When we talk about technology and software development, it is normal to think of robots, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual worlds. We rarely, or never, think about the social sciences. We do not associate the humanities with technology; they seem like opposing fields that never come together.

Child sex trafficking, child pornography, and sexual abuse of minors is a serious, growing issue all around the world. Even worse, it seems to be perpetuated by education officials at alarming rates. Unfortunately, and for unknown reasons, data and statistics regarding sex offenders in both public school and higher education remain scarce to come by.

A study analyzing recent arrests for possession or distribution of child sexual exploitation materials has put together a profile of those offenders most likely to be associated with higher education. According to the study, conducted by Lori Handrahan, child pornography offenders associated with higher education overwhelmingly tended to be white, male, and on the faculty.

Over half of the arrests and prosecutions for use of child pornography found that offenders were in leadership positions, and 30% had received institutional awards for professional excellence.

Read more at https://bit.ly/3vPR9G2.

Child sex trafficking isn’t the first thing most people think of when they consider sexual harassment and assault in higher education. But it’s more common than you may think. And perpetrators are almost all white, male academics, according to a study by Lori Handrahan, Ph.D. More than half held leadership positions on campus.

Higher Ed Dive reports on how a $400k settlement over misgendering a trans student may foreshadow more Title IX clashes. After a faculty member did so at Shawnee State University, officials took disciplinary action against him. Nicholas Meriweather sued the institution for infringing on his free speech and religious rights. A federal appeals court abided in Meriweather’s favor, and Shawnee State is paying a settlement of $400,000 in damages and attorney fees.

Journal of Human Trafficking, and corresponding database, is the most complete picture of sex offenses against children in higher education published anywhere, ever.

Biggest analysis of sexual offenders employed by US universities says sector has been complacent on safeguarding

This paper is the product of a review of recent literature on issues of gender in the context of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. It was prepared as background material for an international workshop on gender equity and peacebuilding jointly convened by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

On January 12, 2001, the Carnegie Endowment hosted a symposium to discuss the Clinton administration's legacy in promoting democracy abroad. Harold Koh, the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor since November 1998, was the featured speaker.

The five-country USAID/CAR Gender Assessment was conducted from October 10 to November 22, 2009. It was jointly funded by the Women in Development Indefinite Quantity Contract (WID IQC) Task Order for Short-Term Technical Assistance and Training (STTA&T), implemented by DevTech Systems, Inc., and the USAID/Central Asian Republics (CAR) regional mission based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with country offices in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

CENTRAL ASIA L’ASIE CENTRALE

While there is hardly a corner of the world that has not been affected in one way or another by the events of September 11, the repercussions are especially evident in the region known as Soviet Central Asia.2

The thesis tracks the emergence of western forms of nationalism in republics of PostSoviet Central Asia, and assesses the likelihood of ethnic conflict in the region, and its probably consequences. It also considers the means by which the heterogenous populations in Central Asia may be more effectively accommodated within the individual republics.

Hunting for women : bride-kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan

Nearly twenty years ago, when the First World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children was held in Stockholm, Sweden (August 1996),1 the problem of sexual exploitation of children (SEC) facing the international community was imputed to a discrete and well characterised group of offenders.

Despite ratifying multiple international human rights conventions, democratizing national legislation, and increasing women’s presence in the government, non-consensual bride kidnapping has become a rampant practice in Kyrgyzstan. This paper seeks to answer why bride kidnapping is on the rise in light of the government’s progressive efforts; it further seeks to understand the cultural significance of the practice in Kyrgyz society to suggest a novel understanding in the context of human trafficking.

Until recently, the role of women in nationalism and governance has received little scholarly attention, perhaps because men have historically exercised near exclusive control over nations and states. This is ironic because it is women who create the nation/state.

Each year, we set aside the month of March to celebrate and recognize women’s research on women. Since 2013, the Women’s Research on Women Symposium, sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development’s Education Leadership Research Center, Office of Organizational Development and Diversity Initiatives, Women’s Faculty Network, and Women’s and Gender Studies, is an annual event at Texas A&M University, where our community comes together and recognizes our very own female faculty conducting research on girls, women, and gender.

This post will be dedicated to clarify some concepts, such as national identity and gender, and shortly explain how and why they relate to each other. I will present a few theories of how national identity is constructed and maintained, to elaborate on my first out of three questions presented in my introductory post

Hunting for women : bride-kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan

Democracy, anticipated by American and other Western powers to prevent economic chaos and political conflict within and among states, is not evolving as expected. This research argues that part of the failure resides in United States democracy assistance's inadequate consideration of gender within democracy programming.

