Mother of invention: Study highlights gender gap in health innovations

Issued on: 18/06/2021

A biologist at OSE Immunotherapeutics pharmaceutical lab works on a program to develop a vaccine against Covid-19 on March 31, 2021 in Nantes, France. LOIC VENANCE AFP


Washington (AFP)

Harvard business professor Rem Koning studies how bias hurts innovation. But three years ago, his research hit too close to home when his wife, suffering from a rare post childbirth condition, couldn't find treatments designed with new moms in mind.

"It came out of nowhere. And the whole thing was a lot more scary than I think it needed to be," Koning told AFP about the diagnosis of postpartum preeclampsia, which is characterized by high blood pressure.

The couple were also disappointed by the quality of tech products aimed at mothers -- and realized it might be because most medical innovations were designed by men who dismissed or overlooked women's needs

These experiences led Koning to conduct a machine learning text analysis of more than 440,000 US biomedical patents filed from 1976 to 2010, the results of which were published Thursday in the journal Science.

By tracking inventors' names and tying them to patents, Koning and his colleagues John-Paul Ferguson and Sampsa Samila found patents filed from all-female inventor teams were more than 35 percent more likely to focus on the health of women.

Teams that were majority female were 18 percent more likely to make products with women in mind.

These patents were aimed at solving problems that affect women either specifically -- like menopause or preeclampsia -- or disproportionately, such as fibromyalgia.

Then there are conditions like atrial fibrillation that affect women differently, from risk factors to symptoms and even treatments.

But while the impact of women innovators on women's health products was significant, their representation was small.

- 6,500 lost inventions -

Women inventors represented 25 percent of the patents filed over the three decades analyzed -- and the team estimated that if patents were invented equally during the period studied, there would be about 6,500 more female-focused inventions on the market.#photo1

"Sadly, prior research has shown that women account for a minority of patents in the US, both in biomedicine and across other fields, too" Koning said. "So, we weren't surprised but still disappointed by how little the numbers had changed."

Despite years of improvement, women make up only 27 percent of all US STEM workers, according to census data -- and the gap in future products benefiting women's health needs will likely persist.

Writing in a related commentary, Fiona Murray, who researches innovation and inclusion at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, argued that innovators from diverse backgrounds identify research blind spots and improve the lives and health of more people.

For example, African American ophthalmologist Patricia Bath was granted a patent in 1988 for a laser-based cataract removal system.

The invention not only benefited women, who suffer disproportionately from the eye disease, but ultimately everyone else.

From a business perspective, Koning said a dearth of women inventors can negatively impact an economy struggling to recover from the effects of a global pandemic.

"When women don't get to invent or start new companies, we lose new ideas, new technologies and so end up with slower economic growth," he said. "Not only does society lose out on the ideas discovered by women, but women consumers are especially disadvantaged."

On the other hand, Koning said not all inventors are guided by gender identity, and sometimes male inventors invent products for women, for example. Their study was also limited in its binary analysis of sex and gender.

"Unfortunately, the limitations of our data prevent us from delving deeper into the complex ways gender and sex are related," he explained.

"Though my sense is that our findings suggest that transgender/nonbinary research is likely also overlooked given the barriers such researchers face in society and in the sciences."

© 2021 AFP

Fleeing gangs, thousands of Haitians unsure of their future

Issued on: 18/06/2021

Hundreds of families have taken shelter in a sport center of the city of Carrefour, in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince Robenson GEFFRARD AFP

Port-au-Prince (AFP)

Daniella Francois sleeps each night on a small foam mattress in a gymnasium in the Haitian capital that has been converted into an emergency shelter, as she is unable to return to her Port-au-Prince neighborhood which is in the grips of a gang war.

She is one of thousands of residents of the city's western Martissant district who have become refugees in their own city, living in sports centers or temporary accommodations in private homes.

While the gym is just several hundred meters (yards) from the Martissant neighborhood where Francois has lived her entire life, the move has nonetheless been jarring.

The 18-year-old orphan, who lives alone with her four-year-old daughter, had to flee suddenly on June 1.

"When the armed men finally arrived on my street, I had no choice, I had to leave," she said. "The guys don't play around -- whoever is in front of them they do what they want with."

Undermined by insecurity and political instability, Haiti is struggling to emerge from a string of seemingly never-ending crises, which of late have resulted in an upsurge in kidnappings and gang violence.

Joining a flood of families attempting to escape the insecurity, Francois ended up at the sports center in Carrefour, a neighboring community where municipal authorities have been providing assistance.

"We receive lots of help from the community, churches, associations, individuals who voluntarily bring food, clothes," said Gutenberg Destin, who coordinates emergency preparedness for the municipality.

- Gangs control the road -

Aid from humanitarian agencies and other organizations in Port-au-Prince had to be mostly transported by helicopter to Carrefour, with gangs controlling two kilometers (1.2 miles) of the main road through Martissant.

