According to the International Labor Organization, $236 billion is made each year from human trafficking—or nearly $7,500 every second!  Women and girls make up 54% of all victims worldwide, and are 78% of victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation.  Here’s a fact sheet from Hope For Justice, which runs anti-trafficking projects all over the world.

There are estimated to be more than 27.6 million people—children and adults—subjected to sex trafficking around the world, including in the United States.  Human trafficking often intersects with domestic violence, creating compounded layers of trauma for survivors.

What’s more, in a report from the Congressional Black Caucus titled, “Snapshot of the State of Black Women and Girls:  Sex Trafficking in the U.S.,” the authors wrote:

“Research has indicated the continued sexualization of Black women and girls’ bodies, which has played out since slavery. The myths around Black women and girls’ hypersexuality and the continued treatment of Black girls as older than their age must be explored when looking at the data surrounding the prevalent rates of domestic sex trafficking of Black girls.”

We need to end this crisis NOW and stop the sexualization, slavery and human trafficking that continues to put women and girls in danger.  NOW members are working to strengthen legislation to address human trafficking awareness and survivor support, bring traffickers to justice and make them pay.

You can find out more about ways to participate in National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month here.

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Dear Ambassadors,

Ahead of this year’s annual open debate on women, peace and security (WPS), and one year before the 25^th anniversary of Resolution 1325 (2000), we write to you as civil society organizations dedicated to peace, women’s rights and gender equality to urge you to redouble your efforts to fulfill the highest ideals of the WPS agenda.

Today, we are confronted with record levels of armed conflict, militarization and military spending, which undermine gender equality, threaten to reverse decades of progress on women’s rights, and jeopardize global efforts for peace. Women and marginalized groups bear the brunt of conflicts and crises, including conflict-related sexual violence, poverty, forced displacement and hunger. Increased militarization has been accompanied by multi-pronged assaults on universal norms, especially international human rights and humanitarian law; on women human rights defenders and civil society space; and on democracy itself. Further, an escalating global backlash against gender justice and the human rights and bodily autonomy of women and LGBTQIA+^[1] people, compounded by their systematic exclusion from international decision-making and peacemaking, means that those most adversely affected by armed conflict are also those whose voices are most marginalized.

The WPS agenda’s vision of peace and equality^[2] has never been so important — or so under threat.

The cost of the international community’s failure to fully implement the WPS agenda over the past 24 years can be measured in lives lost, rights denied and conflicts prolonged. Yet, feminist movements continue to fight back against misogyny and repression for a more just and peaceful future. They refuse to accept anything less than their rights — and neither should you.

The UN Security Council cannot afford to let another anniversary pass without meaningful progress on protecting women’s rights in conflict. We therefore urge you to take decisive action in the following 10 areas and implement them in all crises on its agenda^[3]:

