If you’re reading this blog, you already know that AJWS is a special organization. You know that we fund some of the world’s most marginalized people to stand up and fight for their rights. You may also know that we mobilize thousands of Americans to advocate for U.S. foreign policy that centers human rights. But …
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It’s been a decade since Maria Hererra’s sons disappeared. First, Jesús Salvador and Raúl. Then Gustavo and Luis Armando, who had gone looking for their missing brothers. Maria may never know what happened to them. When I met her earlier this month, she spoke of her sons in the present tense—even though she, like so …
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I’m so inspired by the images of hundreds of thousands of people—including supporters of AJWS—who filled the streets of New York, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles and many other cities for the second annual Women’s March. And while my spirits are lifted by this wellspring of support for women’s rights, I am more concerned than ever …
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On Friday, May 6th, the world lost an extraordinary human rights defender, Angélica Miriam Quitanilla Hernández. Angélica, a sex worker activist, leader and AJWS grantee, was assassinated just two blocks from her office in El Salvador. This news comes only months after Berta Cáceres, human rights defender and another close friend and longtime grantee of …
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Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at “Child Marriage: Emerging Trends in the Media,” an event that brought together diverse experts to discuss how news media currently covers child marriage—a phenomenon that drastically limits the lives and choices of about 15 million girls across the globe every year. AJWS was thrilled to contribute to this event, which introduced a rich variety of perspectives, stories and research findings to a packed room of nonprofit professionals at Washington D.C.’s National Press Club. I left inspired, and I wanted to share just a few of the highlights from the program with you.
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Reporting from El Salvador In recent months El Salvador has been torn by a surge in deadly gang violence and a heavy police response—yielding greater insecurity than we have seen since the end of the country’s civil war in 1992. Gangs and their supporters continue to promote violence, and the government has increased military presence …
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