Man’s
social nature has led to the inevitable human interactions throughout the
world. These interactions have had both positive and negative outcomes. In an
attempt to mitigate the negative outcomes of such interactions, it is
imperative that people speak up. It is through speaking up that we are where we
in the world today. Historically, key personalities have gone down in records
for their speaking up efforts in order to curb various social ills. Martin Luther
King is most notable in his quest to fight racism in the U.S as Mahatma Gandhi
is prominent for his battle to end slavery in India. Other notable individuals
in their fight for Justice include Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt among
others.
Despite
the historical measures that have been taken to curb social injustices such as
the establishment of human rights, many social ills still take place in the
world. Some of these problems are down played leading to people’s lack of
awareness about them. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness has worked well in
sustaining their existence as a significant number of people across the world
continue to suffer I the hands of cruel perpetrators. In light of this, people
should be encouraged to speak up in order to fight for the rights of the
‘voiceless’ across the world.
Sexual
harassment is one such global menace which has continued to infringe on
people’s rights and freedoms in both learning institutions and work places. It
is noted as a criminal offence and punishable through a jail sentence. It has
been estimated that 40-50% of women workers in European Union countries suffer
sexual harassment and this problem is no different in Asian and African
countries. Males too suffer in the hands of sexual harassment perpetrators
although a majority does not speak up. Even with the adoption of anti-sexual
harassment policies in learning institutions and work places, this problem has
continued to persist. This vice should be completely eliminated and it is only
through speaking out that effective strategies can be implemented to counter
it.
Human
trafficking is another issue that has continued to mar social interactions. It
is the modern day slavery that has continued to foster the atrocious acts of
sexual exploitation and forced labor. In 2008 alone, United Nations
approximated the number of human traffic victims in 127 countries in the world
to be 2.5 million. Governments face a
great challenge as they lack mechanisms to ensure that this kind of practice
does not take place completely. As a result, individuals should be empowered to
speak up about it whenever and wherever they detect it in order for the
perpetrators to be apprehended and brought to book. This will go a long way in
fighting human trafficking which has continually degraded human rights.
Gender
discrimination or sexism is another very common type of issues that hampers
social relations. This problem has been in existence from eons ago and
continues to exist in every society in the present age. For a long time, women
had been discriminated against and looked down upon in all spheres of the
society. The feminist movements played a major role in speaking up and fighting
for women’s rights and freedoms and gave way to the present day situation.
Women gained liberation from most of the discriminatory societal practices.
However, even with the milestones in place, gender discrimination continues to
exist in the present day society. Women and men who face such discriminatory
practices should be encouraged to speak up so that their rights can be
protected effectively.
There
are many social problems that exist as a result of human interactions. Even
with the mechanisms that have been institutionalized to mitigate the negative
impacts of these interactions, much more needs to be done. Change starts with
the person and for change to occur, people must speak up.
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