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We are dragonslayers – UNiTE!​

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  • CATEGORY: MY CHOICES FOUNDATION

We are Dragonslayers - UNiTE!

Today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November) marks the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Gender-Based violence campaign and concludes on International Human Rights Day (December 10). This year’s theme, UNiTE! Activism To End Violence Against Women and Girls! resonates so deeply with the core of My Choices Foundation.

Brazen violence against women and girls is a sign of the deepening loss of our collective humanity – it is one of the most invisible, but highly prevalent forms of human rights violation across the globe.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) remains the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation worldwide affecting more than an estimated 1 in 3 women, a figure that has remained largely unchanged over the last decade. The most recent global estimates showed that, on average, a woman or girl is killed by someone in her own family every 11 minutes.

Approximately 736 million women, experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner across their lifetime. Closer to home, 45% of women across Asia and the Pacific experienced domestic violence at least once in their lifetime.

Another staggering fact about innocent children is that around 223 million child brides live in India and 102 million were married before turning 15 - 40% of all child brides globally reside in India. COVID-19 further exposed the deep inequalities with the worst consequences, women and girls across the world faced a pandemic within a pandemic. Every 12 minutes a young girl, as old as 12 years gets trafficked into sexual slavery, getting raped up to 20 - 30 times per day.

Today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November) marks the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Gender-Based violence campaign and concludes on International Human Rights Day (December 10). This year’s theme, UNiTE! Activism To End Violence Against Women and Girls! resonates so deeply with the core of My Choices Foundation.

At the heart of our work are the smiles of the little children, the assured confidence of young girls and incredibly strong women who are making their choices to live lives free of abuse, violence and exploitation.

We, at My Choices Foundation, call ourselves ‘Dragon Slayers’ - a metaphor for our people who go out there every day, slaying dragons in the field.

During a decade of a truly fearless and unstoppable journey, we have travelled thousands of miles and met millions of women and girls. When we see real pain up close, it shatters us into pieces and at the same time gives us tremendous strength. The pain and the sorrow that women and girls face because of the violence and abuse become a force that drives us and continues to remind us to move forward with sheer determination and immense passion every single day.

We have made huge strides to educate and empower girls, women, men and boys about the varied aspects of gender-based violence, but it is still a long way to go.

We, My Choices Foundation, join the UNiTE campaign and continue to shout against all forms of gender-based violence, and we call upon supporters, activists, governments and partners to increase awareness, galvanize efforts, share knowledge and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year, but every month and every day.

Nothing can be an excuse for violence against women and girls. We must stand for every woman and girl; for the right to a life free from violence, the right to access to services and the right to be heard and believed. Truly, we can create a free and safer world for girls and women to live and thrive.

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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4th Asian Anti-Trafficking Forum Opens With A Renewed Ambition To Combat Human Trafficking

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  • CATEGORY: MY CHOICES FOUNDATION

4th Asian Anti-Trafficking Forum opens with a renewed ambition to combat human trafficking

We discussed on cross-sectoral collaborations and harnessing the power of data to address the current challenges of human trafficking, encourage a coordinated action and scale up solutions for maximizing results on the ground encouraging an even more coordinated action and scaling up of solutions.

The three-day event was kicked off on the eve of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons with the launching of our Impact Report: A decade of fearless glow with our strategic partners from Quantium, International Justice Mission, Kin Nepal, Justice Ventures, Aide et Action International and Implementing Partners from across the country.

We discussed on cross-sectoral collaborations and harnessing the power of data to address the current challenges of human trafficking, encourage a coordinated action and scale up solutions for maximizing results on the ground encouraging an even more coordinated action and scaling up of solutions.

Convening under the theme, Strengthening Partnerships and Accelerating Technology to combat human trafficking, the 4th Asian Anti-Trafficking Forum of My Choices Foundation will bring together grassroots level organisations, government officials, women’s rights activists, counsellors, policymakers to share knowledge, combine strengths and amplify collective efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking.

In her keynote address, Elca Grobler, Founder of My Choices Foundation stated, “Trafficking is a swirling vortex; the vortex wields a soft pull which manifests into a strong force and innocent families and children get sucked into it. It is dangerous and we all know it” and she emphasized “the time for going slow, being complacent and staying quiet is no longer an option and our work is a proof to that. The silence on abuse against women and children has been broken with our strong partnerships and our joint force is building a stronger and everlasting safety net for all our girls.”

Entering the 11th year, My Choices Foundation has always been known for its bold and pioneering approach to fighting human trafficking, particularly women and child trafficking for the purpose of labour and sexual exploitation. Elca Grobler and our strategic partners released a comprehensive ten-year impact report ‘A decade of fearless glow’. “We never lost sight of our mission. Our 10-year impact report is more than a summary of the action. It is solid proof that when a group of committed and passionate people come together, we can make a difference. We believed that 10 years ago and we will continue to believe that for many decades to come”, Elca commented.

