A Walk to Beautiful

Last night a few staffers from The Body Shop including yours truly were lucky enough to attend the opening night of the first Australian Human Rights Arts & Film Festival at the RMIT Capitol Theatre in Melbourne. All thanks to our friends and partners Amnesty International.

We saw A Walk to Beautiful. It's the story of five women who suffer from devastating childbirth injuries and embark on a journey to reclaim their lost dignity.


I was deeply moved and outraged by this movie. These women are forced into marriage and sex and child birth when they are still just children. The lack of basic rural health services (or even roads in least developed countries like Ethiopia) means some women can't get to a nurse let alone a doctor or obstetrician to help them during child birth.

There's a high percentage of easily preventable miscarriages, still-births and even maternal deaths compared to develop countries. The movie focuses on the problem of obstetric fistula - a hole in the birth canal caused by prolonged labour without prompt medical intervention, usually a Caesar section. The woman is left with chronic incontinence and, in most cases, a stillborn baby. On top of the trauma of losing their baby, fistula causes the added psychological suffering of humiliation and social alienation.


The facts:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates (but as this month's Gapcast on maternal health illustrates it could be a gross underestimate) 500,000 women actually die in childbirth every year.
• More than 2 million women live with fistula worldwide.
• In Ethiopia, there are 59 ob-gyns and 1,000 midwives for a population of 65 million.
• Number of patients treated at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital every year: 1200
• Number of obstetric fistula cases occurring in Ethiopia alone each year: 9,000
• Number of new obstetric fistula cases resulting from childbirth occurring worldwide each year: 50,000-100,000
• More than 99% of The Fistula Hospital patients are illiterate. (The hospital teaches all patients the Amharic Fideles and the Oromiyffa alphabets.)

"Fistula is the single most dramatic aftermath of neglected childbirth"- WHO

How You Can Help:

• Get informed! Next time you're at the video store or the cinemas - challenge yourself to watch a human rights related movie like A Walk to Beautiful, Lost Boys of Sudan or Hotel Rwanda every now and again. Watch a movie - it's such an easy way to learn more, become passionate and motivated to change your life and the world.
  
• Go to the Human Rights Film Festival!
  
• Join the global Campaign to End Fistula - championed by 'our own' Natalie Imbruglia.
• Donate directly to the Worldwide Fistula Fund or Hamlin Fistula Hospital featured in the movie which was started in 1974 by a doctor couple from Adelaide.
• Be outraged about human rights abuses - not just when it involves a westerner (see the current British Teacher Jailed for naming a Teddy Mohammad controversy).
  
• Join Amnesty International

Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

White Ribbon Day

To mark White Ribbon Day (yesterday) I'd like to show you some very impactful videos I have found about Domestic Violence.


Father and Son
Although obviously for an American audience - the meaning is clear. Adults have an important role to play in helping prevent domestic abuse. The objective of the campaign is to engage men and have them speak to boys about how women should be treated.



Children See Children Do
This one was developed in for Australian audiences. Before filming the script was sent to the NSW Office of the Children's Guardian who oversee any filming which involves children to ensure that during filming the children are not exposed to harm in any way. So, for example, the domestic violence scene was put together by filming the child separately to the adults and putting the total scene together in post production.



You Wouldn't Do This Here
Warning: this video has strong language and is quite confronting.




Shop Till it Stops
Even Tori Spelling is getting involved in raising awareness about domestic violence.




Interview with a Sexual Assault Nurse in a Seattle Hospital




Where to go for help.
Don't be silent about domestic violence - as a society the worst thing we can do is remain silent. No one deserves it to be abused emotionally, financially or physically. There is free and confidential help available. Amnesty International Australia has the most comprehensive list of services that can help you or your friend say no to domestic violence.


Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

Values at the polling booth

The Body Shop is apolitical - that means we don't lean one way or another... of course we are extremely interested in politics - every corporation is. Most corporates are self-interested in how the party's policies - especially tax and IR - will effect their bottom line.

At The Body Shop we're interested in much more than this... that's why this Saturday if you share the same values of Defending Human Rights and Protecting our Planet you might want to consider voting for the party with the best policies for these issues. Don't waste your vote!