Kyrgyzstan (also “Kyrgyz,” “Kirgizia,” or “Kirghizia”), officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked and mountainous country in Central Asia. It borders Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and the People's Republic of China to the southeast.

Education is a key element in shaping the worldview of the next generation and determines society's core values, ideology, and basic understanding of human rights. While Kyrgyzstan is a secular state, Islamic education, backed by Arab and Turkish sponsors, continues to increase in popularity with the construction of thousands of mosques and dozens of new Islamic educational institutions.

Using data from the 2011 and 2016 Life in Kyrgyzstan surveys, we examine Kyrgyz women’s labour supply elasticities at the extensive margin.

Kyrgyz Republic

Kyrgyz Respublikasy

CAPITAL : Bishkek

FLAG : Red field with a yellow sun in the center; in the center of the sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized representation of the vent in a Kyrgyz yurt.

Gendering ethnicity : implications for democracy assistance

This exploratory small-scale, qualitative study examines the current state of gender norms in the Kyrgyz Republic by focusing on two concrete sets of observable behaviors: bride kidnapping and women’s low civic participation.

Democracy, anticipated by American and other Western powers to prevent economic chaos and political conflict within and among states, is not evolving as expected. Since 1991, Western governments have been providing large amounts of democratic assistance to the former Soviet Union, yet, few if any, of the recipient countries have developed into genuine democracies.

Domestic violence and abduction for forced marriage (bride-kidnapping) are pervasive forms of violence against women in Kyrgyzstan. Although statistics are not available, great numbers of women and girls in Kyrgyzstan have experienced these serious violations of their most fundamental human rights. The problems of domestic violence and abduction have long been neglected by government officials, and urgently need to be addressed.

Wilson Center - Lori Handrahan

A study analyzing recent arrests for possession or distribution of child sexual exploitation materials has put together a profile of those offenders most likely to be associated with higher education. According to the study, conducted by Lori Handrahan, child pornography offenders associated with higher education overwhelmingly tended to be white, male, and on the faculty.

Over half of the arrests and prosecutions for use of child pornography found that offenders were in leadership positions, and 30% had received institutional awards for professional excellence.

Read more at https://bit.ly/3vPR9G2.

Hunting for women : bride-kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan

A senior United Nations official is under investigation for allegedly trying to suppress a 'food-for-sex' scandal during a refugee crisis.

A number of charities were accused of exploiting victims, including enticing women to have sex with aid or money.

Merdeka.com - Seorang staf lembaga bantuan asal Kanada dihukum penjara sembilan tahun dan tujuh tahun di Nepal, yang akan dijalankan secara bersamaan, setelah dituduh melakukan pelecehan seksual terhadap dua anak laki-laki.

This blog seeks to explore the ongoing discourse in the humanitarian sector that portrays gender equality as a goal outside the scope of humanitarianism.

A Canadian man who spent decades working with children’s organizations and received the Order of Canada for his global contributions is now locked in a crowded detention cell in Kathmandu accused of having sex with minors.

Daniel Rosen, a senior State Department official arrested last month for soliciting sex online with a minor, was reportedly arrested again Sunday night in Washington, D.C.

Peter Dalglish, an Order of Canada recipient has been found guilty of sexual abuse of children in Nepal, placing his time in Ethiopia under public scrutiny.

July 9 (UPI) -- A Nepali court has sentenced a prominent Canadian humanitarian and former United Nations adviser to nine years in prison for the sexual assaults of two boys last year.

First, nearly 800 lawsuits were filed against the Boy Scouts of America for facilitating child sex abuse. As more information becomes public, abuse in the Boy Scouts is expected to eclipse similar crimes in the Catholic Church.

In post-conflict situations, what role does gender play in the ways that both men and women experience violence? What causes this violence? And, what are some of the international and local strategies that are best serving the needs of those most affected by it?

A senior United Nations aid official is being investigated over allegations that he tried to suppress a “food-for-sex” scandal during one of the world’s biggest refugee crises.

The Syrian genocide has begun. Regardless of what the Obama Administration is willing to call Assad’s bloodbath, Syria has entered the genocidal realm. The butchery in Homs, Houla, Tremesh and Aleppo are all pre-genocidal indicators. Mass atrocities and mass graves have been documented. President Obama’s non-action is unbearable as sheer horror radiates from Syria.

