Barack Obama recently declared January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Recognized as a modern day version of slavery, human trafficking is an issue that impacts the most poor and vulnerable globally. For women, trafficking most often means prostitution.

On January 14, Lila Shahani, of the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Human Development & Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster of the Philippine Government, spoke about human trafficking in a Philippine, Canadian and Global Context.

For more on Lila's work on trafficking and the Philippines, you can read her paper: "Situating Human Trafficking in the Philippines: Global, National and Personal Contexts"

The talk was held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver B.C. and was recorded by Krystle Alarcon.

January is Human Trafficking Prevention month. Lila Shahani speaks about the expansive reality of human trafficking for women, globally, at a talk at the University of British Columbia.

On this episode of Needs No Introduction, Derrick O'Keefe interviews activist and author, Judy Rebick and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs about #IdleNoMore, which began as a series of actions back in October in response to Bill C 45.

The grassroots movement has since swept the nation, as First Nations peoples and allies rally against the Harper government's lack of action on commitments made to the First Nations.

Jeff Perera is a community and youth engagement manager for the White Ribbon Campaign. The campaign is the world's largest effort to engage men and boys in working towards a new vision of masculinity and ending gender-based violence. He has delivered talks from Vancouver to Taiwan and has started the site Higher Unlearning for men and young men to explore how gender impacts everyday life.

At the December 6 event Speak UP! Perera spoke about how the silence of men contributes to a culture of violence against women.

Jeff Perera talks about how the White Ribbon campaign aims to break the silence around gender violence with boys and men.

Steph Guthrie is a communications professional and community organizer based in Toronto. She is the founder and executive director of Women in Toronto Politics where she coordinates events to promote discussion in Toronto politics on and off council floor. This past summer she led a spontaneous effort to hold the maker of a misogynistic game against feminist pop culture critic Anita Sar-kee-si-an accountable. Most recently she organized take back the night block parties in areas of Toronto affected by a string of sexual assaults.

She spoke at Speak UP! an event organized at the Centre for Social Innovation in memory of the Montreal Massacre. Guthrie explained how online misogyny can be fought using social and legal tools.

Mike Layton is the Toronto City counsellor for Ward 19, Downtown Toronto. Before being elected in 2010 to serve as one of the Toronto's youngest counsellors he worked for political change from the other side of the table, as an environmental leader and community organizer. As the deputy out reach director for Environmental Defense he championed a number of successful initiatives including the green economy act. As the son of former NDP leader and city councillor Jack Layton, he has been involved in fundraising from a very young age, with projects such as the White Ribbon Campaign.

At Speak UP! an event at the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto, Mike Layton spoke about his involvement organizing against gender based violence, in his ward and with the White Ribbon Campaign.

Intro/extro music: halo by Karim Rizkallah

Deb Singh is an activist feminist warrior and a settler on Turtle Island. She uses the tools of anti-oppression to transform hate into a tool for learning and healing. Sing is a survivor and an activist, counsellor with the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre: Multicultural Women Against Rape.

She spoke at Speak UP! an event in memory of the Montreal Massacre at the Centre for Social Innovation about how language complicates society's views on violence. She talks about the importance of focusing on women's experiences above all and how journalists have covered the recent string of sexual assaults in Toronto earlier this year.

Imagine Ori Dagan

Deb Singh complicates how the culture of violence uses language to oppress women's experiences.

Community feminist organizer Steph Guthrie explains how online harassment is affecting women online.