Senator Arthenia Joyner Selected To Join Global Women Leaders

From the Senate Dems:

The numbers are staggering. According to the U. S. Department of State, roughly 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year, held captive in the international sex trade or forced labor situations throughout the world.

Now, one of Florida’s foremost advocates for stronger sanctions against human traffickers and better protections for their victims has been selected to join top policy makers from around the world in an upcoming summit on the issue.

Senator Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) is one of just three female state lawmakers tapped from the United States by the Center for Women Policy Studies to participate in the 2009 GlobalPOWER® program later this spring in Washington, D.C.

GlobalPOWER is an internationally recognized program that supports a network of powerful women policy makers from around the world who are committed to using their influence to advance women’s human rights.

“The Center for Women Policy Studies launched GlobalPOWER in 2006 to create new and sustainable partnerships among women leaders that will persist -- across borders and over time – to combat violations of women’s human rights,” said Dr. Leslie R. Wolfe, President of the Center for Women Policy Studies. “We are proud to welcome Senator Joyner to the GlobalPOWER 2009 session.”

In addition to Senator Joyner, GlobalPOWER 2009 participants include Members of Parliament from Bahrain, Burundi, Dominica, Kenya, Namibia, Pakistan, Uganda and Zambia and state legislators from Maryland and Utah. During their week together, GlobalPOWER participants will meet with policy experts representing international organizations, United Nations officials and with key members of the United States Congress and top officials at the United States Department of State. Senator Joyner and the GlobalPOWER participants will work together to develop creative policy options to respond to the international trafficking of women and girls as a global women’s human rights crisis.

“Trafficking of women and girls knows no boundaries,” noted Senator Joyner. “It robs thousands of women and children of their human rights and their freedom. I am looking forward to working closely with my GlobalPOWER colleagues to address this crisis together and to bring my new knowledge home to Florida.”

During the 2009 Legislative Session, Senator Joyner successfully sponsored Senate Bill 168, creating within the Department of Children and Family Services, the Florida Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking. The group’s membership will consist of the attorney general, chief financial officer, surgeon general, and designated law enforcement, among others. Its mission is to examine the problem of human trafficking and recommend strategies and actions for reducing or eliminating the unlawful trafficking of men, women, and children into this state. Endorsed by the full Legislature, the bill now awaits the governor’s signature.