NOT HERE Presents:  The Governor’s Summit on Human Trafficking

November 12 & 13, 2015

The Countdown: 81 Days Remaining

August 4th began our 100 day countdown leading up to The Governor’s Summit on Human Trafficking in Maine. Over these 100 days, we will be sharing a fact, a resource, or a perspective each day, to raise awareness, encourage discussion, and inspire action against injustice, both domestically, and globally.

Today’s Featured Issue: Violence Against Children

Human trafficking and exploitation, child abuse, sexual violence and gender inequality are disturbingly interrelated and grow out of a cycle of violence that preys on the vulnerable.   We recognize that there is no clear-cut border that separates many of these areas. The impact of violence, in any form, has a grave impact on children. 

Here are a handful of global facts about violence against children from UNICEF¹:
  1. In 2012, homicide took the lives of about 95,000 children and young adults under the age of 20. This corresponds to almost 1 in 5 global homicide victims in 2012. 
  2. Around 60% of children between the ages of 2 and 14 are subjected to physical punishment by their caregivers on a regular basis.
  3. Nearly 25% of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 reported being victims of some form of physical violence since age 15.
  4. Approximately 1 in 10 girls under the age of 20 worldwide were subjected to forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives.
  5. Worldwide, 1 in 3 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have been the victims of emotional, physical or sexual violence committed by their husbands or partners at some point in their lives.

And lastly… 

  • Close to half of all girls between the ages of 15 and 19 worldwide believe a husband is “sometimes justified” in hitting or beating his wife.
 ¹ Source:  http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_74865.html

 

Did you catch that last one?
UNICEF estimates that globally, nearly 50% of girls between ages 15 and 19 believe a husband is “sometimes justified” in domestically abusing his wife! In fact, in almost half the countries studied, this belief is more prevalent in girls than boys:
“…in 28 of 60 countries with data on both sexes, a larger proportion of girls than boys believe wife-beating is sometimes justified; in 14 of these countries, the gender gap exceeds 10 percentage points. This pattern is found more often in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific than in other regions.” ²

² Source:  Ibid, pg. 168

 

 

If societal violence against women and children is to end, we must end the global societal acceptance of violence that perpetuates it. 

 

Be a part of the movement that declares Not Here!  

We invite you to like us on facebook, follow us on twitter, and share these resources in your social networks to help us raise awareness that yes, human trafficking DOES happen in Maine AND around the globe, and EVERYONE needs to be involved to stop it. 

 

 

Looking for more information on The Governor’s Summit on Human Trafficking?
Stay tuned! Registration information for the Summit will be coming VERY soon!