An initial count on June 8 found more than 1,100 people staying at the sports center, but the arrival of destitute families has not abated since then.#photo1

"Just last night, people arrived," Destin told AFP on Tuesday. "Until then they felt safe in the area in which they lived in Martissant, but gradually the hotbed of insecurity is spreading."

The hundreds staying at the center only represent the tip of the iceberg as far as the population of displaced people is concerned.

More than 5,100 people are estimated to have taken refuge with host families scattered throughout Port-au-Prince or have otherwise fled to other provinces, a UN report released Monday said.

The document warns that among the displaced, some who are living with host families are suffering sexual abuse and even rape, including offers of "sex for shelter."

- Traumatized children -

At the Carrefour gym, Kettelene Chateau said she can count on neighbors to look after her children when she leaves during the day to search for new housing accommodations with her husband.

"When we fled, my children were really scared -- they were shaking, they were crying, they were traumatized," the 38-year-old said.

Due to the noise and overcrowding at the gym, she sent the two youngest of her five to stay with a friend in Carrefour.

At the sports center, NGOs organize daily games so that the hundreds of children, who otherwise have little to do except wander among the mattresses, momentarily forget the ordeal they are living through.

"My children are smiling again and they are now able to sleep," Chateau said, somewhat relieved but still worried for the future.

"My six-year-old is very aware and keeps asking me 'Mom, when are we going to go home? Will we have to live somewhere else?'" she said.

"I have to tell her that I do not know. I would like be able to tell her something, but I do not know," Chateau said.

© 2021 AFP

LISTEN TO THE PROLETARIAT....MARX & ENGELS
'Listen to the party': Chinese cities deck out in slogans for 100TH anniversary


Issued on: 18/06/2021 -

The world's second-largest economy has been lauding its achievements in the weeks leading up to July 1, which marks the centenary of the party's founding in Shanghai NOEL CELIS AFP

Beijing (AFP)

China is ramping up a propaganda blitz ahead of the 100th birthday of the ruling Communist Party, with banners and billboards around the country reminding citizens to live a "civilised" life and obey authorities.

The world's second-largest economy has been lauding its achievements in the weeks leading up to July 1, which marks the centenary of the party's founding in Shanghai.

Large boards with a red-emblazoned "100" showing the Communist hammer and sickle emblem have been hung above retail stores and along busy streets to mark the superpower's rise.

"Listen to the party, appreciate the party, follow the party," declares one roadside sign in Beijing.

The Communist Party has more than 91 million members, according to the official Xinhua news agency -- many of them grassroots cadres and ordinary civil servants.#photo1

Party propaganda is a part of daily life in China, where red banners giving advice, encouragement and official messages are seen on streets all year round.

But public displays have proliferated in recent weeks as the centenary draws near.

"Build a civilised image everywhere, let's all be civilised citizens", reads one banner, against a warm-hued silhouette of families against the capital's skyline.

Some boards show a portrait of Lei Feng, modern China's most famous model soldier, whose purported exploits and recognition by former leader Mao Zedong have turned him into a national folk hero.#photo2

Authorities have used his legend to encourage citizens to strive hard, and messages under his visage urge the public to "learn the Lei Feng spirit".

Elsewhere at a major downtown street corner in Beijing, a bright red screen is broadcasting a row of People's Liberation Army troops in helmets, holding bayonets and yelling.

"Raise a new generation of spirited, capable, courageous and morally upright revolutionary soldiers," the text underneath reads.

China has the second-largest military budget in the world after the US, although Beijing's defence spending still accounts for less than a third of Washington's outlay.#photo3

Next month's anniversary celebrations will see the release of a blockbuster film about the party's founding featuring some of China's top movie talent.

Key party members will also receive a special medal at a ceremony in Beijing.

© 2021 AFP

US cutting forces, missile batteries in Middle East

Issued on: 19/06/2021 

A Patriot missile battery near Prince Sultan Air Base at al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia 

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS POOL/AFP/File


Washington (AFP)

The Pentagon said Friday it was cutting the number of troops and air defense units deployed to the Middle East, confirming a Wall Street Journal report that eight Patriot batteries were being moved out from the region.

The move comes as President Joe Biden's administration seeks to ease tensions with Iran after they heated up in 2019 and saw a strong escalation in the US military presence across the region.

The Wall Street Journal said the Patriot anti-missile batteries were being removed from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and that a separate anti-missile system, called THAAD, was being transferred from Saudi Arabia as well.


Each battery requires hundreds of troops and civilians to operate and support them.

Pentagon spokesperson Commander Jessica McNulty said that some of the units were being redeployed to other countries and some were returning to the United States for maintenance.

She would not say where the redeployed units were being moved to.

"This decision was made in close coordination with host nations and with a clear eye on preserving our ability to meet our security commitments," she said in an email.

