Showing posts with label human trafficking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human trafficking. Show all posts

Monday, February 7, 2011

Support the Child Protection Compact Act

Did you know... that the CPCA was originally introduced in the House in early June of 2009? The bill, originally H.R. 2737, was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, but it never left the committee. No explanation was given. 

On March 25, 2010, the bill was introduced in the Senate as S. 3184. It was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it was revised and then passed unanimously on Sept. 21, 2010. 

The bill was then placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders on September 28, 2010. It was expected to pass unanimously in November. It had overwhelming bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House...But the bill was never voted on. It was blocked by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), who objected to spending for foreign aid. 

Don't let this happen again. Contact your representatives today and urge them to pass the Child Protection Compact Act of 2011!


About CPCA:

This legislation authorizes the Secretary of State to provide assistance through grants, cooperative agreements, and/or contracts to countries with a significant prevalence of child trafficking. In order to receive these resources, eligible countries must enter into a Child Protection Compact with the United States to support policies and programs to eradicate the trafficking of children.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, where it is currently being reviewed. The Child Protection Compact Act will provide incentives to "Tier 2" countries and "Tier 2 Watch-List" countries (as identified in the annual U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report) to protect and rescue children subjected to severe forms of trafficking in persons. 

The Compacts will aim to:

1. address institutional weaknesses within the government that result in the failure to protect vulnerable children and to rescue and properly rehabilitate victims;

2. increase local government capacity to apprehend perpetrators who engage in severe forms of trafficking in children and bring perpetrators to justice in national courts of law; and

3. ensure transparency and accountability in achieving the goals stipulated in the Compact over the course of its three-year implementation.

Eligible countries that enter into Compacts with the U.S. could receive up to $15 million in vital funding to combat child trafficking. Contact your congressional representatives and urge them to support the Child Protection Compact Act today!



Sunday, January 30, 2011

Be a Force for Freedom

Check out this preview of new materials we are producing for our new Be a Force for Freedom campaign! These pocket guides are currently being printed and should be delivered soon. We are very excited and hope you are too! :)

You can click on the images to enlarge them :)

Inside panels of tri-folded pocket guide
Outside panels of the tri-folded pocket guide

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Keep Spreading the Word!

We still need your votes and support in the Pepsi Refresh Project!! Remember you can vote everyday. Want to learn more about how the grant money will be spent? Check out this blog from our friend at The Hungry Feminist:


To vote, go to www.refresheverything.com/ssgf

Or text 102193 to PEPSI (73774)

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Pepsi Refresh Grant: How the Money Will Be Spent



We have been asked the following question, and we wanted to clarify: Why is so much money being spent on t-shirts?


$9.5k will be used to purchase 1,000 shirts for our fundraising and awareness campaign.

SSGF t-shirts are printed on fair trade, certified organic cotton using eco-friendly, water-based inks. We work with the organization Freeset Global to produce all of our shirts. The t-shirts are made by women in Kolkata, India who have escaped the sex trade. Freeset provides women a way out of poverty and prostitution by offering them skills training, job placement, access to healthcare, and more. The production of these shirts directly benefits the women of Freeset. To learn more about Freeset Global, visit their website at http://freesetglobal.com.

Money raised from the sale of the t-shirts goes to fund other SSGF initiatives. Not only is the initial production of the shirts benefiting survivors of sex trafficking, but the sale of these shirts will also benefit survivors and help fight human trafficking.

Monday, August 16, 2010

"The Day My God Died"


I am currently watching this documentary again and once again find myself sobbing uncontrollably out of anger and heartbreak and disbelief. There are days where the weight of this truth is so heavy and the passion inside me for justice is so overwhelming, I fear I might break. There are days where it consumes me. 
 
I ache for these girls and women.
I am enraged by the violence
and injustice
and unspoken horrors committed against them.
I am heartbroken by their hopelessness,
inspired by their resilience,
disillusioned by their struggles,
and encouraged by their recovery.
 
They are the reason I do this work, why I throw my heart and soul into this cause, why I yearn to be there and walk beside them step by step on the path to freedom.

I feel like I am bursting at the seams today, and I wish I could make everyone around me understand why. I hope this documentary helps convey what's in my heart and head a bit. And I hope it makes other people feel the same flurry of emotions (though I swear "emotions" doesn't even begin to encompass this) that I am feeling.
 
