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Concert for a New Day: Celebrating Survivors’ Voices

At this virtual fundraising event, we are honored to present survivor leaders as the distinguished Emcees of this online gala: Elsa Lopez Ebrole (Philippines), Alika Kinan (Argentina), Mickey Meji (South Africa), and Melanie Thompson (USA).  We are also delighted to present extraordinary, award-winning singer/songwriters who will perform at the event: Allison Russell, Valerie June, four-time Grammy-award winner Sarah Jarosz, and indie rock group, BETTY.

The net proceeds of this event will go directly to CATW’s national and international programs. In light of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on victims and survivors of sex trafficking and the sex trade, your generous sponsorship will strengthen our global movement to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable women and girls and to march toward equality for all. We stand with survivors as their outstanding strength and resilience motivate us to renew our commitment to eradicate the scourge of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Thank you.

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This event is scheduled for October 21 at 12:30PM EST

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Featuring

BETTY

Elsa Lopez Ebrole

Sarah Jarosz

Valerie June

Alika Kinan

Mickey Meji

Allison Russell

Melanie Thompson

Taina Bien-Aimé

BETTY

Indie Pop Trio

The indie pop trio BETTY formed in Washington D.C. in 1986 burst onto the New York City scene, where they are still based 34 years later. Alyson Palmer (vocals, bass, guitar) and sisters Elizabeth Ziff (vocals, guitar, electronic programming) and Amy Ziff (vocals and cello) use beguiling melodies, compelling lyrics and signature harmonies to create legendary live shows that mix music, performance art, politics and comedy. BETTY sings of joy, love, longing, sex, food, heartbreak, and the universal hilarity of human existence. More than a band, BETTY uses music to channel their passion for fairness and equality. From the beginning, they have lent their voices to causes they fight for, their talent in collaboration with other artists of every medium, and their time in support of women and girls, worldwide. https://www.hellobetty.com/about/

Elsa Lopez Ebrole

Survivor Leader Emcee (The Philippines)

Elsa Lopez Ebrole is an advocate and community educator at the survivor-led frontline services organization, BUKLOD, in Olongapo City, The Philippines.  Born in Manila, Elsa and her family relocated to Olongapo City in 1960s, where the U.S. military operated its bases for a century. Upon graduation from high school, she was put in a brothel to support her family where she was exploited for a decade. When a volcano erupted in 1991 and damaged the city, including its strip clubs and brothels, Elsa connected with BUKLOD, which helped her rebuild her life. During her tenure at BUKLOD, Elsa has led educational and other campaigns to end the sex trafficking and prostitution of women, including one leading to the passage of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Ordinance in September 2020. Alma is completing her studies in social work at the Philippine Women’s University in Manila and is the grandmother of five children. 

Sarah Jarosz

Singer-songwriter

With her captivating voice and richly detailed songwriting, Sarah Jarosz has emerged as one of the most compelling musicians of her generation. A four-time Grammy Award-winner at the age of 29, the Texas native started singing as a young girl and became an accomplished multi-instrumentalist by her early teens. After releasing her full-length debut Song Up in Her Head at 18-years-old, she went on to deliver such critically lauded albums as Follow Me Down, Build Me Up From Bones, and 2016’s Undercurrent, in addition to joining forces with Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan to form the acclaimed Grammy winning folk trio I’m With Her. Following up her most recent Grammy-winning album, World On The Ground, Sarah has announced the release of Blue Heron Suite, a much-anticipated song cycle which she composed after being the recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission. Sarah premiered the piece at the 2017 FreshGrass Festival at Mass MoCa in North Adams, MA. https://www.sarahjarosz.com/

Valerie June

Singer-songwriter

The latest full-length from Valerie June, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers emerged from a long-awaited revelation on the part of the Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter. “With this record, it finally became clear why I have this dream of making music,” Valerie says of her third album for Fantasy Records. “It’s not for earthly reasons of wanting to be awarded or to win anybody’s love—it’s because dreaming keeps me inquisitive and keeps me on that path of learning what I have to share with the world.” The follow-up to her widely adored The Order of Time—a 2017 effort that earned the admiration of Bob Dylan and landed on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of Rolling Stone and the New York Times, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers is a potent catalyst for that kind of magic. With her spellbinding vocals and infectious sense of wonder, Valerie gently eases the listener into a far more charmed state of mind, one that quickly restores a powerful feeling of joyful possibility. https://valeriejune.com/

Alika Kinan

Survivor Leader Emcee (Argentina)

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 in Buenos Aires. 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. 