"We maintain a robust force posture in the region appropriate to the threat and are comfortable that these changes do not negatively impact our national security interests," McNulty said.

"We also retain the flexibility to rapidly flow forces back into the Middle East as conditions warrant."

The US military is rapidly adjusting its global footprint as it pulls out of Afghanistan entirely and sees a greater threat from China in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Pentagon also slashed its troop presence in Iraq last year to 2,500, supporting Iraqi forces in their fight against the Islamic State group.

Iran is still viewed as a major threat across the Middle East, but the Biden administration is in negotiations to restore the agreement on Tehran halting its nuclear development program, which would also see some sanctions on the country lifted.

"The Defense Department maintains tens of thousands of forces in the Middle East, representing some of our most advanced air power and maritime capabilities, in support of US national interests and our regional partnerships," McNulty said.

© 2021 AFP

Myanmar protesters wear flowers to mark Suu Kyi's birthday

Issued on: 19/06/2021 

Flowers tucked into a bun have long been a signature look of Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi JOHN MACDOUGALL AFP/File

Yangon (AFP)

Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar donned flowers in their hair Saturday to mark the birthday of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest and is due to face court again next week.

Suu Kyi's elected government was overthrown in a February 1 coup that sparked mass protests and renewed clashes between the military and ethnic rebel armies in border regions.

Flowers tucked into a bun have long been a signature look of Suu Kyi, who turns 76 on Saturday.

Many replicated the floral hairstyle and uploaded pictures onto social media across Myanmar on Saturday.

Among them was Myanmar Miss Universe beauty queen Thuzar Wint Lwin, who wore red flowers in her hair and wrote: "May our leader be healthy."

In Yangon's north, protesters put up posters on power lines wishing Suu Kyi a happy birthday and expressing solidarity.

"Happy Birthday Mother Suu. We are right behind you," the signs read.

Some marched with black umbrellas and banners that read "freedom from fear" alongside pictures of Suu Kyi.

In the border region of Karen state, some rebel soldiers were photographed holding their guns and yellow, white and purple posies and single flowers tucked behind their ears.

Demonstrators in the south-eastern city of Dawei made a giant pink birthday cake and brought it to their street protest.

The Noble Peace Prize Laureate's international reputation was damaged after she defended Myanmar's military over allegations of genocide against the ethnic minority Rohingya population in troubled Rakhine state in 2017.

- Back in court -

Not all Myanmar flower protest participants were full of praise for Suu Kyi.

"I am involved in this campaign because now she is unfairly detained by the military and her civilian rights... and freedom is denied," a 35-year-old activist told AFP, adding it wasn't personal support.

"After she is free from her detention, she will have to take full responsibility over her silence concerning the suffering of Rohingya and other ethnic groups."

The civilian death toll since the coup is estimated to be at least 870 people and close to 5,000 protesters are in detention after being arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

The UN General Assembly on Friday took the rare step of calling on member states to "prevent the flow of arms" into Myanmar, part of a non-binding resolution condemning the military coup in the violence-wracked country.#photo1

The resolution -- which did not go so far as to call for a global arms embargo -- also demands that the military "immediately stop all violence against peaceful demonstrators".

It was approved by 119 countries, with 36 abstaining including China, Myanmar's main ally. Only one country, Belarus, voted against it.

Suu Kyi is due back in court next week and has been hit with an eclectic raft of criminal charges, including accepting illegal payments of gold and violating a colonial-era secrecy law.

She went on trial for sedition on Tuesday, but journalists were barred from observing proceedings.

UN calls for member states to 'prevent the flow of arms' into Myanmar

Issued on: 18/06/2021 -

A protester holds a sign during a demonstration against the military coup in Myanmar's Karen state HANDOUT KNU Dooplaya District/AFP/File

United Nations (United States) (AFP)

The UN General Assembly on Friday took the rare step of calling on member states to "prevent the flow of arms" into Myanmar, part of a non-binding resolution condemning the military coup in the violence-wracked country.

The resolution -- which did not go so far as to call for a global arms embargo -- also demands that the military "immediately stop all violence against peaceful demonstrators."

It was approved by 119 countries, with 36 abstaining including China, Myanmar's main ally. Only one country, Belarus, voted against it.


This came on the same day that the Security Council was holding informal talks on the situation in the Southeast Asian nation, where the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

The resolution was not passed by consensus, as had been hoped, but rather through a vote, forcing all 193 UN countries to reveal their views.

In a quirk of history, Myanmar's envoy to the world body, Kyaw Moe Tun, voted in favor of the text. He has passionately rejected the coup and brushed aside the junta's claims that he no longer represents Myanmar. The United Nations still considers him as the rightful envoy.

After the vote, the diplomat voiced regret that it had taken three months for the Assembly to adopt the resolution and that it was not more explicit about an arms embargo.

