate first learned about modern slavery and human trafficking while working as a volunteer in Ukraine. When returning to the UK Kate recalls, "the issue wouldn't leave me alone".
Soon after, she pursued Unseen with current CEO Andrew Wallis, and began working with victims and survivors of modern slavery. Unseen is a capacity-building nonprofit that accelerates a portfolio of anti-trafficking and root cause organizations that have a history of success and are primed for growth. Unseen functions as a marketing partner, collaborating with a portfolio of vetted organizations to formulate growth strategies together and building roadmaps to help them achieve their goals.
Andrew Wallis says, “she has successfully campaigned to get the Government to improve their response to modern slavery, and is still influencing and guiding policy.”
Kate will continue to work as an Ambassador for Unseen and in an advisory capacity for the charity. She is also writing a book on modern slavery.
👉 Watch her TEDx: Modern slavery, hidden in plain sight, here👈
FOR YOUR EYES:
My Power Suit Cannot Be Tainted By Persecution, Enslavement And Forced Labor Of Uyghur Women
Pakistani Woman Says Northern Virginia Housekeeping Job Was Labor Trafficking
Mass Atrocities, Including The Use Of Rape And Sexual Violence, In The Tigray Region Of Ethiopia
What Role Should Anti-Trafficking Play in U.S. Development Efforts?
FOR YOUR EARS:
👉 If you enjoy staying informed about the stories, initiatives, and people within the counter human trafficking movement, share to tell others about it:
FOR YOUR EYES
Photo credit to: Forbes
My Power Suit Cannot Be Tainted By Persecution, Enslavement And Forced Labor Of Uyghur Women: In this article Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab makes the case that for this International Women’s Day, we all need to rethink the products and clothes we buy as recent research suggests that it is very likely that our “power suits” mean enslavement, forced labor and abuse of Uyghur women. Read what she has to say here.
Photo credit to: Washington Post
Pakistani Woman Says Northern Virginia Housekeeping Job Was Labor Trafficking: After arriving in 2013, Rehana Bibi immigrated to the US for the purpose of working as a housekeep for a Pakistani family in Virginia. Instead, she spent the next five years effectively trapped in a Loudoun County home working nonstop for a total of about $25,000. Read about her case here.
Photo credit to: Forbes
Mass Atrocities, Including The Use Of Rape And Sexual Violence, In The Tigray Region Of Ethiopia: Over the past four months the United Nations has corroborated reports of Eritrean and Ethiopian troops using mass rape and violence against women and girls in Tigray as a tool of war. At the end of January 2021, U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, reported on serious allegations of sexual violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, including a high number of alleged rapes in the capital, Mekelle. Please read and spread awareness about this crisis!
Photo credit to: Council on Foreign Relations
What Role Should Anti-Trafficking Play in U.S. Development Efforts?: In this blog post, Professor John Cockayne argues that trafficking in persons imposes costs on everyone, except traffickers and therefore, ending that system and addressing those externalities can unleash significant economic growth. Read about the studies he’s directed supporting his findings.
FOR YOUR EARS:
Photo credit to: McKissock
The Truth About Human Trafficking: (podcast, 45 minutes) People have been concerned about Human Trafficking for decades. But victims of Human Trafficking remain some of the most stigmatized in our population. In the first of a three-part series, Deborah Dobbs sits down with Detective Joseph Scaramucci to talk about what law enforcement and others can be doing better to help combat this crime.
COMING UP:
First Annual Follow Money Fight Slavery Virtual Summit
Event by Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative
When: Mar 11, 2021, 7:45 AM - 4:00 PM CST
The Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative is combating global human trafficking by promoting corporate social responsibility through increasing awareness, facilitating intelligence integration and technology advancement, and encouraging strategic data collaboration.
In this virtual summit, we bring together BSA Officers, Financial Crime Investigators, Regulators & more to promote corporate social responsibility through increasing awareness, facilitating intelligence integration and using strategic data collaboration.
👉To register for this webinar, click here!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of Liberty Line, a weekly newsletter dedicated to providing you with the most pertinent information surrounding the stories, initiatives, and people within the counter human trafficking and sexual exploitation movement. To learn more about the The Liberty Coalition, visit: www.thelibertycoalition.com