Formulating a senior thesis

Photos from my last Europe trip. These are possible destination countries for women seeking greater opportunity.

Education empowers the individual and the society. With education comes the ability to understand oneself and others within a larger social/cultural/political/economic context. It can give voice to the oppressed and marginalized and provide  opportunity.

I am particularly interested in the impact of education on women from east Europe because they are highly trafficked for sexual exploitation in "destination countries" in west Europe. The International Organization for Migration estimates that 500,000 women were trafficked from Central and East Europe into the EU and forced to work as prostitutes in the 90s (IOM, 1995). In seemingly hopeless situations, these women are often desperate to leave their country of origin in pursuit of a future for themselves and their dependents.  Particular attention is due to them because "women are in a position of vulnerability to become victims of trafficking due to the feminisation of poverty, gender discrimination, and lack of educational and professional opportunities in their countries of origin," (Sjolinder, 2002). My intention is to research how the educational attainment of women correlates to their risk of being trafficked. Additionally, I want to find out whether the problems lie merely in access to education or quality of education. I also want to consider international responsibility in a non-imperialist sense. Since western countries create the major demand for the sexual exploitation of women in Europe, they need to be held responsible for addressing the issue. They may also have a responsibility to improve the quality of life in east Europe since the west had a direct hand in shaping its future particularly through the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. With improved quality of life in the social/cultural/political/and economic contexts, migration rates would decrease and women would be much less likely to become victims of sex trafficking.

I will be completing an internship in Geneva, Switzerland for three months this summer and will take the opportunity to do some primary research on this topic. I am meeting with a thesis advisor this week to begin laying out my research methodology.

Another component I am working on is fundraising, as my internship with The Worldwide Organization for Women at their UN-based office will be completely self-funded. So far I am receiving support from:

- Myself
- The Utah Women and Education Project
- The UVU Integrated Studies Department

I have already met with every department I am associated with, and each seemed excited to support, although they wanted to know the contribution amount of other departments before they pledged a specific amount. This included: Dean Yells- College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. Clark- Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Michael Minch- Peace and Justice Studies, and Dr. Jeff Torlina- Gender Studies. I also applied for an internship scholarship for this semester and will apply for the summer scholarship as well. Additionally, I intend to apply for a SCOP research grant and a CEL grant. I will need to contact these entities and request to know early on whether or not I can expect to receive support from them, because I am leaving in early May. I also have some fundraising ideas that I am still needing to finalize. Fundraising will be a huge project this semester.

I am still in the literature review stage, but let me know if you have feedback that will help me refine my ideas!