iwhhr_week_7_toolkit_final.pdf

8/10/2019 IWHHR_Week_7_Toolkit_final.pdf

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International Women’s Health & Human Rights www.internationalwomenshealth.org

Week 7 Discussion Guide: Women’s Quest to Escape Poverty

S. Smith Patrick

Themes from this Week

• Access to money and work

• Impacts of globalization

• Human trafficking and sex trafficking

• Sex work

• Interventions to aid women to escape poverty

Part I. Initial Response

Please discuss your personal reactions to the readings and videos from Week 7, either on Unit 1:Globalization & Women’s Work or Unit 2: Sex Trafficking and Sex Work. Describe one newidea or fact that you have learned from the course this week.

Part II. Topical Questions for you to consider with your group. We have left space for you to



write down some of your thoughts on the subject as you meet with your group.

UNIT 1: Globalization & Women’s Work

1A. What is the informal sector and how is it different from the formal sector?

1B. How do informal work and work in-the-home affect the economy? How much work do womendo compared with men, and can we quantify it?

1C. What kinds of consequences arise because of the lack of recognition of the economic value ofthe informal sector?

2. What is meant by the term the “feminization of poverty”? (Hint: See p. 3 of From Outrage toCourage.) Is this a new or old phenomenon, and how has globalization contributed to it?

3. Globalization has both positive and negative impacts and consequences. Who does globalizationbenefit, and who are the “losers” in the globalizing economy? What is your view of the assertionmade by some market proponents that “capitalism, applied everywhere so that rich and poorcountries become economically intertwined, is the most effective way of alleviating the world'spoverty” (quoted on p. 200, in From Outrage to Courage)?



UNIT 2: Sex Trafficking and Sex Work

4. Define human trafficking. How is a trafficked person different from a smuggled person? Howdoes human trafficking violate human rights? To what kinds of health issues are trafficked womenand girls especially vulnerable?

5. Sex work is a controversial topic, with strong arguments on both sides. What are your views on sex

work? Do you think that sex work can be voluntary? How does bodily autonomy play into your views? What do you think may be the impacts of legalized prostitution as it exists in the Netherlandsand in the State of Nevada in the U.S., for example?

6. What are some ways that groups and organizations are helping women find work that may offerthem alternatives to sex work? What are sex workers doing to advocate for their rights andprotection?



Part III. When you have finished, we ask you to share your group’s reflections and/or your

personal thoughts with the IWHHR community. Please click on the “Discussion Toolkit”tab for instructions.

iwhhr_week_7_toolkit_final.pdf

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