Among the countries that abstained were Russia and Mali, where a second military coup in less than a year recently took place, Iran and Egypt, and Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

The UN General Assembly very rarely adopts resolutions condemning military coups or calling for limits on the arms supplied to the target country.

"It is the broadest and most universal condemnation of the situation in Myanmar to date," said Olof Skoog, the European Union's ambassador to the UN.

"The EU is proud of the resolution just adopted by the UN General Assembly. It sends a strong and powerful message. It delegitimizes the military junta, condemns its abuse and violence against its own people and demonstrates its isolation in the eyes of the world," he said.

The resolution also calls for a restoration of democracy in Myanmar, and the release of all detained civilian leaders.

"We absolutely must create the conditions for democracy to be reinstated," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres before the vote on the resolution, hoping for a "very clear message" from the General Assembly.

- 'Do the obvious' -

It asks for the implementation of a five-point plan drafted by ASEAN in April including the naming of an envoy from the bloc.

The text also calls on the junta to allow the UN envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, to visit the country, and for safe passage of humanitarian aid.

Burgener briefed the Security Council during its closed-door meeting on Myanmar on Friday. No joint statement was adopted at that meeting because of persistent divisions between its members, diplomats told AFP.

The Assembly resolution "calls on UN member states to do the obvious: stop providing weapons to Myanmar," said Human Rights Watch.

"Months of atrocities and grave human rights abuses by the junta's security forces have shown time and again why no government should be sending them a single bullet. The UN Security Council should now step up and pass its own resolution imposing a global arms embargo on Myanmar," said Louis Charbonneau, UN Director at HRW.

The resolution is an opportunity "to show that the world stands with the people of Myanmar, and not the military" who "committed horrific acts of violence against ordinary civilians," said British Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward.

More than 860 civilians have been killed in Myanmar since the coup, according to the UN and the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP).

© 2021 AFP

Nazi invasion of Soviet Union was 'murderous barbarity'

Commemorating the upcoming 80th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the suffering of the former Soviet people should be "burned into Germany's collective memory.

Watch video 02:09 80 years since the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke at the German-Russian museum in Berlin-Karlhorst on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II.

The museum is located in the same building where the German Wehrmacht signed the unconditional surrender to representatives of the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain and France on May 8, 1945.

"Nobody during this war mourned more victims than the people of the former Soviet Union," Steinmeier said, adding that the German war against the Soviets was carried out with "murderous barbarity."

"It weighs on us that our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers who waged this war, were involved in these crimes," he added.


German President Steinmeier opened the exhibit "Dimensions of a Crime: Soviet Prisoners of War in World War II."

Steinmeier's remarks opened an exhibition at the museum called, "Dimensions of a Crime: Soviet Prisoners of War in World War II." The Wehrmacht captured around 5.7 million Soviet prisoners of war, of whom 3 million died in captivity.

On Monday, Steinmeier visited the Sandbostel camp in the northern state of Lower Saxony, a former prisoner-of-war camp that today is a memorial site. Steinmeier spoke with former prisoners and laid a wreath.

President Steinmeier lays a wreath at the Sandbostel memorial on Monday

On Tuesday, June 22, a wreath-laying ceremony is scheduled at the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin-Pankow.

Representatives from 15 ex-Soviet states were invited to Friday's exhibition. Ukrainian Ambassador Andrij Melnyk rejected the invitation, calling the museum venue "an affront" because of its "Russian" focus and because the wartime persecution of other countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states was being "simply ignored."

UKRAINE , BELARUS (WHITE RUSSIANS) BALTIC STATES COLLABORATED WITH THE NAZI'S AGAINST THE RUSSIAN COMMUNISTS

The German-Russian museum is the building where Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945

What was Operation Barbarossa?

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched its invasion of the former Soviet Union, which was code-named Operation Barbarossa.

The attack involved 3.3 million troops along an 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) front, making it one of the largest invasion forces in history.

Adolf Hitler famously broke the non-aggression pact, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, signed in secret between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union weeks before the war began in August 1939. 

GIVING STALIN MUCH NEEDED TIME TO BUILD MASS MANUFACTURING OF WEAPONS SYSTEMS LEARNED FROM THE GERMANS THE T90 TANK IS ONE RESULT

The German invasion less than two years later caught the Soviets by surprise, and their forces were initially overwhelmed and incurred heavy losses before consolidating to block the German offensive.

Eastern Europe's WWII killing fields

Operation Barbarossa opened the Eastern Front in Europe, the largest of the entire war, which witnessed some of its fiercest battles and worst atrocities until Nazi Germany's capitulation in May 1945.

An estimated 30 million people were killed on the Eastern Front — far more than any other theater during World War II.


