In 2019, the California Legislature passed significant pieces of legislation that furthered gender equality and protected the human rights of women and girls. Below is a review of key legislation that IANGEL supported, concerning human trafficking, abortion rights, and sex workers’ rights. These five new laws will take effect on January 1, 2020.
As 2019 comes to a close, we’ve taken the time to review our past year’s successes, new initiatives and the partners and collaborators who have made it all possible.
It is a great honor to announce that Ms. Bennoune has cited IANGEL’s paper, Women, Cultural Rights, and Public Spaces, in her report to the UN General Assembly. In her report, Ms. Bennoune addresses public spaces in the context of cultural rights, the international legal framework supporting cultural rights through public spaces, and offers a “cultural rights checklist” for policymakers regarding public spaces.
On October 30th, IANGEL produced an attorney training specifically focused on California’s vacatur law for survivors of human trafficking. About 25 attorneys were trained on the basics of human trafficking, trauma-informed representation of survivors, and criminal records clearance.
Join us for a holiday benefit concert featuring the wonderful singing of Jennie and Mark Walstrom on 12/14/19 at Timbre Folk & Baroque in Berkeley. Enjoy beautiful music and support gender equality around the world! All proceeds benefit IANGEL. Space is limited – Register now.
UN Special Rapporteur Maria Giammarinaro presented on innovative and transformative models of social inclusion of trafficking survivors into societies, the subject of her recent report to the UN General Assembly. She discussed the use of the term “social inclusion” and the impact terminology can have on survivors. As a term, “social inclusion” is meant to highlight the importance of quality of life after trafficking, including dignity, employment and family unity.
The amicus brief argues that allowing an employer to rely on market-based excuses to justify pay differences between women and men doing the same job contradicts the purpose of equal pay laws themselves, and perpetuates the gender wage gap. IANGEL continues to support efforts that work to ensure gender equality under the law.
October 11th marks the 8th annual International Day of the Girl which serves to “highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.”¹ This year, to mark achievements attained since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, the theme of the day is “GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable.” Today IANGEL is proud to announce two new initiatives aimed at supporting girls’ rights.
IANGEL recently attended SFAHT’s 2019 Annual Conference, Surviving the Systems: Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium. The conference provided opportunities for members of the collaborative, like IANGEL, and others to dialogue and brainstorm on a community level.
Survivors of trafficking need pro bono legal assistance. Once trained, you can help survivors attain post-conviction relief as they seek to rebuild their lives.