Resources and Publications

The Women's Programs Office achieves the major objectives of the Public Interest Directorate by:

• Promoting those aspects of psychology that involve solutions to the fundamental problems of human justice and equitable and fair treatment of all segments of society;

• Encouraging the utilization and dissemination of psychological knowledge to advance equal opportunity and to foster empowerment of those who do not share equitably in society's resources;

• Increasing scientific understanding and training in regard to those aspects that pertain to, but are not limited to, culture, class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age and discrimination; and to support improving educational training opportunities for all persons.

On December 30, 2011, President Obama proclaimed January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month:¹

"Human trafficking endangers the lives of millions of people around the world, and it is a crime that knows no borders. Trafficking networks operate both domestically and transnationally, and although abuses disproportionally affect women and girls, the victims of this ongoing global tragedy are men, women, and children of all ages."¹

Did you know?

• After drug dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and is the fastest growing?² 

• The U.S. State Department estimates 12.3 million adults and children are currently in forced, bonded labor, and forced prostitution, adding that 56 percent of these victims are women and girls?³ 

• The average age of entry into prostitution for girls is 12-14 years old?⁴

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is a national, toll-free hotline, available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.
Call (888) 3737-888

For more information

• The Polaris Project

• Shared Hope International

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families

¹ President Barack Obama. (2011). Presidential Proclamation on National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2012

² U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). About Human Trafficking. Retrieved January 3, 2012

³ U.S. Department of State. (2010). Trafficking in persons fact sheet (PDF, 1.3MB), 2010.

⁴ U.S. Department of Justice. Child Prostitution. Retrieved January 3, 2012

• Do you think you might be abusing?

• Help for battered men

• Do you know a woman being battered?

• Partner violence: What can you do?

• Publications
  Women's Programs Office task force reports, committee publications, brochures and resolutions.

• WPO news
  Recent news and activities related to the Women's Programs Office.

• Women's Psych-E Newsletter
  The Women’s Psych-E Newsletter is the monthly newsletter of the Women's Programs Office of the APA Public Interest Directorate.

• APA resolutions and policy statements on women
  Resolutions and advocacy related to women's issues.