Autonomy and Freedom of Speech as Human Rights

As one autonomous human being interacting with others, I am obligated to treat each person with the kind of respect that includes not violating their bodily autonomy, not usurping their control over their own lives and not purposely causing harm to people or their environments. I am in no way whatsoever obligated to respect a system of beliefs...ANY system of beliefs...whether it be a belief in authority of a state or authority or validity of a religion. I am free to criticize any religion or any activity by a religious or political organization. When a system of belief repeatedly encourages deadly violence for any reason what-so-over, marriage to or mutilation of children, or the idea that one sex is greater, worth more, or is the only sex that can have any form of true autonomy, then I will criticize it as I see fit. My goal is universal human rights and respect towards all, and if there's anything I feel that gets in the way of that: governments, organized religion, traditions that squash the rights of groups of people, then I will continue to point out flaws in those things until such a time that all human beings have the right to their autonomy, bodily autonomy included, and all interaction between individuals and communities are consensual events.

At no point will I tell others that they do not have the right to believe what they believe, but I will at every point let them know that they are not in any way excused from honoring and respecting the autonomy and human rights of every other person on the planet, regardless of how their beliefs might clash with that idea. No, not every person has to be autonomous if they do not choose to be.  Some people willingly give up their autonomy, but no person may demand that another person submit to the will of a religion using violence, threats or coercion any more than a government or community may force individuals to submit to frivolous laws or authority not consented to.

http://facebook.com/trueautonomy

How NOT to Combat Human Trafficking

 

People have previously believed that combating prostitution is the same as combating human trafficking.  It isn’t.

  For example, a small group of people in Washington D.C. noticed a brothel disguised as a spa had opened up in their neighborhood.  By occasionally catching glimpses of the girls, they came to suspect that the young women in question might have been victims of human trafficking.  They were morally outraged, so they filed a petition at Change.org to force the business to yank up its roots from their neighborhood, close their doors and go somewhere else.

  What did this group of people accomplish?  Well, they made it so their husbands would have to drive a little further to pay for sex.  They repaired the reputation of their presumably pure and noble neighborhood. 

  Did they do anything that helped the girls and/or women they suspected were being held against their will in order to be repeatedly sold into sexual bondage?

  No.  They did nothing that could be considered helping those women victimized by human trafficking.

  Visibility creates accountability.  Letting potential traffickers know that they were being targeted for suspicion of human trafficking doesn’t mean that they’re going to close up shop and never do business again.  It means they’re going to go further underground to sell their wares without attracting suspicion from a nosy neighborhood.

  If those women were slaves, they may never be seen again.  An opportunity to help them has been lost.

  It’s too bad Change.org doesn’t have a Wall of Shame. 

  This situation highlights how important it is to know how to approach a situation where human trafficking is suspected.  If someone truly wants to help, it is important for them to know how best to help the people involved, and that usually starts by contacting organizations that specifically deal with the issue, such as the Polaris Project.  If you or anyone you know has suspicions about a potential human trafficking situation, or if you yourself are or have been a victim of human trafficking, call the Polaris Project Hotline at 1-888-3737-888.

Inventing Human Rights