1. Prevent, avert and end conflict. Ending violence is the most effective means to protect the rights of women and girls in all conflicts and crises. As enshrined in the UN Charter, it is the primary responsibility of the Security Council to maintain peace and security. Conflict prevention requires addressing the gendered drivers of conflict, including patriarchy; all forms of inequality, including socioeconomic inequality; multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination; exclusion; and violation of human rights. There is no situation in which gender equality and women’s rights are not relevant. We therefore urge the Security Council to ensure that the rights of women and girls are fundamental to all international peace and security processes, including its own decisions, without exception. Further, the Council must uphold international human rights and humanitarian law, and all relevant Security Council resolutions, including on WPS, and step up preventive diplomacy to ensure inclusive, gender-responsive, long-term and peaceful resolution to all conflicts.
2. Reform the Security Council. The credibility of the Security Council to meaningfully fulfill its mandate has been fundamentally shaken by its inability to effectively address conflicts, including, most recently, Israel’s brutal war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both of which have had devastating consequences for the rights of women and marginalized communities. We urge you to commit to Security Council reform in order to build a more representative, transparent, democratic and accountable multilateral system that can effectively deliver on the UN Charter’s promise of peace. This should include credible, timely and decisive Security Council action to prevent or end the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and lead to ending the use of the veto on resolutions aimed at stopping mass atrocities. We further urge you to sign the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group’s Code of Conduct, thereby pledging not to vote against a credible draft resolution before the Security Council aimed at stopping such crimes.
3. Stop arms transfers when there is a substantial risk that they may be used to “commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children,” or if Member States have knowledge or should have known at the time of authorization that they would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, attacks directed against civilians or civilian objects, or other war crimes, in line with the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Compliance with obligations and norms on disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation^[4] is critical to conflict prevention, and backsliding on disarmament commitments risks future violence. States have a legal obligation to comply with arms embargoes imposed by the Security Council. We further urge you to cut military spending and instead increase funding for gender equality and global humanitarian responses to ensure no needs go unmet.
4. Defend women’s human rights. Women’s civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as enshrined in international law and Security Council resolutions, are the foundation of the WPS agenda.^[5] The Security Council must therefore center human rights, especially the rights of women, girls and LGBTQIA+ people, in all peace and security discussions, processes and decisions; take coordinated action to counter gender backlash; and reject any outcomes that undermine women’s rights. Council members must also consistently, and publicly, demand that warring parties and other relevant actors immediately abolish any laws, policies or practices that prevent or restrict the full enjoyment of women’s human rights in accordance with international standards.
5. Advance reproductive justice. Reproductive autonomy, and the right to live in safe, peaceful and sustainable communities, is essential for women in conflicts and crises everywhere. We urge Security Council members to protect and uphold sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in accordance with international standards, including relevant WPS resolutions, in all conflict situations on its agenda.^[6] We further urge you to politically and financially support comprehensive, high quality and non-discriminatory SRHR services, including access to contraception, safe abortion and maternal health care, and fully integrate these rights into crisis prevention, response and recovery plans.
6. Insist on women at the table. Women have the right to full and equal representation.^[7] Politically and financially support the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership of diverse women^[8] at all levels and stages of decision-making, with the target of 50%.^[9] In particular, we urge you to prioritize women’s direct participation in formal Track 1 or high-level peace and political processes, especially the meaningful representation of women human rights defenders, peacebuilders and feminist movements. Women must be able to influence the outcome and implementation of negotiations, across all issues. Further, demand the equal, direct and influential participation of women as a standard requirement across all UN-supported peace processes and convenings.^[10] The Security Council, the UN and Member States must not endorse, facilitate, participate in or support peace or political processes where women are excluded.
7. Support principled humanitarian action. Ensure gender-responsive, locally-led humanitarian action, and safe, unhindered humanitarian access to affected populations of all genders and diversities, as required by international humanitarian law. A principled humanitarian response is only possible when it centers non-discrimination and the fundamental human rights and participation of diverse women.^[11] Allowing discriminatory laws, policies and practices to determine or impose constraints on how humanitarian actors operate — such as by deploying male-only response teams or denying access to services based on sexual orientation and gender identity — undermines humanitarian principles, limits access to diverse women and girls, reinforces exclusion and further threatens women’s rights. Support diverse women’s participation in the design and implementation of, and all decision-making on, humanitarian action.
8. Demand justice and accountability. All violations of women’s rights, including all forms of gender-based violence, conflict-related sexual violence and attacks against women human rights defenders, must be publicly condemned, thoroughly and swiftly investigated, and perpetrators held accountable. Respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, including compliance with provisional measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ); upholding the obligation to prevent genocide; and ending impunity, are paramount obligations of Member States and essential for securing justice for survivors. We urge you to pursue accountability strategies that center gender, including by considering codifying gender apartheid, supporting prosecutions of gender persecution at the International Criminal Court, and ensuring accountability for violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) at the ICJ. All justice and accountability efforts, including reparations processes, must be rights-based and survivor-centered, in order to avoid replicating harm, promote recovery and address root causes of violations, such as discrimination and inequality.
9. Stand with feminist movements, the heart of the WPS agenda. The UN and all Member States must commit to and fully implement a zero-tolerance approach^[12] to any form of attack, intimidation, retaliation or reprisal against diverse women for their political participation, human rights and humanitarian work, peacebuilding activities or cooperation with UN mechanisms, including the Security Council. However, protection must never compromise participation. It is critical that independent and diverse women civil society and human rights defenders continue to inform all peace and security policymaking, including Security Council discussions;^[13] that their independent selection and views are fully respected; and, most importantly, that their recommendations are acted upon.
10. Fund peace, not war. Increase funding to local women-led, women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ organizations, networks and movements, and support initiatives that promote gender equality and feminist leadership. Provide direct, accessible, long-term and flexible funding to, and promote partnerships with, women civil society, in order for them to work safely, sustainably and effectively, free of impediments.^[14] Meet the minimum target of earmarking 15% of funds for programs that advance gender equality and allocate a minimum of 1% of overseas development assistance for women’s rights and women-led peacebuilding organizations by 2025 with a firm commitment to increasing it in the future.^[15] We further urge you, as donors, to support the independence and integrity of civil society organizations, especially organizations working on contested issues, to ensure that they are able to sustain their indispensable work, free of obstacles or interference.

