All FAWCO members are invited to get involved in their area of interest. If you don’t see yours here, let us know. Please email Therese Hartwell, Chair of the Human Rights Team at to discuss participation.
And sign up to receive the Human Rights Team Bulletin at Subscriptions.
Therese Hartwell, AW Eastern Province
Chair, Human Rights Team
The FAWCO Refugee Network (FRN) weaves the threads of our amazing FAWCO sisterhood of global citizens to inspire each other, share resources and to directly collaborate across club borders in support of the new neighbors in our communities who have arrived from distant and often dangerous places to begin new lives.
We do this in the spirit...
FAWCO supports the work of partner Pathways to Safety, which offers services to Americans abroad who may encounter violence in any form- in their home, their workplace or stranger violence. The mission of Pathways is "We educate Americans traveling and living abroad, giving them tools to stay informed about gender-based violence, and we empower victims to survive and...
The FAWCO Human Rights Team is a comprehensive network of advocates working to ensure human rights for all women. The Team keeps members aware of new developments impacting women’s rights, including UN updates, through Human Rights articles, postings, and other advocacy work. We also engage FAWCO Members in awareness and action campaigns. It is our goal to leverage FAWCO’s unique...
Human Trafficking is not an official committee of the Human Rights Team, but FAWCO has committed to raising awareness and fundraising for organizations actively combatting human trafficking against women around the world.
“The trade in and exploitation of human beings through trafficking is one of the gravest violations of human dignity that exist. The purposes of trafficking in persons range...
FAWCO endorses the campaign by the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition and their petition to Congress, which says:
Equality between women and men is a fundamental human right that should be guaranteed in the Constitution. Pass the Equal Rights Amendment.The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would expressly prohibit discrimination against...
Excerpted from the course materials for International Women's Health and Human Rights: Stanford University Online Course
“Investing in girl’s education is the highest return on investment available in the world.” World Bank
They shot my father right in front of me. . . . It was nine- o’clock at night. They came to our house and told him they had...
What if today’s media messages included more positive female role models and less hyper-sexualization of women?
by Betsy Speer
Actresses Geena Davis (more info HERE) and Dame Helen Mirren (more info HERE) and Keira Knightly (more info HERE) have recently spoken out on the importance of female parity in the film and television industry, specifically, about the need to increase female writers, directors,
Ending Violence Against Women is a Committee of the Human Rights Team, addressing issues of domestic violence and sex trafficking, as well as other forms of violence against women. The Ending Violence Team was created in April 2008 to address issues of domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual exploitation in order to increase awareness and empower those women and children affected. Over the years, the Team has put a spotlight on the issues to get people talking about them. We also promote tangible actions that we can all take to help eradicate these forms of violence. When you look at the facts you see that we still have a long way to go.
1 in 3 women has been sexually assaulted in her lifetime;
Rape continues to be used as a weapon during war and conflict;
Globalization and climate change are having the most profound impacts on women and children who are disproportionately displaced and left without options;
Gender-based violence is an affliction that millions of women and children suffer in silence and shame. Many become victimized by those who are supposed to love and protect them.
Please share these three one-page information sheets on issues of Domestic Violence, how you can help victims of Domestic Violence, and global issues of Violence Against Women with your club members.
For a worldwide listing of domestic violence agencies, see the Hot Peaches website.
You'll find a link to the Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center (AODVC) website on our homepage under Domestic Violence.
For more information or to get involved, contact the Committee Co-Chairs.
Co-Chair, Global Issues, Tonya Teichert at .
Tonya Teichert (AWC The Taunus)
Co-Chair, Global Issues
Co-Chair, Domestic Violence and AODVC Liaison, Karen Lewis at aodvc@fawco.org.
Karen Lewis (FAUSA)
Co-Chair, Domestic Violence and AODVC Liaison
Women Peace and Security is a committee within the Human Rights Team. Its goal is to raise awareness about violence against women in conflict zones and the role of women in the peace-keeping process.
The theme of women and conflict resonates with the very origins of FAWCO. According to The Red Book, FAWCO: A History 1931-2011:
Caroline Curtis Brown founded FAWCO on the belief that "enlightened women, working cooperatively throughout the world, could do much to help achieve permanent international peace; and that this was especially true of American women living abroad who had acquired special experience in living in foreign lands among foreign people and foreign customs. Their American clubs not only provided a home away from home, she felt, but also served to promote sympathetic awareness of the needs and problems in countries other than the United States." Our founder's words are perhaps even more relevant today than in her own time. In our globally connected world, wars have a real impact on the lives of all of us, even when they occur in a distant land. A peaceful world benefits everyone.