RUSSIA MARKS 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF STALINGRAD WITH PARADES AND NOSTALGIA

One of Soviet Russia's greatest World War II triumphs
Russia celebrated the 75th anniversary of the defense of Stalingrad on Friday with somber memorials and patriotic military parades. Russian President Vladimir Putin was a highly visible presence throughout the day, laying wreaths, addressing veterans and attending military parades. He is seen here in front of 85-meter The Motherland Calls statue in what is now called Volgograd. PHOTOS 1234567

Soviet civilians in areas under Nazi occupation in Eastern Europe were subjected to brutal and arbitrary killings. Nazi racial ideology targeted both Jews and Slavs, millions of whom were executed or sent to concentration camps.

"From the first day the German campaign was driven by hatred, by antisemitism and anti-Bolshevism, by racist madness against the Slavic and Asian peoples of the Soviet Union," Steinmeier said.

"Those who waged this war killed in every possible way, with unprecedented brutality and cruelty," he added. "It was German barbarism, it cost millions of lives and devastated the continent."

Learning from history

Steinmeier's office said in a statement that the series of memorial events this week is intended to draw attention to the suffering of the Soviet Union, which at 27 million incurred the highest number of casualties during World War II, 14 million of whom were civilians.

"Only those who learn to read the traces of the past in the present will be able to contribute to a future that avoids wars," Steinmeier said.

"And yet these millions are not as deeply burned into our collective memory as their suffering and our responsibility require," Steinmeier said.

He added that after the war, many Germans did not want to hear about the wartime suffering of people in the Soviet Union, whose story had been obscured by the Cold War and the division of Europe behind the Iron Curtain.

"Only those who learn to read the traces of the past in the present will be able to contribute to a future that avoids wars, rejects tyranny and enables peaceful coexistence in freedom," Steinmeier said Friday.

Number of displaced persons at record high: UN report

The UN has called for action after an increase in people fleeing conflict and persecution despite the COVID pandemic. The number of displaced people has doubled in the last decade.


A total 82.4 million people have left their homes due to persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations


The number of people leaving their homes due to persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations has increased to 82.4 million, according to the Global Trends report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The report released in Geneva on Friday called for reversing the global trend towards more flight and displacement triggered by violence and persecution, which has been going on for almost a decade.

The newly released total figure is 4% higher than the previous year, when 79.5 million had been recorded at the end of 2019.

The vast majority of refugees around the world are hosted by countries that border crisis areas and are low- and middle-income nations. Developing countries hosted 86% of the world’s refugees and Venezuelans displaced abroad. While the least developed countries provided asylum to 27% of the total.

The majority of refugees are hosted by low- and middle-income countries that border crisis areas
A displaced person behind each number

At the end of last year, there were 20.7 million refugees under the UNHCR mandate, 5.7 million Palestinian refugees, and 3.9 million Venezuelans who fled their homes. All those figures represent slight increases compared to 2019.

A further 48 million people were displaced within their own country, while there are 4.1 million asylum-seekers.

These figures show that despite the pandemic and calls for a global cease-fire so governments could care for the sick, conflict continues to drive people from their homes.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said behind each of these numbers "is a person displaced from their home and a story of flight, uprooting, and suffering.

"Each individual deserves our attention and support — not only through humanitarian assistance but by finding solutions to end their plight," Grandi said.

Watch video 04:17 Denmark tells Syrians to return home

Grandi said that while the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention and the Global Compact for Refugees are important legal frameworks and tools to respond to displacement, "We need much stronger political will to address the conflicts and persecution that force people to flee in the first place."
Borders shut down at peak COVID

The report also found that at the height of the pandemic in 2020, more than 160 countries closed their borders, while 99 countries made no exception for people who had sought international protection.

But with improved measures such as medical examinations at borders; health certificates or temporary quarantine on arrival; simplified registration procedures; and hearings by video, more countries found ways to guarantee access to asylum, while containing the spread of the coronavirus.

Watch video 02:59 Vaccinating Germany's refugees: Face-to-face contact is key

Over the course of last year, 33,800 refugees were granted citizenship by a host country. However, resettlement — the admission of refugees from a non-secure first host country to a safe third country — saw a dramatic slump.

Only 34,400 applications for resettlement were accepted — the lowest figure in 20 years. This was because of significantly fewer resettlement places made available, and due to the pandemic.

Grandi said those who govern and who have influence must "put aside their differences, abandon selfish approaches in their policies and focus instead on preventing and resolving conflicts and guaranteeing respect for human rights."
More children born as refugees

According to the report, children are particularly affected during displacement crises, especially if their displacement drags on for many years.

The UN estimates that almost 1 million children were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020. Furthermore, 42% of displaced persons are girls and boys under the age of 18.

Many of them are at risk of remaining in exile for years to come, some potentially for the rest of their lives.

UNHCR spokesperson Chris Melzer told DW that quite often there isn't enough money to give more than just basic education to refugee children.

"I've heard from several refugees around the world, actually parents telling me 'Forget us, we are a lost generation, but do something for our children. Give them education, let them have a chance'. Well, we don't want to give up the parents' generation as well. But indeed, education is the key factor," he said.

