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Tying a string around your finger as a reminder is an ancient belief, thought to keep an idea from escaping- literally tying the idea to yourself – The Brave Discussion

You can make a difference right now. Before you check your email or make dinner plans, invest a few minutes to help women whose voice is not being heard. Build a movement. Change the world. You have more power than you know.

The Brave Discussion – What we can do to help

We can each do a whole lot! We can post on Facebook; contact our parliamentarians, Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister; question corporations; look for solutions.

Each month we will have a special sisters’ collective focus on a subject that requires redress. We are reclaiming the voice for our sisters whose voices are not being heard. We aim to have a united calendar of issues that we repeat and repeat until we are heard!

There are many wonderful aid organizations doing great and vital work for women in many, many areas. We salute and honour their tireless work.

Our focus is to support these organisations and build a grassroots groundswell of ‘a single united voice for change’. Many of the issues we will discuss are deeply complex and cannot be fought by one person, but requires all of us to come together as one and stand together for the human rights of our sisters. Together, we can make a difference.We want the story to change!

We will shout our voices even louder until we are heard! We will have The Brave Discussion, in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces, with our friends and more.

We will begin this begin this month with: July – STOP Human Trafficking

Facts:

27 million people are held in slavery worldwide

Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime today, generating approximately US$12 billion a year.

120,000 women & children are trafficked each year into EU, and 90% end up in the sex industry.

Even if recovered by police, girls as young as 13 are simply put in jail for illegal immigration.

99% of victims are NOT rescued

What you can do to help:

Please commit to a minimum of two actions below PLUS participate in the Virtual March – Walk for Freedom. There is  a special action for you that we detail below - Stop Human Trafficking A4 Poster take a photo of it – maybe in a public place, maybe showing it to friends…be creative! – and post it to our facebook page and send it viral!!!

Here is what we want you to do and some useful tips:

VIRTUAL MARCH – WALK FOR FREEDOM
Everyone can make a difference, here’s how your voice can be heard. Every month we have a special call to action. This month – July, we are focusing on building the grassroots voice to STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING! It’s a complex issue to solve so we must have the world tackling the problem. Lots of organisations are now working hard to stop it but a grassroots groundswell of voices is required to ‘tip’ the issues into the NO MORE story!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Join our virtual march on Governments around the globe (your country too) to initiate a STOP Human Trafficking NOW summit in your country! We want many minds working toegther to tackle the problem and we want to know that it is happening - policy makers, law makers, police, aid organisations. We need to have The Brave Discussion about this horrific subject in our jobs, with our husbands and sons, with our daughters and sisters, in our schools and more. We want this issue to tip so that the voice is united across the globe and says It MUST stop! NO MORE!
Here’s what you can do: From July 4 – July 10 click the LIKE icon at the top of Brave Discussion Facebook Page - STOP Human Trafficking, then post a photo of yourself holding a sign that includes “Stop Human Trafficking!” Post 14 photos, either all at once or one every day, for the entire fortinight. Personally ask your friends and family to do the same and to pass it on.

TIPS:

1. Include some personal info and your sign message in what you write — politicians & policy makers love knowing who we are, where we live, what we do…we are an impressively diverse demographic.
2. Tag any photos of friends you post so their facebook friends can join the party;
3. Have some fun and get creative — I am carrying around my signs and camera with me, asking everyone I meet, and it is a blast. Making a difference can be exhilarating!

The first step to a comprehensive, coordinated and cohesive plan to STOP Human Trafficking is a grassroots noise that cannot be ignored, so we need to shout it louder!

Let the governments of the world see your face and hear your voice. They have the power to co-ordinate summits in their countries to begin to tackle the complex problem, let’s push them to use it!

Complete the registration form below so that we can report back on where we are shouting out our voices and having The Brave Discussion:

Additional actions that you can take this month courtesy of the A21 Campaign – click here to read 21 inspiring ways to help.

Personal Actions – Ongoing for all The Brave Discussion Projects

Choose two each month

• Raise awareness in your community by participating in or organizing a Walk for Freedom event.
• Organise a Brave Discussion speaker to attend your local women’s group
• Read Half the Sky and discuss with friends and family. Click here to order.
• Host a Half the Sky book club. Read Half the Sky (order here; find a reading group guide) and begin the dialog in your community about restoring human rights to sisters whose voices are not being heard
• Host a Coffee and Dessert evening with a Conversations for Women focus
• Do a random act of kindness for another woman, anywhere
• Post, repost, and spread the monthly Brave Discussion subject news on Facebook and Twitter.
• Pray or Meditate for our sisters
• Dream something up!

• Note: we will post regular suggested reading updates to all those that register

I want to join The Brave Discussion