Mickey Meji

Survivor Leader Emcee (South Africa)

Nomonde Mihlali (“Mickey”) Meji is the advocacy manager at Embrace Dignity, a feminist human rights organization that challenges gendered power. Mickey is a feminist, abolitionist, and human rights activist. She has presented at both national, regional, and international conferences, including at policy-making bodies, such as the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board NGO Delegation (Africa Delegate) and the South African National AIDS Council SANAC (Sector Leader). In collaboration with other prostitution survivors, Mickey convened the first-ever sex trade survivor movement in Africa. She is also working on the development of her newly founded organization, Survivor Empowerment & Support Programme (SESPE). Mickey’s vision is of a world where no woman or girl is bought, sold and exploited.

Allison Russell

Singer-songwriter

Allison Russell is an artist, activist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of extraordinary power, talent and grace. A founding member of the acclaimed groups Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla and Amythyst Kiah), and Birds of Chicago (with her husband/musical partner JT Nero), the Montreal native has begun to emerge as a potent force among creative circles worldwide. On her debut solo album Outside Child (Fantasy Records, May 2021), Allison unpacks the story of her traumatic childhood in a deeply moving, unforgettable song-cycle of courage, empathy, and love. Outside Child is a powerful and warm statement of hope, resilience and the redemptive power of art – asserted from a place of healing, of motherhood, of partnership – and from a new home made in Nashville. Allison has been nominated as Emerging Act of the Year by the Americana Music Association and has been named one of the top artists to watch in 2021 by Rolling Stone. Outside Child was recently placed on the long list for the prestigious Polaris Prize and has appeared on a number of “Best of 2021” lists thus far. https://allisonrussellmusic.com/. * Credit for headshot Marc Baptiste

Melanie Thompson

Survivor Leader Emcee (USA)

Melanie Thompsonis the Youth Outreach Coordinator at the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and is separately a speaker, activist, and leader in the global fight to end prostitution, sex trafficking, and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficked and sold into prostitution in Queens, New York, at the age of 12, she was arrested a year later, and placed into foster care. She became an activist at age 14. Melanie has testified before numerous legislatures about the need to pass strong anti-trafficking laws and other laws that end the arrests of sex trafficked and prostituted children and people in the sex trade, while holding accountable perpetrators, including sex buyers. She is a senior at the City University of New York and plans to open a non-profit organization to assist victims of trafficking and foster care. * Credit for headshot Lynn Savarese

Taina Bien-Aimé

Executive Director CATW

Taina Bien-Aimé is the executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) and has close to three decades of experience advocating for the rights of women and girls worldwide. 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 was featured on Forbes’ first-ever “50 Over 50 Women: Impact” list in 2021. * Credit for headshot Getty Images

Let’s end human trafficking and sexual exploitation around the world — together.

Everyone has the right to live a life free from violence and discrimination. Since 1988, we’ve been working to end the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls by advocating for strong laws and policies, raising public awareness and supporting survivor leadership globally.

Celebrate Survivors’ Voices With Us

Tell the world why you stand with survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Take a selfie with your message of support, tag and follow @CATWIntl and use hashtags #CATWGala2021 #ListenToSurvivors in your post.

Tell the world why you stand with survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Take a selfie with your message of support, tag and follow @CATWIntl and use hashtags #CATWGala2021 #ListenToSurvivors in your post.

#ListenToSurvivors

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We thank our Host Committee, sponsors and supporters for their generous contributions.

TRAILBLAZERS

CHANGEMAKERS

Anonymous

Stephanie Davis

Anne Delaney

Catherine J. Douglass

Bonnie Porta

Lynn and John Savarese

Bonnie Schaefer

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP

Debra Martin Chase

Aiyoung Choi

Lori Cohen and Christopher Rothko

Ann S. Colley


Edwidge Danticat

Winifred Doherty

Saidah Arrika Ekulona


Stephanie Ferdman

Rachel Foster


Ashley Judd


Laya Khadjavi


Azadeh Khalili


Dorchen Leidholdt


Alexi Ashe Meyers and Seth Meyers


Gloria Steinem

TRAILBLAZERS

Anonymous

Stephanie Davis

Anne Delaney

Catherine J. Douglass

Bonnie Porta

Lynn and John Savarese

Bonnie Schaefer

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP

CHANGEMAKERS

Debra Martin Chase

Aiyoung Choi

Lori Cohen and Christopher Rothko

Ann S. Colley

Edwidge Danticat

Winifred Doherty

Saidah Arrika Ekulona

Stephanie Ferdman

Rachel Foster

Ashley Judd

Laya Khadjavi

Azadeh Khalili

Dorchen Leidholdt

Alexi Ashe Meyers and Seth Meyers

Gloria Steinem

Contact [email protected]

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Get Help

If you or someone you know is in a situation of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation and needs help, please check out our list of global resources. 

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