Dr. Esohe Aghatise, an international lawyer, began working to help women who had been trafficked in 1998 when she founded her organization: IROKO.
Dr. Aghatise founded the organization with one goal in mind: to combat violence against women, and to assist women who had been trafficked, specifically from Nigeria to Italy, for prostitution. The organization provides aftercare, counseling, legal services, housing, vocational training, and even helps women to find employment.
Our team had the honor of hosting a Google Hangout with Esohe where we had a conversation about Italy, sex trafficking, proposed legislation, and how we can continue to combat the scourge of human trafficking in our world. Modern-day slavery is a problem that concerns us all.
Caleb Benadum was previously the Program Manager for the Trafficking in Persons Report Global Heroes Network. He graduated from Capital University with a degree in Philosophy, and the University of Cincinnati Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. Having spent much of his life overseas, he is committed to modern-day abolitionism and the promotion of human rights around the world.
Justifying Human Trafficking discusses the different actors and structures that sustain human trafficking. Part 1 takes a look at traffickers and mechanisms used to justify actions.
Contrast this to the issue of gay rights. This issue gained a “voice” (and an acutely personal one) when gay men and women “came out” and often went beyond that to celebrate the meaning of their partnership.
The question really is this: how do we empower survivors to the level that they can achieve real, long-lasting success and live relatively normal lives?
The intersection of gender-based violence and MMIWG is heavily intertwined. It is important to understand the connection between domestic, dating, and sexual violence and the high incidence of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) in the United States.
This training currently includes two free, visually engaging video modules that cover the basics of human trafficking globally, trafficking in the United States, and practical ways to fight it.