Mission & Objectives

Rights4Girls is a human rights organization working to end gender-based violence in the U.S. We advocate for the dignity and rights of young women and girls—so that every girl can be safe and live a life free of violence and exploitation. Based in Washington, D.C., Rights4Girls works to make the lives of young women and girls a human rights priority.

These rates of violence are comparable to the scope and intensity of gendered violence abroad, in African, Latin American, and Asian nations in which violence against women and girls is acknowledged as a human rights issue. Now is the time for a similar human approach to highlight the conditions of sexual violence, domestic violence, rape, exploitation, and trafficking in the U.S. Now is the time to understand that gendered violence here in the U.S., like gendered violence abroad, restricts girls' rights and the realization of their full potential and dignity.

WHY POLICY?

Policy reform does not just help one girl — it provides recognition in law to ensure safety and support to thousands of abused and exploited girls.

We achieve policy change through education, engagement, and movement building. We focus on policy because we believe in transformational change for girls. When polices are improved for girls and young women, the impact is sweeping, enduring, and generational.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

Our U.S.-based human rights work for young women and girls focuses on the following goals:

Advance public policy that protects the dignity and rights of young women and girls, especially those from vulnerable communities.

Develop public awareness and media campaigns to give visibility to gendered violence in the U.S.

Create global partnerships with international human rights and women’s rights organizations to include the experience of violence against young women and girls in the U.S.

Dismantle the sexual abuse to prison pipeline for girls, particularly girls of color.

End domestic child sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of young women.

Improve conditions of confinement for girls and young women in the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

 

our daughters are not for sale

Read Resolution Read the Congressional Resolution “Our Daughters Are Not For Sale.”

Our Daughters Are Not For Sale Proclamation

  1. EDUCATE LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO PROTECT SEXUALLY EXPLOITED AND TRAFFICKED CHILDREN Educate family, friends, and neighbors to understand that girls subject to commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking are victims--most of whom came out of a broken child welfare system or are runaway youth that were subsequently preyed upon by exploiters and traffickers.
  2. HELP GIRLS WHO HAVE BEEN SOLD FOR SEX Support survivors of domestic trafficking in their efforts to raise awareness on who trafficked girls are and the support that trafficked girls require to heal fro the complex trauma of sexual violence and exploitation.
  3. SUPPORT THE EXTENSION OF EXISTING SERVICES TO CHILD VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING Affirm that the same protections and supports that apply to victims of child abuse be extended to child victims of trafficking.
  4. ENCOURAGE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTORIAL PROTOCOLS TO TREAT GIRLS AS VICTIMS AND NOT CRIMINALS Exploited and trafficked girls are not "bad girls" or "child prostitutes" but victims of systemized rape who need the same legal supports and protections other rape victims are afforded.
  5. SUPPORT AN END TO DEMAND FOR GIRLS Our daughters are not for sale.  Anyone who buys or sells a child should be punished accordingly.