My Choices Foundation is at the forefront of change and progress, moving the fight forward against trafficking in the spirit of unity and collaboration.

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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India’s Missing Children: Together We Can Bring Them Back To Safety

Posted on by My Choices Foundation mychoices
  • CATEGORY: MY CHOICES FOUNDATION

India’s Missing Children: Together We Can Bring Them Back To Safety

Thousands of children go missing each year. According to the annual National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) “Crime in India” 2020 report, a total of 59,262 children were reported missing last year out of which 45,687 were girls. Several factors for a child going missing includes abuse at home, children who dropped out of school, child […]

Thousands of children go missing each year. According to the annual National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) “Crime in India” 2020 report, a total of 59,262 children were reported missing last year out of which 45,687 were girls.

Several factors for a child going missing includes abuse at home, children who dropped out of school, child labour, abandoned and trafficked children, etc.. Responding to the alarming rise of missing children, especially over the past decade or so, the Government of India has adopted a multipronged approach by setting up anti-trafficking nodal cells, strengthening the capacity building of the officials and judical administration to prevent and combat child trafficking and expediting the tracing of missing children.

Girls continue to be vulnerable and continue to face serious threats of trafficking. It is frightening that these missing girls end up victims of forced labour, violence and sexual slavery.

OUR ACTIONS TO BRING BACK INDIA’S MISSING CHILDREN

My Choices Foundation fights for all children across India. We work with children, communities, villages, and grassroots organisations in the most remote parts of the country to combat child trafficking, child marriage, child labour and commercial exploitation of children through awareness programmes in schools, colleges, universities, families and communities, equipping our implementing partners to keep the momentum going and prevent children from being trafficked and forging partnerships with the government, police officials and child protection organisations. .

Through SuperSmart Shakti Network and Asli Champions Boys’ Safety Network, we empower adolescent girls and boys with knowledge and resources and connect them with peer networks to make choices that keep them safe and secure their futures.

Safe Village Program is our initiative that aims at reaching at-risk villages around India, teaching families how to keep their daughters safe. More than 6,500 safe village programmes were conducted till date. The Safe Village Program emphasis on encouraging positive behavioral change through the use of comic books and awareness programmes.. The comic book is an effort to initiate discussions on trafficking amongst children. It tells the story of an inspiring young girls and boys are Guardians who fights human trafficking challenges in their communities with positivity. It carries an empowering message that every child is a vehicle of hope and has the ability to act towards stopping child trafficking.

Our school and college programmes aim to end current abuse and prevent future exploitation of children and young people. We have created a tailor-made framework to raise awareness about various issues relating to gender-based violence. Our approach to promote gender equality includes easy-to-understand methods that focus on helping children and students break free from gender-based stereotypes. We have successfully educated and created awareness amongst 82,592 young minds to bring change in the society.

Adopting mass media, we created e-learning modules, community radio programmes and digital campaigns to penetrate into every segment of society and raise awareness, shape opinions and mobilize the public about issues that matter the most.

In moving from awareness to action, Operation Red Alert’s anti-trafficking helpline number 1800 419 8588 has responded to more than 60,000 calls where victims and community members have reported suspicious activity or suspected trafficking. The helpline has a strong referral and response mechanism. It is backed by partners such as NGOs, government bodies, law enforcement and safe houses.

Through our CHILDLINE helpdesk in Nampally Railway Station and Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in Hyderabad, we have rescued more than 800 children and have safely reunited them with their families.

YOU CAN GET TO PLAY A ROLE IN HELPING INDIA’S MISSING CHILDREN

There are choices that all of us can make to improve the living conditions for children and facilitate an end to the abuse and exploitation of children. As an individual, you can:

  • 1. Educate yourself about child trafficking, child abuse, child labout and other forms of exploitation of children, its problems and related laws
  • 2. Spread awareness in your community – you can share this blog on your social networking sites
  • 3. Be conscious of the products you buy and avoid buying from businesses that employ children
  • 4. Be vigilant and report abuse – you can call our helpline 1800 419 8588 to report it. All calls are confidential.
  • 5. Volunteer your time – you can volunteer your time with NGOs like My Choices Foundation
  • 6. Donate to make a difference in the lives of children – My Choices Foundation works in ten states across India (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal). You can donate to support our work to end child labour and build safer and healthier communities for children to live and thrive.

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

Share this story

Support Our Work

Your donations make it possible for us to give women and girls the choice to live a life free from violence and exploitation.

I WANT TO DONATE

or sign up to our newsletter