transitions

with much encouragement from a good friend (thanks, Michael R!), I am going to post to my blog more frequently. i just started graduate school and finding that I need an outlet for my thoughts, process and ideas that is somewhat informal, yet shared with others. I have a lot on my mind that I want to write about, but I keep telling myself - oh wait until you are ready to publish that. well you know what...that might be awhile, so here I go. into the world of blogging just one step deeper.

my work is changing. I am seeing myself as a philosopher, thinker, lover, future mother, counselor, teacher, friend....I never imagined this could be so. I had my last official anti-trafficking speaking engagement a couple weeks ago at the Free Speech Movement cafe. Lots of my fellow MSW students came out (thanks, Class of 2013) and I spoke from a different space than usual. Nikki Junker, a fellow survivor and founder of With More than Purpose was here and taht was the first panel I was on with another survivor. It was SO great to have her there. Two young women finding our way in the world of freedom.

One thing I'm learning is that I have reached a "done" point with having my story be the focal point of my presentations/speaking engagements. I want to be known for something else. I turned out a HUGE offer to speak at a national anti-human trafficking conference this Spring. I don't regret it.

my work is changing. and yet it's the same. it's about life, love, and justice.

more to come on:
Principles of Community Action
Grief and Rage

2011 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act

Sign the petition on Change.org today to ask Congress to reauthorize the 2011 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act! Your signature can make a difference in the lives of human trafficking victims. [http://ht.ly/6rX92]

From Domination to Creativity

This is my new favorite title for my presentations. I've been changing them up of course...adapting with feedback and changes in my style. In summary, Slavery = Domination, Freedom = Creativity.

I had a great presentation at NDNU tonight! Though it took a little while to get there with all that traffick - sheesh! I had no idea! It was back to back from the Bay Bridge until SFO. But once I arrived I was greeted very warmly. Thanks to all the attendees and to Audrey for arranging my visit!

new journeys

as you can see, I've been neglecting this blog quite a bit. i'm a bit unsure of how I want to go about it. so...i'll keep on it for now as i have been...I'll post when I can post.

i have a few events coming up...

Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA on September 22

Not Here Conference/Bates College in Lewiston, Maine on September 30 and October 1

UC Berkeley Free Speech Movement Cafe on October 25

i'm also going to see Julia Sher at this event on Friday:

Julian Sher, investigative journalist and author of Somebody's Daughter: The Hidden Story of America's Prostituted Children and the Battle to Save Them. The discussion will focus on his book and findings after intense research into the epidemic of teenage prostitution - Commercially and Sexually Exploited Minors (CSEC). Sher will be joined at the event by Alameda County Chief Probation Officer David Muhammad, with a special performance by youth from With Our Words, Inc.

• About 1.7 million youth run away from home every year in America; one in three children who run are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.
• The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12 to 14 years old.
• In 2003, the Oakland Police Department identified 293 minors being prostituted by at least 155 pimps over a 1.5 year time period.
• Since January 2011, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office has identified over 123 cases of minors involved in CSEC activity.

California Transparency in Supply Chains Act

"On October 18th, 2010, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 657, titled “California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010.”

By January 2012, major manufacturers and retailers within the state of California must fully disclose the efforts made to ensure their products have not been tainted by slavery or forced labor at any point within the supply chain.

In an attempt at complete transparency, these companies will be required to post their policies on their own websites, allowing consumers to see for themselves if their purchases are slavery-free.

The California law isn’t only a step forward in the fight against human trafficking; it sets an example for the rest of the nation and the world to follow.

Most importantly the bill gives you, the consumer, the choice and power to be a part of the solution."

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/05/how-california-fights-trafficking/

CSU Channel Islands!

I'm having a great time so far presenting at Cal State Channel Islands. First of all, the campus and region is BEAUTIFUL. I could not believe I was driving to a college campus as I passed by huge stretches of farm land, the Topa Topa Mountains to my left, and the ocean to my right. Just REMARKABLE.

I want to thank Dr. Sunghee Choi and Pilar Pacheco for inviting me to come to CSUCI. I've presented in a Sociology of Gender and Sexuality course and a Sociology of Social Problems course. Both classes were engaged and participatory - I love that! One more Sociology of Gender presentation and a documentary screening tonight, and I'm heading home tomorrow.

Here's a great reflection one of the students wrote to me yesterday: "Saying that 'just because your story is so extreme, others then to think their story is less severe, or less important, and you don’t want that to happen' made me feel like my own experience with child abuse, is very real and valid. I have a lot to think about. Thanks for sparking that within me."

I love it. That's what I hope to have happen.

Onward.

Japan

We might assume that everyone knows about Japan, but just imagine...if you are enslaved in a brothel, your home, or anywhere else, you might not be concerned with or have access to news!

As we talk about and think about supporting Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake, remember that times of crisis are perfect for predators.

Find out about Polaris Project's work to raise concern about sexual exploitation at evacuation centers:

"Less than a week after the worst natural disaster in Japan’s history, Polaris Project Japan staff and fellows began to conduct outreach and to raise awareness on preventing sexual violence at the sites of earthquake evacuation centers. Shihoko was concerned because there was already a report of a girl who was molested on her way to the bathroom at the evacuation center in Ofunato City. In response, the city began to post prevention warnings:

Polaris Project Japan’s outreach was also prompted by lessons learned from the sexual violence reported immediately after the Kobe earthquake in 1995. Outreach and prevention activities include distributing posters and cards in collaboration with shelter managers and local medical staff at evacuation centers. Click here to support this effort!"