Human Rights Issues of 2013

2012 is over. I did not write a blog post highlighting Top Ten Human Rights issues of 2012; to be honest, I was overwhelmed by them. From the effects of environmental disasters on our daily lives to unsafe schools to human trafficking to all sorts of discrimination taking place in our own backyard, I did not know where to begin.

It is now 2013, a new year. Instead of looking back, I want to look forward, and identify some human rights issues that must be addressed by our state, as well as our nation, starting today.

1. Improvement of mental health services for all. Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek makes two statements: a. Multiple studies show a strong link between untreated mental illness and an increased risk of committing violent acts (when properly treated, even the severely mentally ill pose no greater threat than do those in the general population), and b. The state of Minnesota has the lowest number of psychiatric beds per capita in the nation. Failure to identify and help those who may be demonstrating symptoms of serious mental illness is a human rights abuse--first for the victim of mental illness, and second for the community. Heterosexual men are less likely to seek mental health services than women, and often cite that mental health services are promoted to women or LGBT communities--not to them. Meanwhile, all of the mass murderers in the United States in recent history have been boys or men suffering from serious mental illness.

2. Federal anti-discrimination policies that identify sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. Until this comes to pass, federally recognized same sex marriage will remain a fairy tale, and incidents such as this one, where a restaurant manager in North Carolina hands a lesbian couple a letter condemning their lifestyle after they paid their bill, will continue. If that restaurant manager had handed such a letter condemning African-Americans, Jewish people, or any other minority to customers who fell into such identified category, he would have been served a lawsuit that the state of North Carolina could beat him with. The only thing a restaurant manager should say to customers paying their bill is "Thank you for your business--have a nice day."

3. Sexual harassment training and protection in all MnSCU institutions. Students and faculty remain at risk for sexual harassment in MnSCU institutions. This creates unsafe educational and work environments. Victims of sexual harassment do not get the justice they deserve, and faculty are not given the training or administrative directives to know the legal consequences of their actions. 

4. Creating sustainable lifestyles in an age of rapidly changing climates. Hurricanes, tornadoes and derechos, brush fires in Australia, record heatwaves, droughts, floods, and unprecedented cold snaps are putting an increasing human population at risk for homelessness and starvation. The world must work together to find sustainable solutions to life in unpredictable climates.

If you can think of any more issues, feel free to comment...for me, this is quite enough for one year.