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Center for the Empowerment of Women Working to end all forms of violence against women is one of hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to others today. In the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, the Center for the Empowerment of Women has as its mission, “To stop the silence and put an end to all violence against women and girls.” It was founded in 2007 by Sister Teresita Hinnegan, who has spent her life fighting for health care and justice for impoverished women. She was a nurse-midwife in Bangladesh, a local and state advocate for maternal/child health in Pennsylvania, and a 20-year faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Sister Teresita says, “Violence against women is present in every society. It’s a slow, uphill climb to make violence against women more visible in order to mobilize advocates to work at solutions.” As Director of the Center, Sister Teresita is involved in many activities to raise awareness within the community about the human rights of women and girls and how they are violated, and identifying best practices for prevention. The focus of all the activities is on the prevention of violence in its many forms including: discrimination in all its forms in society; domestic violence; prostitution; trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation or labor; rape; violence in entertainment; and elder woman abuse. Sister Teresita and the volunteers at the Center spread the word through leaflets, presentations at area colleges and universities, discussion groups and workshops. There is also ongoing activity to organize a White Ribbon Campaign in Philadelphia. White Ribbon is the largest effort in the world of men working with men and boys to end violence against women and girls. For several years, Sister Teresita has been serving as a Medical Mission Sister NGO representative to the UN annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. She is also the Executive Director of Dawn’s Place, a unique residential center that assists women and girls who are enslaved in sex trafficking. She explains, “Trafficking for the various forms of sexual exploitation is one horrific manifestation of violence against women.”
For more information, please contact the Center for the Empowerment of Women at: 215-609-4360 or: teresitahinnegan@comcast.net March 1, 2010
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