Fresh Finds Friday - International Women's Day

In honour of International Women's Day this Sunday, I thought I would do a little post to highlight some of my favourite fierce & empowering female finds lately as well as share some thoughts on what IWD means to me this year...

I spent all of yesterday celebrating IWD with an amazing group of women from all over the world that are part of the 'Women's World' group at my work.  We gathered together to listen to speeches from women who have overcome and achieved; we sang, line-danced (!) and ate homemade food from loads of different cultures of the world (PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS!). So many of the women connected to this group arrived in the UK with huge obstacles to face - language, isolation, financial worries, separation from their families - but they have bravely built lives here now; lives that are blossoming, thriving and lives that now look outwards at how they can help others and create a more inclusive community here, where they now call home.  It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

As much as I love the well known champions of women's rights and gender equality - the ones that get quoted, archived and noted so often - I can't help but be more in awe of the everyday heroines of women's empowerment - the ones that I know, that I saw in action yesterday.

The women (and men) that push other women forward into opportunities without threat or comparison, that mentor, that walk ahead and carve out paths to make them more accessible for girls that will walk behind.  The women that volunteer, nurture, share and give.  The women that don't seek the credit or attention, that sacrifice, that work like hell to provide and know the value of true investment in their local communities.  The women that know they have their own issues, so they know how to treat people gently.  Women that speak out the truth - even if their voice shakes; that lead; that love well.  These are the women I want to be like, the women I admire and honour.

I hope you get to take some time this weekend to reflect on the 'everyday-incredible' females in your life.  They are all too often overlooked for the shiny and new.

Ah, the sisterhood!  It always gets me all worked up and preachy!

Now for some girl-power links:

+  If I was in London this weekend, I would DEFINITELY be heading to the Women of the World Festival at the Southbank Centre - what an amazing line up of events, exhibitions and talks.  Some year, I'll make it to this but if you are London-side and you are planning on heading over, don't forget to hit up Davina & Hannah of Seeds & Stitches craft stall on Sunday! Them girls know how to craft; it's sure to be a treat!  I've just noticed they've also posted some GREAT ideas on how to celebrate IWD on their blog!

On a more local note....

+  This weekend we're heading out to watch a viewing of 'Half the Sky' - a documentary based on the book that highlights the plight of women around the world fighting bravely to change the story of inequality, poverty, abuse and exploitation.  You can come too!  Saturday evening, 7.30pm at Blick Studios, Malone Road, Belfast.  Watch the trailer below:

+ Super cool Belfast sisters, Rebecca & Ruth have launched the brand new apparel brand 'Lines & Current'.  With a new webshop up and running, they are curating classic items with clean lines & a boho twist (those sunglasses, though!).  To boot, they are regularly partnering with charities that are doing great work and this month 10% of their proceeds are going to No More Traffik!

Photo by Ben Connolly for Lines & Current

+  Finally - I've been loving keeping up with The Koko Story ever since I saw the 'Is That How You Define Me?' video last year (awesome spoken word - do watch!).  Koko is run by Meg Cannon who uses film and other creative ways to empower girls & young women and lift the lid on the issues they face.  They are launching a new film campaign this weekend called #ivegotyourback - stay tuned on their twitter for that.

Are you doing anything special to mark IWD?  I'd love to hear your plans, or any other thoughts/links!

8 Things You Should Care About: Part II

Following on from yesterdays post about the different issues that we must consider when we want to do something about human trafficking, here are my second four. -  Gender Inequality

When you consider that 80% (US trafficking in persons report) of the transnational victims of human trafficking are women and girls we are forced to ask questions about equality of women around the world.  Many of us don't feel this inequality so vividly in our western lives but the undercurrents are there.

They are there when we challenge gender roles, they are there when we look at parenting styles, they are there when we open our newspapers, in the lyrics of songs on the radio and in the representation of women in our governments and boardrooms.  Unfortunately we still have a long way to go to and until we see brave men and women promoting, supporting and empowering each other in all areas of achievement, life and leadership, we cannot expect to see changes that particularly view females as weaker, easy targets and prey.  And that is just the challenge for more developed countries.