Children are particularly affected during displacement, especially if their displacement drags on for many years

The report said it was especially challenging to ensure the best interests of at-risk children, not least children who are unaccompanied or separated from their families.

Some 21,000 unaccompanied or separated children lodged new asylum applications in 2020, compared to 25,000 one year earlier. Considering that new asylum applications in 2020 dropped by 1 million due to COVID-19, this figure is disproportionately high.
Refugees in Germany dropped significantly

The number of arrivals in Germany has dropped significantly for the fourth year in a row, to 102,600 applications.

The country hosted the third-largest number with nearly 1.5 million; Turkey hosted the highest, with 3.7 million refugees. Colombia was second with more than 1.7 million, including Venezuelans displaced abroad.

Turkey, bordering war-torn Syria, still hosts more refugees than any other country at present

"While globally the situation is becoming more and more dramatic, in Germany and Europe the numbers have dropped for the fourth year in a row, again significantly," said the UNHCR representative in Germany, Katharina Lumpp.

Europe should use this period of fewer arrivals to develop a reliable concept for the adequate distribution of arriving asylum-seekers, she noted. "Then a system of fair responsibility-sharing could be anchored in Europe.''

US pulls Cambodia wildlife sanctuary funding

The US Embassy in Phnom Penh says it has spent more than $100 million to combat deforestation in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. But illegal activities continue apace.



Illegal logging has resulted in loss of natural resources at wildlife sanctuaries

The United States is ending an aid program aimed at protecting one of Cambodia's biggest wildlife sanctuaries, the US Embassy in Phnom Penh said on Thursday.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will redirect the money to support civil society and private sector initiatives to improve livelihoods in the region. 

Why did the US stop the funding?

The US foreign aid organization said it had invested more than $100 million (€83.5 million) to protect the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. Since beginning assistance in 2016, it had increased ranger patrols and trained law enforcement officers

But the sanctuary lost over 38,000 hectares (93,900 acres) of forest, or nearly 9% of its forest cover, during that time, the US Embassy said. Cambodian authorities had not adequately prosecuted wildlife crimes or put a stop to illicit activities, it added.

Well-documented illegal logging continues around the sanctuary, and authorities have silenced communities worried about the loss of natural resources, the embassy statement said.

What will happen to the money?

The funding will be redirected to support civil society, the private sector and local efforts to improve livelihoods and expand climate sensitive agriculture.

The US says it will also continue to work with the Cambodian government through initiatives like the Mekong-US partnership, which was launched last year with an eye toward countering the growing influence of China in the region.

QAnons Are Harassing People at the Whim of a Woman They Say Is Canada’s Queen

AN IMAGE CREATED FROM VIDEOS POSTED BY ROMANA DIDULO 

AND HER FOLLOWERS.

A woman who claims she is the secret ruler of Canada has, thanks to QAnon influencers, thousands of followers, some of which are extremely active offline and harassing Canadians.

By Mack Lamoureux
TORONTO, CA
17.6.21

The woman whom thousands of Canadians believe is their secret ruler isn’t afraid to tell her followers she’s calling for the executions of health care workers and politicians behind the vaccination rollout.

“At the firing squad, the military firing squad, you will receive not one, but two bullets on your forehead for each child that you have harmed as a result of injecting this experimental vaccine,” said Romana Didulo to those involved in vaccination efforts in a recent video on Telegram. “So when you go home tonight, think about how many bullets.”

Didulo, a B.C.-based woman in her 50s, has recently built up a following of thousands of people who listen to her claims of having been put in control of the Great White North by the same forces that QAnon believers think are fighting the deep state in America. QAnon, for the uninitiated, is a wide-ranging, wildly unfactual conspiracy centred upon Donald Trump’s secret fight against an international cabal of elitist pedophiles. Didulo was recently thrust into her position by several well-known QAnon figures who helped anoint her as a leader and in turns sent a swarm of followers her way.

But despite her following being only weeks old, Didulo has rallied her Canadian followers to real-life action. They’re in the midst of filing hundreds of “cease and desist” notices demanding businesses, governments, and police forces stop all activities related to combating the pandemic. They have organized themselves into localized groups to email their demands out en masse, send them via registered letter, or simply make their way to stores or police stations in order to physically hand them out.

One particularly riled-up group of conspiracy theorists in Cochrane, Alberta, went to over 30 businesses last week to hand out the notices. On June 10 they decided to go to a K-8 school—while children were present—and hand the notices and anti-vax flyers out. They eventually were kicked out and Cochrane RCMP confirmed to VICE World News that two people received trespassing tickets for their actions. The group complained about its mistreatment by police inside its Telegram chat and mulled over “bombarding” the school’s principal with letters.

Didulo has said that if the people who received the cease and desist orders from her followers break them, they will be executed.

