October 11 is International Day of the Girl Child, a day dedicated to celebrating girls' voices and power, championing their rights worldwide, and reflecting on the challenges they continue to face because of their gender.
According to their website, International Justice Mission (IJM) aims to protect people in poverty from violence by rescuing victims, bringing criminals to justice, restoring survivors to safety and strength, and helping local law enforcement build a safe future that lasts. The ministry is located in 17 countries around the world.
Kenya
Esther Njuguna is the senior manager in the survivor services department in Nairobi, Kenya. She works with survivors of different kinds of violence.
"Working with survivors is working with people," says Njuguna. "Generally a day looks like victim accompaniment, for survivors of violence who need to go to court, we make sure they are supported. Provision of psycho-social support, so we ensure they are facilitated with trauma-informed holistic care. What is critical for us is empowerment through the process and achieve restoration."
Sometimes the process of receiving justice for a violent crime or ongoing violence can take 7-10 years in Kenya and that is part of what IJM is hoping to help reduce.
"International Day of the Girl Child is such an important day, especially on this side of the world because there are so many risk factors against the girl child. Sometimes it's culture or religion. Empowerment is critical if they're going to live thriving lives or meet their fullest potential."
Canada
Erin Delamont works for IJM Canada.
"The violence IJM is working to reduce includes human trafficking, modern-day slavery, and general violence against women and children," says Delamont. "What we see around the world is a huge leaning towards females. That's who is targeted the most because of their vulnerability."
Delamont is a mother of two girls, ages 8 and 11 years old. This pushes her further to help end violence against girls and women, knowing many stories have girls the same ages as her daughters.
"That motivates me and inspires me when I see my girls standing up and learning more about this work too, and they want to see that change. It encourages me."
Romania
Stefan Coman is the policy and advocacy lead with IJM Romania.
"My role is taking learnings and recommendations from the work of my colleagues that engage in casework, assist victims, that work alongside the justice system, like police officers and prosecutors, I take those recommendations and engage with people that are decision-makers in the Romanian government and try to make those public policy."
Human trafficking in Romania has at one point been the top spot for human trafficking inside the European Union.
"Because we come from the former eastern block of the Soviet Union, there are quite a number of people that are vulnerable in general. Any vulnerability turns into a vulnerability to human trafficking."
Tune into CHVN 95.1 FM throughout the day to hear how local organizations and people are fighting to make a change here in Winnipeg and around the globe.