If we then take in the treatment and view of females in developing countries, you can see how trafficking thrives:

-  Dowry systems in South Asia put a price on girls from a young age, this tradition sets the girl up as saleable goods in her own eyes, and everybody else’s.

-  Many developing countries have traditional community attitudes and practices that tolerate violence against women.  This facilitates trafficking.

-  Nearly half of women in Uganda and more than half in Tanzania reported having been physically abused by a male teacher.  Education and opportunities are compromised.

-  Lack of legitimate and fulfilling employment opportunities for women, particularly in rural developing communities can lead to risky migration decisions.

Who are the women and girls around you?  Are you promoting their worth and value?  Are you encouraging them to lead?

-  Poverty

Traffickers exploit need. The people they prey on are those struggling with poverty, desperate to improve their lot in life. Whether it's a family in Dehli with 8 mouths to feed or a family in Derry barely surviving below the breadline; poverty is a brutal force that can drive people to desperation and give exploiters a green light.  We need to be tuned in to poverty around us if we want to see who could be vulnerable to being trafficked.  This isn't an exercise in scaremongering, but the reality is harsh.  How can you tackle poverty where you are?  It could be something simple like donating to a local food bank or hamper programme.   How can you tackle poverty around the world?  Keep up with organisations like Oxfam and Save the Children for ways to get involved or participate in their work.

-  Sexualisation

I've discussed the prevalence of over-sexualised music and imagery in the mass media on the blog before.  It's not a secret that we are ALL exposed and lured in by the sexy things of our culture.  It's like a car crash in the middle of the road and we're all snatching a nosey as we drive past.  Some stop to look longer than others - literally buying into meaningless sexualised culture provoked and promoted by sleazy outlets on our magazine racks, satellite tv stations and video games.  I'm bored of it all.  This culture of value on the most provocative headlines is wasting away our sense of worth and is turning people into commodities to be consumed.

Did you know that the average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old?  ELEVEN.  Where do you even go from there?

The more we continue to let this issue spiral, the more responsible we all are for the desensitisation to sexual violence and the increase of exploitation.  Campaigns like No More Page Three are calling out the unnecessary and blatantly misogynistic traditions that most of us have come to accept - add your voice to this.  Where can we inject dignity and place value in our culture that redeems this?

-  Ethical Living

Do you buy stuff?  Do you know where it comes from?  You would be surprised to know how many of the everyday products we buy and use are contaminated by practices that exploit and abuse human rights.  It's a tricky business sourcing stuff that is made ethically but we can be wiser and more deliberate about our consumer habits.

Our family is committed to traffik-free chocolate - chocolate that is certified by Fairtrade/Rainforest Alliance/UTZ.  Stop the Traffik has been leading the way in campaigning the big chocolate companies and informing the masses:

'Over a third of the cocoa that makes the world's chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast, Africa. It's highly likely that the beans that make your favourite chocolate bar come from here.  Thousands of boys as young as 10yrs old, from the Cote D'Ivoire and neighbouring countries, are trafficked to pick and harvest these beans. Their freedom is taken and they are forced to work long hours on the cocoa plantations without receiving any money for their work. They are beaten and work in dangerous conditions using machetes to open the cocoa beans.'

It's just one small change, but if the average person spends £200 on chocolate a year, I know where I'd rather give my cash.  You can join in too - Stop the Traffik are calling people to action on this to mark EU Anti-Trafficking Day by signing up to a thunderclap to bombard one of the biggest chocolate companies to be accountable for promises they have made to make their chocolate 'traffik-free'.  DO IT HERE! 

Another go-to website for ethical information is Ethical Consumer.  It rates companies and brands based on several different criteria.  Find out where your stuff comes from.  Make sure you are contributing to this issue with your wallet.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on some of this stuff - do you agree?  What have I missed?  Do you feel like there is something within the last two posts that you can grab onto and do something about?  I hope you can.  We need you.

