Blogs
Margeaux Gray was a victim of human trafficking when she was a young girl. She was sexually abused by a close and trusted adult man, and at age 5, Margeaux was sold for profit into child sex trafficking. Trafficked by a trusted adult who used physical, sexual, and psychological abuse to maintain...
Five and a half years ago, I left Atlanta to come to Washington to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health — Women's Health and Director of the HHS Office on Women's Health (OWH). It's been an incredibly rewarding adventure, but it's time for me to pass the torch and say farewell. Before...
Sexual assault is a serious problem, affecting women from all backgrounds every day. Sexual assault often causes terrible physical and emotional pain. People who have been sexually assaulted may experience feelings of guilt or shame, leading them to believe the assault was their fault. This is never...
Hydeia Broadbent was born with HIV, but she wasn't diagnosed until she was 3. At the time, her prognosis was grim, since she had already developed AIDS. Her doctors didn't think she would live to the age of 6. Now 31, Hydeia has become a prominent HIV and AIDS activist, devoting her life to raising...
Ed. note: This blog is cross-posted from the White House Blog. The original post date was January 28, 2016. Read the original post. Content warning: Sexual assault, rape, intimate partner violence Last Friday, as Washington, D.C., shut down for "Snowzilla," the White House celebrated the two-year...
When you think of human trafficking, you might think of women from impoverished countries who have been kidnapped and forced into prostitution. But human trafficking also happens right here in the United States. Essentially modern-day slavery, human trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or...
The searing pain came seconds after I heard the popping noise in my left foot. At that moment, I knew that I had seriously injured my foot by just taking a step in my low-heeled sandals. Now, the injury was not due to the shoes I wore to work that day, rather the damage began a few days prior. I had...
It's official — we're right in the middle of the holiday season. For many, it doesn't feel like cause for celebration because this time of year can bring up feelings of sadness, loneliness, depression, or anxiety. Why do people get the holiday blues? Some people feel stressed from being overbooked...
Ed. note: This blog post has been adapted from a BuzzFeed post. The original post was posted on July 29, 2015. Read the original post. Anxiety is a feeling of nervousness, worry, or fear that helps you cope with an event or situation. It's a completely normal response to stress. But when it...
A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, but few women give birth on their due date. In fact, the term "due date" can be misleading — it's simply an estimate. So when is the best time for your baby to arrive? A baby born too soon can face a number of serious complications. For example, in the first few...