Peter Annin, the director of the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, is featured in Wiki video segment highlight six non-fiction writers who have written books that educate and inform the public about tough topics

This article introduces the concept of ethnicity in relation to gendered security problems in conflict and post-conflict settings. Feminist research has established that men and women experience conflict and post-conflict situations differently owing to issues of identity and power.

Discussing epistemological failures within Terrorism Studies scholarship, and more generally Security Studies, Caron Gentry (2015) foregrounds everyday terrorism as a vital field of study. Gentry makes a pivotal argument for recognising and addressing everyday terrorism globally, not just as the enterprise of non-Western Others (Ibid, 7-8, 12; Pain 2014, 537-8).

A high-profile Canadian aid worker has been sentenced to nine years and seven years in jail in Nepal, to be served concurrently, after being found guilty of sexually abusing two boys.

Aprominent Canadian aid worker and former United Nations official has been jailed in Nepal for sexually abusing children in a landmark case that has shaken up the humanitarian community.

KATHMANDU, Nepal — A Nepali court on Monday sentenced a lauded Canadian humanitarian to nine years in prison for raping two young boys last year, a case that bared a troubling trend of predatory behavior by aid workers in Nepal.

In the category of unintended consequences, Susan Rice's announcement about her future could — under one scenario — mean a Republican in President Obama's inner circle, decorated Vietnam veterans overseeing the nation's military and its foreign policy, and another special election for Senate in Massachusetts.

The case against a former Ottawa aid worker, accused of victimizing several Nepalese boys, is the latest black mark for the international aid community, which has seen several organizations roiled by allegations of workers committing sex crimes against children.

By Abdi Latif Dahir, Max de Haldevang & Annalisa Merelli

… Lori Handrahan, who conducted an agency-wide sexual abuse review for the UN’s humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) in 2009, adds that action so far has been so minimal that they haven’t even installed software to stop employees who download and trade child pornography at OCHA. “They’re not even starting to address [sexual abuse],” she says. …

By Katharina Bracher

… Lori Handrahan is convinced that this accumulation of scandals is no coincidence. In line with the #metoo movement, activists from the industry launched the hashtag #aidtoo a year ago. Since then, believes Handrahan, long-hidden and secretive abuse scandals gradually appeared - the whole "dirt" will finally be visible. The silence was broken. …

Huge congratulations to Caroline Hunt-Matthes who never gave up and pursued justice for 15 years. UNHCR finally did the right thing. Caroline paved the way for others to experience justice. Thank you Caroline!#AidToo#MeToo#TimesUp https://t.co/LKTtTjtR3gpic.twitter.com/Vh0XgWZPLF

— Lori Handrahan (@LoriHandrahan2)June 5, 2018

By Kai Schultz and Rajneesh Bhandari

…“Peter Dalglish’s arrest should be a ‘teachable moment’ for the humanitarian community to understand and recognize how predators exploit the cover of ‘heroism’ to commit crimes,” Lori Handrahan, a veteran humanitarian worker, wrote in an essay published on Medium. “Let’s be clear. Peter Dalglish is not a hero. He never was.” …

By Nathan Vanderklippe and Joe Friesen

But large organizations must do more, including the installation of software to help spot pedophiles, said Lori Handrahan, author of Epidemic: America’s Trade in Child Rape. … ”Anybody who is going to gain access to children has to groom everybody around them first − and they do that by pretending that they care so much about children,” Ms. Handrahan said. That is “a classic profile of a pedophile.”

By Sean O’Neill

… Lori Handrahan claims Mr Sanders told her in a rage that he would not have “a sex-for-food scandal on my watch”. Ms Handrahan, 48, has spoken to The Times and given written evidence to the Commons international development committee. She said she was speaking out after this newspaper exposed the cover-up of sexual exploitation of women by Oxfam aid workers after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. …

By Charlie Bayliss

… Former aid worker Lori Handrahan claims LEGAL ADD; to MP's that Mr Sanders angrily told her that he 'would not have a sex-for-food scandal on my watch'.

The 48-year-old has given evidence to to the House of Commons international development committee and The Times about the alleged abuse. …

By Lindsay McKenzie

… Lori Handrahan, a human rights activist and author of Epidemic: America’s Trade in Child Rape, said that her research has shown a “concerning number” of university professors being arrested on child-pornography charges. As of early 2017, Handrahan had identified 115 university professors and staff arrested on child-pornography charges in recent years, though Handrahan said that her research was not comprehensive and the true number is likely much larger. These crimes are frequently committed on campus, said Handrahan, but very few universities have any kind of blocks or filters in place. …