Protecting the Planet
Click on the below image to read the Australian Conservation Foundation's report card on how the parties rate on the issues of:

• climate change,
  
• leadership for a sustainable future and
  
• protecting our natural environment:

Defending Human Rights

Human rights to health, housing, education and work are stripped away by poverty. Here are the facts:

• 6.45 billion people live on this Earth
  
• 2.74 billion people survive on less than US$2 a day
• 800 million people go to bed hungry every night
• 121 million children don't have access to education
• 1.2 billion people don't have access to safe drinking water
• 1 billion people (1/3 of the global workforce) are unemployed, underemployed or working poor - 60% are women
• Each day, nearly 30,000 children die from illnesses that are easily preventable or cured if they weren't in poverty.

Amnesty International says: "People living in poverty have the least access to power to shape the policies of poverty and are frequently denied effective remedies for violations of their rights." It's a vicious circle.

In my opinion, one of the most important and just things our government can do is to give a fair amount of sustainable aid and development funding to help people in desperate poverty. Individually, Australians are among the most generous donors in the world in terms of their giving to overseas aid. Unfortunately our government's level of overseas aid is one of the worst.

Check out the Make Poverty History Coalition's report card if you want to defend human rights with your vote.

Find out where your nearest polling place here.


Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

Japanese whalers hunt humpbacks

A humpback whale off Port Macquarie, NSW. Photo: iansand

We (humans!!!) decimated the population of whales including humpback whales during the late 1950s and early 1960s to the very brink of extinction.

Some of the nicer humans amongst us took an issue with this and campaigned like crazy to "save the whales". Anita Roddick was one of them. She founded The Body Shop in 1976 and the very next year threw herself into Greenpeace's anti-whaling campaign.

Until now this campaign has been a real success story, proving we can make a difference and turn things around. Only a few countries in the world condone commercial whaling anymore.

As a result, the Humpback population in eastern Australia has slowly crept back up. The current population migrating along our east coast was estimated to be 7,024 in 2005 and increasing at approximately 10-11% per annum and is likely to be around 9,500 individuals in 2007 according to the Southern Cross University Whale Research Centre. Note: the current classification by the World Conservation Union is still 'vulnerable'.

That's why I was furious to discover a Japanese whaling fleet has set sail in defiance of international condemnation with plans to bag and tag the biggest catch of minke and humpback whales since the 1960s. All in the name of "research" - yeah right!

The Japanese Government's position on whaling argues that there are plenty of whales now and they are eating all our fish! That's right, it's the whales that illegally caught and ate $6 billion worth of Southern Bluefin Tuna in the last 20 years... not Japanese fishing vessels. (I hope you're hearing my sarcasm here)

The weird thing is, according to this survey in 1999, the last time 61 percent of Japanese people ate whale meat, (if ever) was when they were children. Only one percent of them answered that they eat whale meat about once a month. No one answered that he/she eats whale meat more frequently than once a month.

According to the traveler that took this photo, (right) these are half price "whale hamburgers" in a Japanese supermarket. The sign says that the meat has been flavoured so that it is reminiscent of hamburgers - more palatable to the kids. Whale meat tastes a bit like beef but it has a strong aftertaste that might not be popular with children.

So, yes it's a part of their cultural history, but most of them don't even like eating it anymore! Can anyone make sense of why they are so hardcore about "researching" so many of them?

What you can do:

• Join Greenpeace's Great Whale Trail to track Humpbacks off our east coast.
  
• Join and support with gusto an anti-whaling, campaign organisation like Greenpeace or Sea Shepard
• Email the Japanese Embassy in Canberra cultural@japan.org.au
• Phone, write or visit your local Japanese Consulate
  

Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

Compassionate Traveller WSPA Documentary

See how your support is improving the lives of animals in an incredible upcoming documentary on WSPA's work - The Compassionate Traveller.

You‘ll journey through Thailand with presenter and vet Dr Julie Summerfield as she shows you some amazing projects protecting animals from cruelty and neglect. And discover how being an animal-friendly ‘compassionate traveller‘ on your next holiday can help transform the lives of animals now, and in the future.

Click here for a special documentary trailer and Julie's personal message of thanks to you for helping animals worldwide.

The Compassionate Traveller - Saturday, November 17 at 2.30pm on Network Ten. The Channel Ten website offers a free Reminder SMS.

Human Rights Film Festival Competition

Film Poster: The World According to Sesame Street PBS

The first ever Human Rights Arts & Film Festival is coming to Melbourne (27 Nov - 15 Dec), with smaller programs also going to Sydney (6 Dec) and Perth (9 - 10 Dec)!