Over the last 24 years, women civil society, including human rights defenders, peacebuilders and feminist movements, have stood on the frontlines of conflict: advocating for peace, elevating the voices of affected communities, and speaking truth to power — all while charting a clear path toward more just, equal and peaceful societies. Ahead of the 25^th anniversary of Resolution 1325, the women, girls and LGBTQIA+ people of Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Western Sahara, Yemen and all other crises on the Security Council’s agenda will be looking to you to deliver on 25 years of promises.

Originally published by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security – https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/

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In 2025, the global community will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995).

The sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2025.

Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to attend the session.

Themes

The main focus of the sixty-ninth session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The review will include an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as its contribution to the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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HUNDREDS of women and allies in Britain joined the International Women’s Strike today to demand systemic changes that “prioritize the survival and well-being over profit.”

The strike, led by Global Women’s Strike (GWS) and the Women Rising coalition began yesterday and will see a range of actions take place until October 30.

It commemorated the 1975 Icelandic women’s strike where women stop their unwaged and waged work, bringing the country to a halt.

The actions aim to highlight the essential contribution of women, mothers and caregivers in society, advocate for peace, liberation and justice, as well as affirm commitment to women in Palestine to demand an end to all genocides.

In Britain, it kicked off with a banner drop over Westminster Bridge in London with the message: “Women make life, invest in caring not genocide” followed by a march past Parliament, the Home Office, other department buildings.

An afternoon strike also took place in front of the “Imagine Peace” sign in Newcastle.

Tara of the Women Rising coalition, who only gave her first name, said: “The struggles of women, caregivers and those fighting for justice are often overlooked.

“With this strike and by uniting our struggles, we create a louder, more powerful call for change to transform societies.

“This strike is a stepping stone towards the 50th anniversary of the Icelandic women’s strike next year.”

Support not Separation’s Didi, who also only gave her first name, said: “Our group is striking to demand better financial support for mothers enabling families to stay together, the end of forced adoptions and for open family courts.”

And Lisa of Women Against Rape said: “We strike for an end to sexual, domestic and racist violence, including by police and others in authority.

“And an end to poverty and insecure immigration status, which make us more vulnerable to violence.”

More than 27 women-led groups are involved in the action, including Women of Colour in GWS, All African Women’s Group, Disabled Mothers’ Rights Campaign, English Collective of Prostitutes, Fossil Free London, Queer Strike, Extinction Rebellion Families and Tipping Point.

Tomorrow will see a family friendly activity in Trafalgar Square, London, to highlight the invisible labour carried out by women.

A full list of actions can be found on the Women Rising website.

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Described by the Chicago Police Department as “more dangerous than a thousand rioters,” Lucy Parsons is a strong example of woman leadership in union work. She was enslaved early in her life and consistently participated in activism for the homeless, women of color, political prisoners, and lead marches for seamstresses. Along with her husband, Albert Parsons, she helped found the International Working People’s Association and was one of the first female members of the Industrial Worker of the World (IWW).

American women were some of the first to workers to form unions in the Industrial Revolution after being thrown into the workforce. Unions were a way for working women to bring about change in the labor movement, especially at a time when voting was not permitted. For example, women textile workers took on the first of America’s labor strikes, reform groups, and protests. They fought to change grueling fourteen-hour shifts, dangerous conditions, and extremely low wages. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union formed through uniting with male co-workers to achieve higher wages and shorter hours.

Woman-dominated sectors of labor such as nursing, retail, and service entailed lower wages and longer hours after women lost their former jobs once World War II ended. Such conditions, as well as sexist views of women in the workforce, gave birth to the second wave of feminism. The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) formed as a fierce advocate for women in the workforce; seeking to increase female participation and leadership in unions. Many issues in the workforce specifically effecting women were addressed, such as equal pay, nondiscriminatory hiring, paid family leave, and sexual harassment.