Anyone can be a force for freedom. How is your heart being called today?
 
Contact us at ssgf.usc@gmail.com for more ways to get involved. Remember, we are still collecting items/donations for the CAST LA shelter for trafficking survivors. Every little bit helps.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Back to School Time!

It's back to school time! We know people will be searching for the best deals on textbooks, supplies, and other back to school items. But this is also a great opportunity to donate to SSGF. By purchasing your back to school items through the links below, a portion of your purchase will go to benefit SSGF. And all you have to do is use the links below to purchase the items you need. It is a simple way to get great deals on all your needed items and do some good in the fight against trafficking.


Here are some other great items we think you might enjoy. All of the following items are fair trade and/or certified organic:
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KITCHEN & COOKWARE:
Ecolution Elements Eco-Friendly 8 Piece Cookware Set, Green  Chopstick Folding Basket - Great Kitchen Fruit & Vegetable Basket - Large, Tea Stained Patchwork Cotton Pot Holders - Handmade, Fair Trade Potholder, Towel and Apron Sets - Fair Trade, PinkOcean Waves Oversized Cups - Fair Trade Dintel Virgin Extra Olive Oil 17ozFrontier Vanilla Extract Fair Trade Certifiedâ„¢ Certified Organic, 4 Ounce Bottles (Pack of 3)Whole Vanilla Bean Organic - 1 ct,(Frontier) Honest Tea Peach White Tea Fair Trade Certified Usda Organic 16.9 Ounce Bottles Case of 12

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BAGS:
Organic Hemp The Classic Messenger Bag Go GaGa Messenger Bag Made From Recycled Material - Sea Blue Women's Cosmetic Bag for Travel - Fair Trade Fair Trade Recycled Tire Long Bag with Hemp Trim Go GaGa Slide Tote Made From Recycled Material - Eggplant

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BEDDING & HOME DECOR:

Pixel Organics Organic Twin Flat Sheet in "Love Lines" Gaiam Exclusive Handmade Velvet & Silk Quilted Pillow Shams (Set of 2) Espresso Brown (Fair Trade) Handmade Fair Trade Cotton Quilt Bedding - Queen, Black Handmade Fair Trade Cotton Quilt Bedding - Queen, Green Fair Trade Modern Buddha Silkscreen Print Framed Art (4 Pc. Set) Handmade in Veitnam by Au Lac Designs  Moroccan Sahara Glass Tea Light Green Pixel Organics Organic 12" x 16" Pillow in "Stalk of Wheat" Pixel Organics Supercharged Boudoir Pillow

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CLOTHING:

Organic Cotton Women's T-Shirt - Haze (S) Earthgirl Raglan Long Sleeve Tee Shirt - Positively Organic Fitted Distressed Red Amnesty Logo T-shirt (Medium) TOMS Women's Classic Canvas Slip-on,Red,7.5 M TOMS Women's Glitter Slip-On,Silver,8.5 M Mens TOMS Bimini Shoes Navy Bimini 12 prAna Lola Dress - Women's Sage Starburst, L prAna 70s Cord Pant - Women's Espresso, 12 prAna Women's Kaley Tunic Top, Blue, Medium prAna Women's Wisdom Top, Beige, MediumprAna Women's Lola Dress, Black, Medium Himalayan Wildflower Earrings - Made By Survivors in Nepal Rainforest Earrings - Made By Survivors in Kathmandu Turquoise Cloisonne Earrings - Made By Survivors in India Jade Earrings - Made By Survivors

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SCHOOL SUPPLIES:

Handmade Soft Cloth Notebook - Fair Trade Fair Trade Handmade Recycled Journal - Flower Fair Trade Handmade Kid's Soft Bound Journal - Octopus Fair Trade Handmade Kid's Soft Bound Journal - Cow Recycled Newpaper Pencils - O'BONanza Boxed Series 10 Pack - Wildlife Animals Themed Recycled Newspaper 12 Color Pencil Set - Fruit Series Fiskars 01-004088 7-Inch Student Classic Recycled Scissors Paper Mate Earth Write 100% #2 Pencils Recycled Pencils, 10 Pencils (1750840) Mead Recycled 2-Subject Notebook, College Ruled, 9.5 x 6 Inches, 120 Sheets, Assorted Colors, 1 Notebook (06674) Eco-friendly Recycled Radius Jr. Writing Pad