Nepal and United States: Preventing Trafficking and Violence through Education
As more girls and women worldwide seek opportunities outside
the home, the incidence of sex trafficking and gender-based
violence has been increasing, too. It is estimated that between
700,000 and 2 million women and children are trafficked each
year. Worldwide, one in every three women suffers some form
of violence, generally from a husband or man they know. To
counteract this trend, World Education is testing innovative
strategies in prevention and intervention in both the Nepal
and the United States.
"The trafficking of girls from Nepal into India for purpose
prostitution is probably busiest slave traffic its kind anywhere
in world." It estimated that as many 200,000 Nepalese are
working Indian brothels today, while an additional 5,000 to
7,000 per year sold, kidnapped, or lured sex trade India.
rural Nepal, two-thirds adolescent not enrolled school. These
illiterate, out-of-school at greater risk than their in-school
counterparts joining trade. Districts that have highest
rates of female illiteracy, such as Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk,
with illiteracy 90 percent 92 respectively, are also among worst
districts for girl trafficking. Girls who escape sexual servitude, liberated
through police raids, usually return with an array of psychological health
problems, HIV and AIDS, STDS, tuberculosis. Families and communities
often reject them.
Half a world away in the United States, domestic violence
is a factor in approximately six percent of all households.
Of women receiving welfare today, 55 to 65 percent have experienced
violence sometime in their lives. Another 20 to 30 percent
of women receiving welfare are current victims of domestic
violence. Level of education was also found to correlate with
the rate of violence. For victims with less than a high school
diploma the average annual rate of violent victimizations
per 1,000 females was 48, compared to 28 for female victims
who were high school graduates.
These growing numbers of trafficked girls in Nepal and low-income
women in the U.S. both experience higher rates of violence
because of a lack of education. World Education designs education
and literacy programs to address these issues.
In Nepal, World Education works to prevent trafficking of
girls by providing them with foundation skills (reading, writing,
math critical thinking and problem solving, for example) that
leads to enrollment in formal schools at an age-appropriate
level: an extraordinary and life-changing accomplishment for
a low-status illiterate girl. Moreover, each component of
the Girls' Access to Education (GATE) curriculum focuses on
adolescent health and girls' empowerment. Girls learn about
the dangers of trafficking, prostitution, and other forms
of abuse. They learn the consequences of unsafe sex, STDs
and HIV. Girls learn to take care of themselves and each
other. Parents have also reported learning from their daughters
about the dangers of trafficking. One mother shared, "Now
the people who sell girls in Bombay cannot trick us because
our eyes have opened—now they cannot do as they did in the
past."
The GATE program has a significant community education and
outreach component that directly supports the objectives of
the classes for girls. Parents, neighbors, and other community
members may be unaware of girl-trafficking activities in their
village, or they may inadvertently cooperate with traffickers.
Either way, the GATE program raises awareness in the community
of the importance of girls' education and of the destructive
consequences of neglect and abuse as well as trafficking and
prostitution. In addition, there are Class Management Committees
made up of community members that volunteer their time. These
committees work closely with local education authorities to
help girls who complete GATE classes transition into formal
school.
Since its inception in 1998, the GATE Program has provided
opportunities for over 7,500 adolescent girls, aged 10-14,
who had never entered or had dropped out of Nepal's formal
school system. Over 30% of the first cohort of girls to complete
the program enrolled for the first time in primary school.
Of the 4,000 girls who completed the 2000 - 2001 GATE program
cycle, 40% entered school. The program continues to expand,
and in 2002 over 5,000 girls will participate in and graduate
from GATE classes.
In the U.S., World Education's Women, Violence, and Adult
Education project takes a different approach, working with
adult literacy programs around the country to develop appropriate
methods to enable women who have been or currently are victims
of violence to learn in an atmosphere of safety and support.
In this project, addressing violence does not necessarily
mean addressing it directly in curriculum and materials. It
means creating the conditions for learning that recognize
the presence of violence in women's lives.
After one of the students at Project Hope, a homeless shelter
in Massachusetts, was killed by her son, teachers felt they
had to learn more about how violence affected their student's
lives. Program staff learned to create an environment that
is safe and beautiful through the use of art and other expressive
approaches to learning. Within the classes, teachers and students
reflect on various issues around violence. Support occurs
on three levels: care of self, support from within the program,
and support from community counseling and referral resources.
One teacher reported, "I've seen lots of changes. By the end
of the year, the women can say 'I'm important.' ...Last year,
five people went on to college." Along with Project Hope,
a variety of organizations, from the education division in
a women's prison to an English for speakers of other languages
program for refugees, have tested the model. All teachers
report changes in their students: better attendance, improved
writing skills, the willingness to take risks which led to
the ability to make changes in their career and educational
choices.
By strengthening women's educational opportunities in this
manner, in both industrialized and developing nations, World
Education lays the groundwork of empowerment and prepares
girls and women to make sound decisions that will affect their
lives in positive ways. It demonstrates to the community that
trafficking and violence against girls and women is reprehensible.
Through improved educational opportunities, women are learning
to protect themselves.
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