One of the most interesting of these is the Protection Project, run by a colleague of mine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. The report covers every country and describes their trafficking problems and commercial sexual exploitation laws. Sadly, trafficking is but one of the human rights problems that afflict women and girls. In many places a girl simply is not valued as highly as a boy. This limits opportunities for millions of women to reach their full potential.
Domestic violence plagues women and girls throughout the world.
Once hidden in the shadows, the problem is now out in the open where we can fight it. Indeed, our federal, state and local governments and many private organizations now fund programs to help battered women and sensitize law enforcement authorities to the nature of the problem. Too often women and girls bear the brunt of harmful traditional or customary practices that cause physical and emotional scars. Now that we have entered a new millennium, these practices must end. We applaud, too, those who put women's rights in the Universal Declaration and labored through the intervening years to deliver on its promise.