8 Things You Should Care About

I don't often talk about my work on here.  I reckon most people know what I do and keep up with our social media outlets for information but this week feels significant.  This Friday, October 18th marks EU Anti-trafficking Day. I work in this field, around this issue every single day.  There isn't a day in my life that goes by now without some sort of conversation about slavery and exploitation - so most days feel like anti-trafficking days to me.  However, I know that the issue of modern day slavery can sometime seem so overwhelming to someone not so engrossed or familiar.  The statistics are suffocating:

21 million people in forced labour in the world today. That's about the same as the population of the whole of Australia.

Every country in the world is effected by this crime.  Source countries, destination countries, internal trafficking.

Sexual exploitation.  Forced labour.  Domestic servitude.  Forced crime.

80% of victims are women and girls.

I could go on and on and on.

But how do we connect to it all?  How do we make sense of numbers and figures in order to not be paralysed by the scale of the problem?

My job requires me to do just that.  To think about how every day people can engage in this issue, find what they can offer and put it to use.  Big ways and small - it all matters.

So I've been thinking about some of the ways you might not know that you can care about human trafficking that really make a difference.  You don't need to be on the front line giving inspiring speeches, debating policy and campaigning.

Over the next 2 posts, I'm going to share 8 important issues that are connected to human trafficking.

If you are wondering how to connect - here are four things you can start caring about today:

-  Education

“I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.”  – Malala Yousafzai

Malala is quite right.  The right to education is something we should all be passionate about.  Informed and empowered young people around the world is what we need.  With education, certainly comes power.  The power to understand, to make good choices, to have opportunities that can quash the vulnerabilities that oppressors and traffickers prey upon.

Whether you live in Belfast or Bangladesh - protecting and promoting education must be a priority.   Do you thank the teachers at your children's school?  The Times reported in September that "Currently the only official guidance teachers have to talk about sex and relationships to pupils was last updated in 2000, some 13 years ago, and does not mention internet porn, sexting or social media." - I'll get to the issue of sexualisation as a big contributing factor in this issue tomorrow - but if you think it's important that we educate young people about this stuff rather than let Channel 4 do it, you can add your voice to The Times campaign with a few clicks on the keyboard here.

-  Getting to know your neighbour

I blogged about this before here and for AskWhatNow - seeing what goes on in your neighbourhood, investing and connecting to your local community can be life-changing.  For you and for others.  Livability UK states that '5 million people aged over 60 say they now consider the television to be their only source of company'.  This statistic is just an example of how disconnected we actually are to each other, in an age where we are technologically able to be connected the most.   This message is so simple, but less practiced in our society than ever before.  If trafficking exists in our housing developments and estates - how will you spot it if you don't know who you live around?  How can you create a culture of 'looking out for each other' where you rest your head?

-  Social Inclusion

Similar to getting to know your neighbour - how intentionally inclusive are you?  Human trafficking thrives in places where people are isolated and hidden.   My co-workers at CIP are a shining example of social inclusion for the migrant & ethnic minority communities here in our area.  I have been moved to tears seeing and hearing the stories of how lonely people far from home have been welcomed, educated and befriended by the programmes CIP runs.  Are there people in your town that are hidden?  That don't know how to access support, friendship and care?  Find somewhere to volunteer.  This matters.

-  Job Security

At the end of the day, if we can't get job security and employment rights sorted here within a democratic society, what hope is there for people in countries with more corrupt governments?  Exploitation is exploitation.  We can dress it up but it still smells the same.  Take zero hour contracts for example.

The BBC explains: 'Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work.  They mean employees only work as and when they are needed by employers, often at short notice, and are only paid for the hours they work.  Some zero-hours contracts oblige workers to take the shifts they are offered, others do not.  Sick pay is often not included, though holiday pay should be, in line with working time regulations.'

With the increase of zero-hours work contracts (up to 1 million people in the UK) in the job market, there is a real weakness in the system leaving people with very little security, financially fragile which can often lead to vulnerability.  Some workers have disclosed the impact such uncertainty has had on their mental health - noting breakdowns and depression.  Big companies like Sports Direct, Pub chain JD Wetherspoons and Cineworld have up to 80% of their staff on zero-hours contracts.

