SAN JOSE, CA: FOG Silicon Valley’s Women Empowerment event was held on Friday, August 12 at the Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose. In the wake of Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman and human trafficking on the rise, FOG Silicon Valley’s Women Empowerment wanted to make sure that we continue to educate and empower our youth and lead the fight against sex crimes against women.
This event had the world premiere movie screening of “Sold” and followed by panel discussion and question and answer session. “Sold” is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit of a young girl named Lakshmi who was sold into human trafficking and kept in brothel prison where she must struggle daily to survive against impossible odds. An American photographer heard her desperate cries for help and enlisted the help of a local NGO to spearhead a dangerous mission to rescue her. Finally, Lakshmi risked everything for freedom.
“Sold” movie was produced by Academy Award-Winning Director Jeffrey Brown. “Sold” is a narrative, feature film adaptation of the globally acclaimed novel by Patricia McCormick. Globally the brutality of child trafficking affects millions of children around the globe every year. The average age of a trafficked girl is thirteen, the same as Lakshmi in the movie. “Sold” is a call to action for our global community.
FOG Founder Dr. Romesh Japra welcomed and addressed the audience and called for action on empowering youth and women in our community and especially leading the fight against human trafficking and bringing movies to educate our global community.
The global panel leaders who greatly make significant contributions to our community in human trafficking and violence against women and youth included Honorable Teresa Cox, Ohlone Community College, Trustee, Shipra Bhutani, Woman Entrepreneur, Dr. Yasi Safinya-Davies, Executive Director, Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments (SAVE), Sharan Dhanoa, Coordinator at South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, Christopher H.K. Lee, Producer/Director of the documentary, “The Last Tear”, Laura Hackney, Executive Director, Shashirekha Alur, Art of Living Foundation Teacher, Seirah Royin, Featured Actress in “Sold”, Pamita Seth, Marketing Media, Chhitra Subramaniam, Producer/Director, Wiz Films, and Event Moderator – Jessica Hubley, CoFounder & CEO, Annie Cannons, Inc.
Anima Desai, Event Chair, Honorable Teresa Cox, Co-Chair and Seema Sahni, Co-Chair, Olga Chervyakova, Shakun Nagdev, Sarla Kinsara, Sonia Siddhu, Manali Brahmbhatt, Sandhya Desai, Hansa Shah, and Anju Patel were members of the FOG Silicon’s Valley Women Empowerment Committee.
In summary, the audience was briefed on educational opportunities, women entrepreneurship, understanding the victim’s perspective and on ways to help and support them as they transition into a better life. Discussion included knowing the signs of human trafficking and reporting it.
Human trafficking is modern day slavery. A person is not free to leave a situation where they are being exploited for their labor or sexually for commercial gain. Stop human trafficking in our cities.
Learn more at: www.NoTraffickAhead.org. Report in an emergency call 911. The National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888. The National Hotline is a non-governmental and confidential phone line.
India Post News Service