This is an accessible, engaging and meaningful way for you to learn more about one of The Body Shop's core values - defending human rights. It will hopefully inspire people to help bring about positive change.

I'm personally super excited about going to see The World According to Sesame Street from the makers of An Inconvenient Truth. Can the most watched children's TV show in history truly change the world - one child at a time? I reckon muppets can do anything!

Thanks to our best friends over at Amnesty International Australia we have five double passes to the Melbourne Film Festival to give away to readers of this here blog.

All you have to do is be one of the first five readers to email me the answer to the below questions:

1. What's a movie you've seen that has deeply impacted the way you think about human behaviour and why?
   
2. According to the Amnesty International Australia website's campaign page, how many human rights campaigns are they currently running?
3. Which campaign are you most passionate about and why?
4. What's your name and which movie do you want to see? Check out the program pdf or web.
   

Don't be wrong about rights!












Adam Valvasori - Values Manager & Grover lover.

NO Means NO Show

Photo: tanjila

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend the “NO Means NO Show", presented by the Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA) and Absolutely Women’s Health through the Royal Women’s Hospital.

NO MEANS NO is an interactive theatre program with a “whole of school” approach that aims to prevent sexual assault and create a school environment where young people will feel safe to disclose sexual assault and receive appropriate support, information and options”.

Hilariously funny at times, with the No Means No message remaining strong throughout, the realness of the show and the interaction of the school student audience with a panel of experts was at times both confronting and revealing, as to just how real sexual assault is in the lives of so many.

This show was amazing and should be a compulsory component of all secondary schools.

your body = your choice

Deb Baxter - Values Coordinator

Borneo!

Kids from Sabah in the "School Bus" on the way to a Borneo Child Aid Society Children's Centre.

Did I mention, I love working here? Today I've been reading about the great work The Body Shop Foundation is doing... I had no idea, we were being so philanthropic! The foundation is supporting innovative projects around the world working in the areas of human & civil rights and environmental & animal protection.

A great example of a grant that covers all of these bases is the AUD $11,351 granted to the Borneo Child Aid Society, which provides education for children in Sabah. These kids don't have access to the basic human right of education. The group is building a new learning centre that will provide education to 100 children in the rural plantation areas of Sabah. If you're passionate about protecting our planet, their education is vitally important. I'll tell you why:

There is a multi-layered problem taking place in Borneo right now. A surge in demand for palm oil as -ironically- a green biofuel alternative is giving jobs to people in drastic poverty. On the surface this seems like a great outcome: poverty alleviation and an investment in renewable clean energy. Sadly, this is short sighted unsustainable development for both man and beast. The deforestation is contribution to flooding and actually exacerbating the climate change problem. In addition, scores of animals in the forest island are facing extinction! This includes the amazing orangutans.















These maps from Hugo Ahlenius, UNEP/GRID-Arendal show the extent of the deforestation problem in Borneo.

"Palm Oil costs the lives of about 50 orangutans every week and it's cultivation is a major cause of global warming."- Palm Oil Action Group

Education is the only way for people in Borneo to find a long term solution to poverty. You can't blame the people in the videos below for chopping down trees, you'd do it to to survive.

Our education and action on this issue is urgent too - it would be a tragedy for our planet if we were to allow these unique rain forests of Borneo to be destroyed. Australian companies importing palm oil need to immediately stop sourcing it from unsustainable sources like Borneo. Our Government should legislate to make sustainable palm oil importing and product package labeling mandatory.

What Can You Do?


If you have time, please watch this amazing documentary to learn more about the problem:

Orangutans & Palm Oil

Uploaded by Films4

• If you're interested in learning more, here are some more videos about the issue.
  
• Visit the Palm Oil Action Group website for activist ideas
• If you would like to help rescue and rehabilitate orangutans in Borneo please consider donating generously to the World Society for the Protection of Animals' Orangutan appeal.
• Adopt an Orangutan now for only $55 a year through the Australian Orangutan Project.
  

