“There are more than 190 countries in the world, and virtually all of them enslave children, women and men within, or across, their borders.” * Last night I had the honor to attend a screening at Georgetown University in Washington DC of the film, Not My Life, which is to be released in June 2011, […]
Tamara Tunie, plays Dr. Warner, the medical examiner on the hit show Law & Order: SVU (Special Victims Unit), and while the SVU team on TV investigates fictitious crimes of abuse, the dramatized cases give a window into the trauma and horror that faces many children across the country. While Dr. Warner may not be […]
Today, Tuesday, April 5, 2011, is SAAM Day of Action (formerly A Day to End Sexual Violence. Every year one day is designated as day for supporters to rally and take viable action to bring awareness too and prevent sexual assault. The day was set for to nationally to create increased awareness on sexual violence […]
Nigeria drives measles vaccination program Rural villages in Nigeria have become central to the battle against measles, with public awareness campaigns aimed at boosting immunization rates. Nigerian authorities provide the majority of funding for the effort, with the United Nations Foundation aiding Nigeria with financial and technical support. The UN Foundation and four other international […]
Has Shari’a Law gone too far, especially with children?, this was the question that I posed in November 2008 following the use of Shari’a law by the al-Shabaab rebel militia group in Somalia to stone to death a 13 year-old, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, for adultery after her father reported that she was raped by three […]
Every 2 minutes in the United States someone is raped, leaving 1 out of every 6 American women a victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2007 National Crime Victimization Survey, there were 248,300 victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault…these figures do not […]
According to the Administration for Children and Families, 12,180 children died from abuse and neglect between 2001 and 2008. However the actual number of child deaths is significantly higher, as many child maltreatment deaths are not recorded as such. Additionally a number of studies have shown that there is a substantial amount of child abuse […]
Teaching children about history is essential for one we can never deny our past and two history is there for us to learn from our mistakes. However just learning about history is note enough on it’s own, as sadly many of history’s lessons are not learned right away and looking at the historical perspective on […]
Some 1,000 women die each day from complications of pregnancy or birth and more than eight million children under the age of 5 years-old die each year, from mostly preventable and treatable conditions. If key drugs were made available, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), those grave figures would drastically improve. The WHO released […]
Militancy is linked to spike Pakistan polio Pakistan registered more polio infections in 2010 than any other country, a disheartening setback in a fight it appeared to be winning as recently as 2007. The 144 cases, coupled with at least 15 new cases this year, can be attributed to a host of factors, not least […]
This week many celebrated at the centennial anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the deadliest workplace accident in New York City’s history. The tragic fire shocked the country and become a turning moment for the American labor movement. On March 25, 1911, 146 garment workers, mostly young immigrant women, died after a fire broke […]
When I first entered into this field I was constantly shocked by the way people perceived and treated victims of sexual abuse, assault and trafficking…in fact it was one of the factors that drove me to seek for sustainable solutions and work for change. However sad as it may sound there is little that shocks […]
It has been 12 days since Japan was rocked by a devastating earthquake and tsunami, wiping out entire towns off the map and shifted the island nation eight feet. Since last Friday’s disaster was unleashed, aftershocks continued to shake residents through the weekend, some larger than the earthquake which nearly placed Haiti in ruins last […]
Today, March 22, 2011 is World Water Day, which is held each year to place global attention on the importance of clean and sustainable access to water, including the management of freshwater resources. World Water Day was established to celebrate freshwater, following the recommendation of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). […]
Humanitarian need grows in Japan More than 450,000 Japanese are seeking help at shelters in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and tsunami as aid providers struggle with dwindling medical, food and other supplies. Japanese authorities have confirmed more than 5,690 deaths with almost 10,000 people still missing. Yemeni soldiers fire on protesters A reported […]