overcoming adversity

As part of her continued efforts to increase awareness of human trafficking, Marti MacGibbon recently contributed to the article ‘Labor trafficking in marijuana production: a hidden epidemic in the shadows of the cannabis industry’ published on the Frontiers website.
Excerpt:
Labor trafficking in marijuana production remains a concealed epidemic within the expanding cannabis industry. This abstract brings attention to the systemic exploitation of vulnerable individuals engaged in cultivating, harvesting, and processing cannabis.

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Shout out to Her Campus Organization at Wilfred Laurier University in Toronto, Canada! As keynote speaker at Her Campus’ Empowered Women’s Conference, which commemorated 2021 International Women’s Day, Marti MacGibbon delivered a Zoom presentation entitled, Gratitude, Celebration, and the Resilience of Empowered Women.

Her Campus supports female students in leadership, and is dedicated to philanthropy.

In honor of 2021 International Women’s Day here are some organization links, and links to the charities they support:

Organization Links
https://alphaphi.org/
https://www.alphaomegasorority.com/
https://www.akdphi.

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The 2018 Arizona Correctional Educators Conference theme was, “Get Your Rockstar On!” As opening keynote speaker on June 1st, Marti delivered a high-energy, funny, and exhilarating speech peppered with punchlines, quotes from rockstars, and surefire strategies for reducing stress, amping up self-motivation, and building resiliency. Marti also delivered a breakout session that expanded on the content delivered in the keynote.

Marti got a chance to strum a giant electric guitar and surf alongside Elvis. Check out the pics on the right. She also did a book signing of both Fierce, Funny, and Female and Never Give in to Fear.

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Women all over the world are making history. The #MeToo movement has elevated women’s voices as they stand up against sexual harassment in the workplace. Females of all ages are speaking up and speaking out on a number of issues, including equal pay, equal representation in leadership, elimination of gender bias, better prenatal and postnatal care, and justice for victims and survivors of gender-based violence.
Celebrate Women’s History Month by listening to what women are saying. We speak with music, science, art, literature, activism, advocacy, friendship, love, and justice.

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February 16th is National Do a Grouch a Favor Day, a call to kindness in the name of a grouch. You can celebrate this occasion in a variety of ways — and whether you are the “grouch-er” or the “grouch-ee” doesn’t matter, your kind act will benefit you either way. We’ve all been ill-tempered, irritable, or complained too much, and we all know somebody who engages in those behaviors. There’s no shame in being a grouch: comedian Lewis Black built a very successful and celebrated career on grumpy rants.

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Often when I speak as an anti-trafficking advocate, people ask me, “How can we stop this terrible crime?” Or they exclaim, “We’ve got to arrest all the traffickers! Locking them up will solve this problem right away.” Law enforcement is key, but law enforcement alone is not the answer. When we look at the global crime of human trafficking, we realize that it is one of the most important human rights issues of our time. But we cannot examine this problem as separate from other factors.

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January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Human trafficking is a complicated and potentially overwhelming issue. It is not for the faint of heart. The global struggle can appear impossible to win. But it is not impossible to create positive change. I’ve seen this firsthand, as a survivor, advocate, clinician, and leader. As a survivor, I am often asked, “How did this terrible thing happen to you?” Here, in the first of two consecutive blog posts, I will recount my personal story of surviving trafficking and intimate partner violence, listing the vulnerabilities to my being trafficked.

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