Photo: Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (WSPA Partners)







Related Blog Post: "Sustainability: In the Palm Oil of Our Hands"

Adam Valvasori - Values Manager & Orangutan Fan

P.S: The Body Shop only uses 100% sustainable & totally orangutan friendly palm oil in our soaps etc :)

Community Project: Debutante Ball

On Oct 3rd, the Victorian Office of the Child Safety Commissioner, in partnership with youth outreach agencies, organised the inaugural Debutante Ball for young people in Out of Home Care. That is children who can not live with their own families. The young people involved were either wards of the State or in foster care arrangements and have often missed out on many of the 'rites of passage' events that many of us take for granted.

The Body Shop's People Team were fortunate to be invited to help the girls in their preparation on the night, doing their makeup, fixing hair, calming nerves and generally getting them ready for this event, for which they had been preparing all year. They were presented to Victorian Premier John Brumby and his wife Rosemary.

By all accounts the night went off beautifully and it was a pleasure for our team to help out.


Louisa Wallace - People & Values Manager

Who said Hula-Hooping isn't fun?

Probably no-one, but I can honestly say that I have witnessed the fun to be had (and skill required) whilst hula hooping, first hand. And this was my favourite part of volunteering at Children on the Edge in Aceh, Indonesia. Watching the beautiful girls running around the centre, wearing their compulsory Muslim Jilbab, hula-hooping. They would hula-hoop the afternoon away, whilst casually walking around, chatting to each other and even racing each other, all whilst hula hooping. They looked so natural and barely even moved; the hoop just effortlessly whirled around their waists. These girls were about 8 or 9 years old with tiny frames, and these hula hoops were heavy. Its no wonder they are so good, the threat of a dropping the heavy hoops on your toes is reason enough to improve your skills.

These kids, put simply, are amazing. Surviving the 2004 tsunami means they have lived through seeing some horrible things and probably lost family and friends. Yet, seeing these kids in action, whether it be hula-hooping, playing on the swings, chasing a soccer ball or making a paper plate mask, you would never pick this. Rebuilding an area that was pretty much wiped out has been a long and troublesome process for the thousands left homeless and initiatives like the Child and Community Centre are taking another step in this process. Instead of just putting bricks and mortar into place, they are rebuilding the heart and soul of the community through play.

Experiencing this and contributing to this healing process was an incredible experience. Teaching the kids new activities and hearing stories of how much they have bloomed since the centre opened made me realise why I was there. Would I go back? Definitely. Would I recommend you to volunteer on or get involved in fundraising for the next playscheme? Hell Y.E.S!



Liz Yeo - Marketing Chic

Women's satisfaction not looking good

Photo entitled: "Luke. Again I was being ugly and the pixels were called upon to punish my face" by Emmola.

Earlier this year, Newspoll surveyed 537 Australian women aged 10 - 64 years. There were many questions asked about beauty, looks and perceptions. According to the poll only 6 per cent of 18-64 year old Australian women surveyed said they were very satisfied with their looks.

According to Professor of Statistics John S. Croucher, the proportion of surveyed Australian women who say that beauty advertisements make them feel bad about the way they look is 49 per cent.

A recent Dolly magazine survey of 4,000 girls aged 11-18 found 27 per cent would have cosmetic surgery if they could, and 2 per cent had. Surgeons say the trend is most prevalent in Sydney and south-east Queensland.

In 2004, the Victorian Government set up an inquiry into the growing trend in teenagers to go on crash diets and have eating disorders. The then Youth Affairs Minister said that anorexia nervosa was the third most common chronic illness for teenage girls in Australia and that Melbourne University research showed about 10 percent of teenage boys were using muscle-enhancing drugs.

Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, has said there is worrying anecdotal evidence the number of young girls having plastic surgery is rising. She has cited a Gold Coast surgeon who reportedly treats more than 100 minors a year.

Ok, so what can we do about this? The Body Shop has a core value of activating self esteem. We encourage the celebration of the unique qualities that make us who we are. We challenge the unrealistic beauty ideal presented by the beauty industry and we always use language and images that show respect and reverence. If you're passionate about these issues and want to make a difference, here are some things you can do:

• If you would like to help people with eating disorders, support charities in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania need volunteers and support!
• If you are concerned about our media's responsibility for childhood obesity, the sexualisation of children or effects on body image - the Young Media Australia website is a great starting point for your activist journey.
• If you're worried about eating disorders or want to know more about them Reachout is an excellent resource for information and contacts for how to get help.

Photo: Lazy Lightning

Adam Valvasori - Values Manager