“Peace, prosperity, or perish,” is one of her slogans, after all.

THE REAL QUEEN OF CANADA 

The Queen

It’s not Didulo who is necessarily important, but her growing and active audience.

QAnon, which may, according to a recent poll, have as many as 30 million followers in the U.S. as well as more outside of it, has contributed to real-world violence, including the Capitol Hill uprising. Only a few short years ago, Didulo could have been simply ignored as someone with a grift or a tenuous grip of reality posting videos, but now, thanks to the new QAnon ecosystem, she’s a figure of consequence. In this modern environment, someone claiming to be the secret ruler of Canada and to be holding military tribunals and executions can rapidly gain thousands of followers, some willing to follow her off the deepest creases of the internet and into the real world.

To know the volatility of her followers, however, you must first know who they’re following. Didulo is the “leader” of an online political party called the Canada1st Party of Canada—which does not appear to have been officially registered anywhere but has been turned into a corporation by Didulo. She began posting about the party and making videos about her policy in late 2020, during the second wave of the pandemic. However, the party never took off, and she languished in obscurity for some time.

That all changed in May when she changed tactics and switched her rhetoric to fit several popular QAnon narratives. After getting noticed by a couple of well-known QAnon figures, her profile has been growing rapidly.

She now has almost 20,000 followers on Telegram, her primary channel, and a growing and engaged audience. The audience consists of an intersection of QAnon believers, anti-lockdown zealots, and “sovereign citizens” (people who think government laws do not apply to them, especially ones related to taxes). And her audience is not a passive one.

“Hello, Canada, I’m Ramona Didulo, I'm the founder and leader of Canada1st. As of February this year, 2021, I am the head of state and commander in chief of Canada, the Republic,” she said in her announcement video. “The people who appointed me are the white hats and the U.S. military, together with the global allied troops and their governments—the same group of people who have helped President Trump.”

She speaks to her audience either through Telegram posts or via poorly produced videos in which she sits on a couch in front of an empty beige wall. In a follow-up video to her initial decree, Didulo declares herself not only the “the head of state,” “commander in chief,” and “head of government,” but also the “Queen of Canada, replacing Queen Elizabeth II of England who has now been executed for crimes against humanity.”

Many of Didulo’s followers seem to believe she’s holding tribunals behind the scenes, which are resulting in the executions they’re thirsting for. These followers use extremely tenuous scraps of evidence to prove Didulo is actually in power—including the fact that Romana Didulo is an anagram for “I Am Our Donald.”

The violent rhetoric she spouts in her posts and videos seems to be one of the main things driving her popularity. “Let’s keep this simple,” Didulo wrote recently, “death is the penalty for crimes against humanity.” This was met with much jubilation from hundreds of followers: “YASSS!!! 🙏,” wrote one; “I’m so happy we have you.😘❤️,” wrote another; “she is the only one that is saying anything hopeful or anything that makes sense…. It felt completely hopeless before Romana came along,” wrote a third.

“As much as I hate to see people being put to death, it has become necessary because the jerks just won't stop what they are doing,” wrote yet another.

Pete Smith, a journalist with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, has been researching Didulo and her rapid rise. Smith said Didulo immigrated to Canada from the Philippines at a young age (something Didulo claims on her own website as well) and that prior to Didulo starting Canada1st in late 2020, she started and quickly shut down several companies and ventures—which weren’t conspiracy-oriented—and that nothing she’s attempted has really taken off before now. Even her initial posts declaring Canada’s new secret rulers were met with relatively little fanfare until she was signalled out by QAnon figures such as Charlie Ward and Whiplash347, who legitimized her to their audiences.

"It’s their endorsement that seems to have been the cause of all of this,” said Smith. “Without them, I don’t believe that there is a Canada1st party like we’re seeing right now."

Drew, an anti-fascist researcher who follows the anti-lockdown group closely (and didn’t want to be named because of fear of reprisal), said he came across Didulo in early 2021 but that she “was a nobody” until she got big-upped by Q-influencers.

Marc-André Argentino, a research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence who has written several papers on the QAnon movement, told VICE World News influencers in the QAnon ecosystem “have shown an uncanny capacity to raise unknown individuals to positions of influence in a very short period of time.

“In the absence of ‘Q,’ influencers in QAnon ecosystems have taken on the mantel of determining what is canon (or authoritative) in these spaces,” said Argentino. “Though they may not always agree, they are able to bestow authority on random individuals. This makes for a volatile ecosystem, which expands radicalization pipelines in unpredictable ways.”


In a video speaking about her, one popular QAnon theorist who gets thousands of views on off-brand sites like Rumble and Bitchute states unequivocally she’s a “temporary holding until they get Trump in.” Others have “confirmed” her by sharing her videos or outright saying she’s legitimate, as she fits into their conspiracy.