This murky underworld has also seeped into academia and exposed the levels of discrimination that go along within it.   According to research carried out by UCU nationally, 'permanent contracts are most likely to be awarded to University and College teachers 'who's face fits within the existing culture of an institution' while female lecturers, black staff, lesbian and gay workers are disproportionally likely to be employed on 0 hour contracts.'

All of this is connected to how we value each other and what we contribute to society - a core theme in the issue of exploitation and trafficking.  Does your employer use these contracts?  Are you promoting equality and fairness in your job in all areas?

*steps gracefully off the soapbox*

Have a think over these four issues.  Make the connections to your own life, views, decisions.  Is there something here you can do differently/better/new?

I'll be back tomorrow with four more issues to stir the pot...

Don't Believe The Hype

Yesterday our wee country had a visit from the POTUS.  I love using POTUS, it makes me nostalgic for The West Wing.  I really miss The West Wing.

As I was driving to do a Freedom Acts school session, I flicked on the radio to listen into the broadcast of the event at the Waterfront Hall where a packed auditorium of students, young people and dignitaries were waiting on baited breath the arrival of the Obamas (and their entourage, obvs).  People being interviewed were saying stuff like 'This is a life-changing day for our country' and 'This will put Northern Ireland on the map'.  

Huge. Massive. Eyeroll.

I guess it's easy to understand the draw though - American Presidents are iconic.  They're a little bit like fictional characters to us here in the UK; like they don't really exist outside of TV - and on TV they're always the hero, so getting to see and hear one speak in your home country must have been pretty exciting.

In all the pomp and circumstance (and insanely OTT police presence) a couple of things brought me and my easily-lured-by-the-glamour-of-it-all personality back to reality.  

My husband got word last week that there was a ticket available for him to go to hear Obama at the Waterfront.  Without thinking twice about it, he turned it down.  We talked about it and he made it clear that all the adulation and fuss didn't sit comfortably with him.  You see, my Dave isn't easily swooned like me.  He'd rather sit in a room and have a guinness with Joe Mahon from 'Lesser Spotted Ulster' than listen to Obama.  Maybe it's because he knows someone like Joe Mahon really loves our wee country and has a lot more invested in this beautiful land than an American President.  

Then yesterday in the midst of the hype, my mate Rick tweeted this:  'Ok so I thought what Mr Obama had to say was fantastic. And needed. But do we pay any attention when ordinary people share the same message?'

Nail. On. Head.

What do you think it is about our culture that needs to hear empowering words from someone like Obama in order to feel inspired.  I mean, I'm not naive enough to not understand it.  I guess it just got me thinking about that topsy turvy idea that unless something is said by someone with weight behind them, that has a significant platform or some sort of wide recognition we're unlikely to really listen. 

A couple of years ago I wrote a song - the lyrics came back to me with extra meaning in light of yesterday:

Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light

And blessed are the hungry that are starving to do right

Blessed is the mystery when the truth is out of sight

Insecure and beautiful underneath

Blessed are the complex for not settling

And blessed are the sacrifices, lives of offering

Blessed are the lost, it’s for only them I sing

Insecure and beautiful underneath

Twisted are the values that this world reveals  

 The trophies and the honour seeming wasted

Fruitless deeds make everything appear to me so clear

Credit where it’s due, the unremembered things you do

Will one day find reward, just see it through.

Blessed are the generous that have not much

And blessed are the tactile in a world that’s lost its touch

Blessed are the honest who can’t put a price on trust

Insecure and beautiful underneath

Blessed are the workers that can’t see reward

And blessed are the gentle in the face of such discord

Blessed are the humble when their voices are ignored

Insecure and beautiful underneath

I hope that we can become less fickle.  I hope that we are keeping our ears and eyes open to the people quietly and faithfully going about their business to make our country and our communities more hopeful, more beautiful, more inspiring and more united.  The youth workers, the community workers, the shop-keepers, the civil servants, teachers and volunteers;  these are the people who are invested in our communities and our country and will be there doing their bit, day in and day out, long after the cavalcade has left town.