Women have worked hard to fight for equal rights and opportunities as men in the workplace. Under the chains of capitalism, unfair treatment and exploitation will always be commonplace. A woman’s place is not only in the workforce or the union, but also in the revolution to destroy capitalism.

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Hindsight is 20/20 they say. Looking back, there were so many signs that her words of unity and female empowerment were just a front. She would close a little early on some days and say things like, “Hey! It’s a beautiful day! Don’t you want to spend time with your family? Go home!” – and yeah… of course I want to go home and spend time with my family! But, I also need the money that I’m all of a sudden not going to make because you felt like it was too sunny to work! After a few days of this “gracious early release” from work, I brought my concerns up to her. She said that it never even crossed her mind that I needed the hours! She said she would allow me to stay in the closed building to work the rest of my shift. I could just “find something to do ”. That was the first crack in her image. She’s not like us.

My coworker, who had been working for my boss longer than me, was telling me about her future plans with her and her daughters after her upcoming raise. I say “working for ” but technically she was “contracted”. In her contract she was not allowed to work for other agencies or to practice with any of the clients that went to this office and she was also only allowed to negotiate her base pay every 2 years, so technically not an employee but it sure sounded like my boss was her boss to me! She was going to talk to our boss next week and I was so excited for her!

One day my coworker came out of the bathroom at the office with red eyes. I asked her what’s wrong and in a whispered voice said, “She said no.” I gave her a confused look. She responded in an even quieter voice, “I’m not supposed to talk to you about it and she’s in her office so she might hear me.” She walked away looking defeated and pissed off.

I asked her to lunch. And there she let her story and emotions out. At the end of it all, I asked her why she thought my boss said no. She shrugged her shoulders and as she let out a sigh she said, “She’s not like us.” I asked her what she meant. She went on, “She doesn’t know what it’s like to not have money or enough money. She’s not lazy, but she was born rich, she lives rich, and she’ll probably die rich too.” We both sat in silence for a bit to ponder what she had just said. It clicked. She’s not like us. We’re part of the working class and grew up in the working class. We didn’t have parents who came from wealth that set us up with money for school or businesses. We didn’t depend on not paying workers enough so that we could make a profit. And we couldn’t just leave early for work to go spend time with our families on a sunny day.

I gave her a hug. She finished her contract and left that office. I never got the chance to thank her for the lessons she taught me. I could never find the right words. But I think about her sometimes and I think about my boss too. We were both women with families but she chose to feed her family off of my labor and the labor of my sister coworkers while I had no choice but to sell my time and work to her for pennies back. She’s not like us.

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Out of about 100 staff members, 80 are women. Nurses and CNAs are overworked and underpaid to an extent that many lose patience and become discouraged with their caseload. Without a doubt, the reputation of nursing homes stems from conditions caused by misogyny, ageism, capitalism, and ableism. The important role of women as caretakers is taken for granted, as well as the need for those they serve.

The current nursing home I work for was one of the first in the state of West Virginia to experience COVID-19. No one knew how to effectively prepare as little was known about the virus. Eventually, over 50 staff and residents became infected with COVID-19 and it took a very long time with diligent efforts to eradicate it in our facility.

The first facility I worked for offered no hazard pay for their workers. CNAs continued to only make $11 an hour for the grueling work they put in every day. Housekeepers made the minimum wage; $8.75 an hour. A facility full of exhausted, frustrated staff effected the wellbeing of residents who already struggled with being in quarantine. On the other hand, the one I currently work for provided an extra $5 on the hour. CNA’s typically making $12 an hour were now making $17 an hour. Housekeepers typically making $11 were making $16 an hour.

In addition, all staff was compensated with an extra $2 an hour for working nightshift. The workload was remarkably similar with typically 20 patients relying only on one nurse and two aides, at times, only one. However, receiving a fair wage and being shown appreciation made a difference in patient care.

Flash forward a year later, hazard pay has been taken away. Many have quit or walked out since the drop in pay. I am a counselor but was recently asked to administer COVID-19 tests on staff and family visitors due to the significant shortage in nursing staff.

Nursing homes are a prime example of how traditional women’s occupations are underappreciated. The important role of women as caretakers is taken for granted in comparison to roles typical for men. In addition, a vast majority of nursing home residents are women. The issue of women’s needs being neglected extends into old age. If we were always paid a fair wage and given the support we need, perhaps nursing homes would not have the terrible reputations they do.

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