At the Edge of the Margins COVID-19's impact on women in the sex trade. A virtual round table April 20, 2020 1:30 p.m. EST
CATW's inaugural global   virtual round table will gather   survivor leaders from Argentina, The Netherlands, South Africa and the U.S. to discuss the effects of the global health crisis on women in the sex trade. Rooted in their experiences as advocates and direct service providers, the panelists will evaluate their respective governments' response to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on women in the sex trade and the policy implications of their inaction. They will also consider how (and if) the media, globally and in their respective countries, is covering this issue and its impact on our collective work to end the sex trafficking, sexual exploitation and prostitution of women and girls worldwide.
Join us on April 30, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. EST for At the Edge of the Margins: COVID-19’s impact on women in the sex trade .

This virtual event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Registration is required.
SPEAKERS
Alika Kinan (Argentina) is the director of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Studies, Research and Training Program, which she created, at the Universidad Nacional de San Martin. A sex trafficking survivor and abolitionist activist, her work is centered on understanding and investigating the crime of human trafficking in order to improve investigative processes and the development of laws and public policies. She has received numerous honors, including the 2017 U.S. Department of State Heroes Against Modern Slavery Award and the 2015 Outstanding Woman of the Year recognition from the Argentinian Senate. 
Roella Lieveld (The Netherlands) is the founder of Share Network. For the past 11 years, she has dedicated her time to assisting victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking. She is an advocate for men and women in the U.S., Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Germany, just to name a few countries. She works with local judges, aftercare placement services, police detectives and social workers to create new policies within the legal and social services systems to ensure survivors receive proper advocacy from the point of rescue to rehabilitation.
Nomonde Mihlali (“Mickey”) Meji (South Africa) is the advocacy manager at Embrace Dignity, a feminist human rights organization that challenges gendered power. Mickey is a feminist, abolitionist, and human rights and gender activist. She has presented at both national and international conferences and has sat as a representative on national, regional and international policy-making bodies, including the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board NGO Delegation (Africa Delegate) and the South African National AIDS Council SANAC (Sector Leader). In collaboration with other survivors, Mickey convened the first-ever survivor movement in Africa. She is also working on the formation of her newly founded organization: Survivor Empowerment & Support Programme. Mickey’s vision is of a world where no woman or girl is bought, sold and exploited.
Photo credit: Lynn Savarese, The New Abolitionists
Melanie Thompson (USA) is a speaker, activist and leader in the global fight to end sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficked in New York at the age of 12, she was arrested, and placed in foster care. She became an activist at age 15, while still in a juvenile detention facility. Ms. Thompson has testified before numerous legislatures about the need to pass strong anti-trafficking laws and ending the arrests of sex trafficked children and women in the sex trade. She is a student at the City University of New York, and plans to found a non-profit to assist those affected by the sex trade.
Photo credit: Lynn Savarese, The New Abolitionists
MODERATOR
Taina Bien-Aimé (USA) is the executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). She is a founding board member of Equality Now and later served as its executive director for a decade. She was Director of Business Affairs/Film Acquisitions at Home Box Office and practiced international corporate law at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Taina holds a Juris Doctor from NYU School of Law and a degree in Political Science from the University of Geneva/Graduate School of International Studies in Switzerland. She sits on the New York City Mayor’s Gender Equity Commission and recently completed nine years on the board of the New York Women’s Foundation.
At the Edge of the Margins
COVID-19’s impact on women in the sex trade
April 30, 2020 @ 1:30 p.m. EST
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