A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Jessica Smedstad and the Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON)

Jessica Smedstad studies social work at Örebro University in Örebro, Sweden. She did her fifth semester as an exchange student at Inholland University in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where she studied Dutch and International Criminal Law, Intercultural Communication, Social Work and Management. Jessica did her field practice during her sixth semester in Pune, India. In India, she saw and participated in social work in many different fields. It was useful to see that social problems are so similar across the world, but yet different. It was also interesting to see how we handle problems in your own way in different countries. She will graduate with a bachelor degree in social work in January 2006. In the future Jessica would like to work more abroad, and wishes to work with questions concerning integration of immigrants.

Jessica Smedstad worked as a volunteer with The Advocacy Project and our partner organization, the Women's Consortium of Nigeria in the fall of 2005. For two months, she assisted WOCON and conducted research for her thesis on the efforts of WOCON and other Nigerian organizations to assist women victims of international trafficking.

WOCON is committed to the enforcement of women's rights and the attainment of equality, development and peace. Established in 1995, WOCON monitors the status of women's rights, politically and socially, organizes resource centers for women's groups in Nigeria, and works to educate the public on issues of women's rights and welfare.

In Nigeria the problem of international human trafficking is particularly severe. Thousands of young women are taken every year to Europe and the Middle East where they are coerced into prostitution. Thousands of Nigerian children are trafficked as well, moving from rural communities to cities and across borders to neighboring African countries. Frequently, they are forced to become domestic laborers at the end of their journey.

While Jessica was in Nigeria, she split her time between Benin City and Lagos. Benin City offered Jessica the opportunity to interview girls who had been trafficking victims. She will use their testimony to enrich the discussion of human trafficking in her thesis. The difficulty she had in procuring interviews gave Jessica an appreciation for the frustrations that researchers can encounter in the field.

During the second half of her stay in Nigeria, Jessica worked with WOCON. She helped create posters that were used in WOCON outreach events. She also accompanied WOCON staff to workshops on HIV/AIDS and child labor. Near the end of her internship, Jessica attended a youth rally organized by WOCON, which was designed to raise awareness about the problems of trafficking.

• Jessica Smedstad's blog