Human Trafficking

Following on from last week, I've decided to look at the worldwide human trafficking that seems to be increasing yet because we rarely come face to face with its victims it is easy to forget. There is a huge industry in this market affecting women, children and men. Occasionally the media may highlight tragic incidents but we rarely hear about people effectively enslaved in our society, working in terrible conditions and often ill treated.

The website below has a few campaigns that we can all become involved in as well as having lots of information. Unfortunately, I have not investigated it much so I cannot give more indications about it.

http://www.antislavery.org/index.htm

There are also a number of other sites (such as the three below) that tend to be based in the United States that give useful information but to become involved in their campaigns may require financial donations. Although most of the sites I refer to always require donations, the aim of this blog is to allow people to take action without necessarily feeling the need to donate or become affiliated to a particular group. Some of the below sites also may have very useful campaign material that you may feel is not directly relevant to you.

http://www.catwinternational.org/

http://www.ahavakids.org/

http://www.humantrafficking.org/

The last site this week is a blog that I have not read but it does seem to have lots of links that potentially could be interesting.

http://www.abolishhumantrafficking.com/
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Violence Against Women and Children

This particular subject is so big that I have decided to cover some of the issues today and over the next few weeks I will inform you of more organizations involved in this field. I have decided to signpost everyone to a site I have only found recently but it mixes very useful information with certain campaigns. It is UK based but many of the points raised will be relevant to most if not all countries. Although at first glance it may seem like a support network for women and young people who have suffered from domestic violence, please take the time to review the extensive information since there is something available for everyone. Violence against women and children is more widespread than we imagine but it is something that seems to be hidden. I think the most comforting thought is that there does seem to be a big support network around, one that many are probably never aware of. Perhaps the challenge is to raise the profile of this issue so that people do not suffer in silence or do not think that violence against them is acceptable or tolerable.

www.womensaid.org.uk/
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Who is Ethical?

Everyday we use or consume many products that are made by various different companies, but do we really know how these companies operate and whether they have good ethical standards? Recently we have seen new products that are "organic" or "fairtrade" but often they are more expensive and there has been debate to whether these labels actually do mean improved ethics.

Below are some links about everyday products we use and the companies that manufacture them, in some cases awarding an Ethiscore (often scored out of 15). Some of these sites require subscription fees to gather all the information, but they do give some general information and give you a starting point to investigate further should you desire.

www.ethicalconsumer.org/

www.corporatecritic.org/

www.fairtrade.org.uk/

It may also be of some interest to browse the dispatches section of Channel4's website which tackles a variety of issues and has online debate.

http://www.channel4.com/news/dispatches
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Environmental Issues

The environment is now becoming a major issue both politically and socially. Although many people are in favour of saving our planet at least in principle, the reality is that many of us just like our home comforts too much including myself.

Below are some well known organisations that address environmental issues on different scales, some of which are sometimes quite radical and others that appear more mundane. I am not necessarily in agreement with all their arguments and methods used but it ignites debate.

http://www.foe.co.uk/

http://www.greenpeace.org/

http://www.encams.org/

There are little things we can do to protect the environment and to save energy which I may touch on more in the future. If you are into recycling it might just be worth finding out what exactly your council does collect. For instance, soft plastic packaging (ie yoghurt pots, meat or fish packaging, tubs etc) now can be recycled, sometimes at local supermarket car parks. You may even want to use surf the web using Blackle instead of Google to save some power. Whatever search engine you use, you may want to review them in more detail since there has been some serious criticisms about some of them tracking information. I'll leave you to investigate that if you wish and make your own decisions.
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Arms Trade

The arms trade is one of the biggest businesses in the world and it influences us wherever we live. In the United Kingdom, guns and knives seem to be a lot more prominent and easy to acquire. Simultaneously, civil wars in numerous countries continue to flourish as weapons still seem to pour into them from various sources.

The solution is not simple but the website below has interesting reports, campaigns and links to other sites. I have not yet examined much of the site but what I have read has been an eye opener.

Some of the organisations in the Human Rights section of my blog posted in January 2009 also deal with this subject.

www.caat.org.uk/
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Human Rights

Human rights abuses seem to be happening daily yet the general media rarely seems to give much importance to these issues. There are so many traumatic stories and many organisations trying to improve the lives of people suffering. I try to steer clear of purely political campaigns but it has to be said that politics is often a central issue.

Below are some sites that enable you to join campaigns, send emails, sign petitions, write letters to the authorities or become even more involved. I leave it to you to judge which are worthy.

http://www.amnesty.org/

www.avaaz.org/

www.waronwant.org/

If you wish to find more sites on specific issues, use of a normal search engine will be sufficient.
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