Council of Daughters

With all of the news focusing on Roman Polanski, it seems like a good time to post this:

GEMS, the organization featured in the documentary Very Young Girls (previous post here), has a new initiative: The Council of Daughters. It’s a campaign “to strengthen laws that protect victims, encourage Americans to support girls empowerment initiatives at the local level, increase support for recovery services, and bring this urgent issue into schools, offices, dorms, places of worship and other community spaces.”

Halle Berry is the spokesperson for the campaign, and it was her letter (and the shout out she gives to the CLE) that made me realize I should get this up on the site:

“…in my hometown of Cleveland, a girl will arrive in an emergency room with extensive injuries resulting from a brutal assault by a john. The doctors may treat her, but it’s possible they will not have the training to identify her as a victim and connect her with services that can help her heal from her physical and emotional trauma.”

The Council of Daughters is using social networking to spread their message, so the site has all the expected features, including some compelling video clips that I might use for an upcoming training I’m doing. And, of course, it has links over to the GEMS site, where you can find some great resources on trafficking for you and your team.