At the beginning of this year we committed to do something new: to send you the latest news about IJM’s work every month, so that you never miss the stories you make possible in the fight to end violence against people who are poor.
While 2020 was more news-worthy than we could’ve imagined, we hope that the stories we shared of massive rescues, groundbreaking studies and inspiring supporters brought you moments of hope and encouragement. We’re grateful to be in this mission with you!
IJM Dominican Republic started urging the Dominican Supreme Court to declare child marriage unconstitutional in June. Since then, the Dominican House of Representatives unanimously approved to eliminate the legal loophole that enables children as young as 11 to be forced into marriage. To keep building momentum, our teams secured op-eds on this issue in CNN and Reuters for Human Rights Day.
Every survivor deserves someone to walk alongside and support them on the journey to restoration. Hear from IJM Global VP of Justice Solutions Michele Lee on how we scale our aftercare work to ensure these programs are survivor-centered and empowering everywhere they’re implemented.
Addo* had spent most of his life working in the fishing industry, with various fishermen sometimes sending money back to his mother for his labor. In mid-November, police and IJM conducted an operation that led to his rescue.
One pandemic has outlasted COVID-19 and every virus that came before it: sexual and gender-based violence. In her Devex op-ed, Sharon Cohn Wu, IJM’s Principal Advisor on Violence Against Women and Children, shares why rebuilding in 2021 must include “building back safer” — committing to measurable reductions in sexual assault, murder and battery of women and children.
