Brooke Axtell is a human rights activist, writer, speaker and performing artist. She was featured in a segment at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, where she gave a spoken word performance after a speech by US President Barack Obama on domestic violence and before a performance by singer Katy Perry dedicated to domestic violence victims. [1] [2] [3] [4] The idea to have her participate in the segment with the US President and Perry came from Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich. [5]
In an interview with Browbeat, Slate's culture blog, Axtell testified to having been in an abusive relationship, the experience that helped spur her toward activism. [6]
Axtell is now the Director of Communications and Survivor Leadership for Allies Against Slavery, a non-profit devoted to end human trafficking. She founded a healing community called Survivor Healing and Empowerment (S.H.E.) for survivors of rape, abuse and sex trafficking, and serves on The Gender Equality Impact Panel for Katerva, a community that identifies and funds the world’s leading sustainability initiatives. She is a member of the Speaker’s Bureau for Rape, Abuse, Incest, National Network (R.A.I.N.N.), the largest anti-sexual assault organization in the U.S. [5]
Axtell has been featured in Forbes.com , The Wall Street Journal , Psychology Today , BostonGlobe.com, SFGate.com, Washingtontimes.com and Fox News Channel Online. [5]
Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted sexual act—or attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion—or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of their relationship to the victim. This includes forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed, and may be physical, psychological, or verbal. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Sex traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion as they recruit, transport, and provide their victims as prostitutes. Sometimes victims are brought into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s), financially or emotionally. Every aspect of sex trafficking is considered a crime, from acquisition to transportation and exploitation of victims. This includes any sexual exploitation of adults or minors, including child sex tourism (CST) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST).
Dorchen A. Leidholdt is an activist and leader in the feminist movement against violence against women. Since the mid-1970s, she has counseled and advocated for rape victims, organized against "the media's promotion of violence against women", served on the legal team for the plaintiff in a precedent-setting sexual harassment case, founded an international non-governmental organization fighting prostitution and trafficking in women and children, directed the nation's largest legal services program for victims of domestic violence, advocated for the enactment and implementation of laws that further the rights of abused women, and represented hundreds of women victimized by intimate partner violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, the threat of honor killing, female genital mutilation, forced and child marriage, and the internet bride trade.
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assault against a small child, whereas sexual abuse is a term used for a persistent pattern of sexual assaults.
Somy Ali is a Pakistani-American actress, writer, filmmaker, model and activist who has worked in Bollywood films. She runs a non-profit organization named No More Tears since 2007.
Violence against women in the Philippines includes different forms of gender-based violence. The term "violence against women" is "the word or concept (that) has been used in a broad, inclusive manner to encompass verbal abuse, intimidation, physical harassment, homicide, sexual assault, and rape." This form of violence is gender-biased. Violence occurs precisely because of their gender, specifically because the victims are women.
The East Timorese people mixed racially with Melanesian and Malay genetically. Most of the East Timorese population are Roman Catholic.
Eaves Housing for Women was a charitable company based in London. It provided support to vulnerable women, including female victims of domestic violence, sex trafficking, or domestic servitude, and campaigned against prostitution. The organisation also conducted research and lobbying.
Women in Malaysia receive support from the Malaysian government concerning their rights to advance, to make decisions, to health, education and social welfare, and to the removal of legal obstacles. The Malaysian government has ensured these factors through the establishment of Ministry of National Unity and Social Development in 1997. This was followed by the formation of the Women's Affairs Ministry in 2001 to recognise the roles and contributions of Malaysian women.
Punishment for rape in Pakistan under the Pakistani laws is either death penalty or imprisonment of between ten and twenty-five years. For cases related to gang rape, the punishment is either death penalty or life imprisonment. DNA test and other scientific evidence are used in prosecuting rape cases in Pakistan.
"By the Grace of God" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her fourth studio album, Prism (2013), included as the standard edition's final track. The song was written and produced by Perry and Canadian record producer Greg Wells. It was conceived following Perry's divorce from English actor and comedian Russell Brand. This initially made Perry consider making a "darker" album, but instead was channeled into the song. Throughout its autobiographical lyrics, Perry is depicted finding her strength and standing up for herself.
Safe Horizon, formerly the Victim Services Agency, is the largest victim services nonprofit organization in the United States, providing social services for victims of abuse and violent crime. Operating at 57 locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Safe Horizon provides social services to over 250,000 victims of violent crime and abuse and their families per year. It has over 800 employees, and has programs for victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as homeless youth and the families of homicide victims. Safe Horizon's website has been accessible for the Spanish-speaking population since 2012. Safe Horizon has an annual budget of over $63 million.
Violence against women is an entrenched social problem in Ukrainian culture engendered by traditional male and female stereotypes. It was not recognized during Soviet era, but in recent decades the issue became an important topic of discussion in Ukrainian society and among academic scholars.
Nadia Murad Basee Taha is an Iraqi-born Yazidi human rights activist based in Germany. In 2014, as part of the Yazidi genocide by the Islamic State, she was abducted from her hometown of Kocho in Iraq and much of her community was massacred. After losing most of her family, Murad was held as an Islamic State sex slave for three months, alongside thousands of other Yazidi women and girls.
Thordis Elva Thorvaldsdottir is an Icelandic author, speaker, playwright and activist for gender equality. In 2017, she gained world-wide recognition for writing the book South of Forgiveness. She was voted Woman of the Year 2015 by the Federation of Icelandic Women's Societies in Reykjavík. She specialises in violence prevention and digital rights, and has helped shape national policy on online abuse as well as gender-based violence.
Kamilah Willingham is an African American activist, feminist, speaker, and writer. The focus of her activism centers on sexual assaults on college campuses as well as gender equality and civil rights. She is best known for her appearance in the documentary "The Hunting Ground," the credibility of which has been criticized due to the dismissal of charges related to Willingham's accusations. She has also contributed essays to two novels on sexual assaults on college campuses. Her work has garnered national attention through her collaboration with Lady Gaga and Vice President Joe Biden's national campaign, "It's On Us," which raises awareness on sexual assault. Willingham appeared on stage alongside Lady Gaga as she performed in the 2016 Grammy Awards. Willingham currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
Rebecca Nagle is an American activist, writer, and public speaker. She is a citizen of Cherokee Nation. Nagle is one of the founders of FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, an organization led by artists and activists dedicated to promoting a culture of consent. Nagle has also served as a coordinator of the event "PINK Loves CONSENT."
Vanessa McNeal-Atadoga is an American social activist, public speaker, and documentary filmmaker. She directed the documentary that features stories of five male survivors of sexual violence titled The Voiceless, and We Are Survivors, a documentary that examines the experiences of eight victims of sexual abuse.
Kalimah Johnson is a therapist and clinical social worker who specializes in cultural-specific holistic healing. She is the founder and executive director of the SASHA Center in Detroit, Michigan and has been influential in the #MeToo movement.
Emi Koyama is a Japanese-American activist, artist, and independent scholar. Koyama's work discusses issues of feminism, intersex human rights, domestic violence, and sex work among many others. Koyama is best known for her 2000 essay "The Transfeminist Manifesto", which has been republished in many anthologies and journals for transgender studies. She is a founder of the advocacy group Intersex Initiative.