“She is sending out all these cease and desist orders to stop these mass mask mandate and vaccine mandate crimes and she’s making it very clear that if you violate the crimes you’ll be executed,” said one popular online QAnon influencer in a video on Didulo that received over 30,000 views. “God bless her; Canada needs somebody like that.” A follower of Didulo told VICE World News that seeing Didulo being spoken about by these figures confirmed to her she was legit and “not a bullshitter.” The woman, who is active in helping hand out cease and desist notices in Alberta, said she’s attempting to talk to Didulo to confirm some of her claims, but was not able to contact her. Numerous attempts by VICE World News to contact Didulo and people whom she previously worked with before declaring herself Queen went unanswered.

“Everywhere I look and the people that I listen to and even people down the States and the UK say she’s here to sidetrack the cabal,” the follower told VICE over the phone. “She’s a true and sincere person; that’s without a doubt.”

Smith said that, as far as he can tell, she is relatively “unique” as a figure leading another country in the conspiracy ecosystem at the moment. Didulo didn’t shrink before the demands put on her by the quick growth of her audience, and posts frequently under the guise that she’s leading Canada. She decreed that Victoria is the new capital of Canada and recently released a video addressing the Indigenous community after the bodies of 215 children were found in a mass grave outside a residential school. She promised to investigate if they were killed for adrenochrome harvesting. (A central tenet of the QAnon conspiracy revolves around the false idea that elites torture and kill children to extract adrenochrome—a substance that can be bought cheaply at chemical supply stores—to maintain their own youth and vitality.)

Didulo’s rapid rise has seen her receive a bit of pushback. Other conspiracy theorists have made videos and blogs claiming she's a government “psyop” to ruin the true QAnon movement, or that she’s in fact mentally ill. Didulo has responded to her critics by saying everyone who commits fraud about her—or says she’s endorsed companies or products—will be executed.

The Queen’s Court

Asizable portion of Didulo’s followers are not passive, and are in the midst of a rather large effort to hand out cease and desists across the country. Didulo instructed her followers to send notices to schools, retirement homes, police stations, grocery stores, hospitals, places of worship, hotels, banks, and so on. Her subjects are loyal and listen to their queen.

"The speed with which her audience has grown and then how quickly they have become active on the street in real life is extremely significant,” said Smith.

The cease and desist comes in the form of a PDF they’re sharing. It says it serves as the recipient’s “lawful notice to cease and desist” all vaccinations, PCR testing, masking, lockdowns, and quarantines, and border closures. It contains two “special notes” at the bottom. The first says that Joe Biden is not actually president and the U.S. military is in charge south of the border; the other says the Canadian Armed Forces have been notified (by email) that Didulo is now in charge.

In order to facilitate the cease and desist effort, Didulo’s followers have splintered off into localized chat groups to organize and “serve” as many notices as they can. While there have been groups created for each continent and other countries like South Africa and Australia, the effort is mainly localized to Canada. Each province has its own Telegram group with hundreds of members, and while not every member is active, many of them are.




A VERY LIMITED LIST OF THE BUSINESSES THE GROUP SAID THEY HAVE SENT CEASE AND DESISTS TOO. THE NUMBER THEY'RE CLAIMING IS FAR LARGER THAN WHAT IS SHOWN HERE.

VICE World News viewed the groups for Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba. Each was extremely active, with users posting address after address of where they have sent the letters or are planning to send them. Some have even created spreadsheets that break the province down by town and business, lists when the cease and desist was filed and by whom, and, in some cases, the name of the person who received it. Others posted videos of them going from store to store handing out the notices.

Many of the people who are actively organizing cease and desist efforts and celebrating imaginary executions do so under their real names. The members run the gamut from electricians to real estate agents to outdoor adventure guides to, of course, people who run holistic health clinics. Many of them are elderly. VICE World News reached out to several people involved in these efforts, as well as online supporters of Didulo, to see just how much of her rhetoric they believed, but most did not respond.

One woman, who handed out cease and desist notices in British Columbia, said she’s not sure if Didulo is legitimate but she’s “praying it’s true.”

“I know she’s sure brought people tons of courage to send out cease and desist letters,” she said. “Doesn’t do any harm.”

While the group is active at the moment, its activities seem constrained to handing out cease and desists. But even this fairly innocuous activity doesn’t always go well.

“Served Dairy Queen (a) Cease and Desist,” wrote one woman. “Very rude. Patrons were laughing at us. Two employees walked out and videotaped us. One said we can’t go there anymore. Felt good though."

 EIGHTIES CULT DEPROGRAMMING ORIGINS

Troubled US teens left traumatised by tough love camps

By Kelly-Leigh Cooper
BBC News 

 

Publi

As one of the most famous faces of the 2000s, people think they know the story of Paris Hilton. So, when the 40-year-old released a YouTube documentary about her life last year, many were shocked to learn about her decades-long struggle with trauma.

Hilton tearfully recounted how she was woken up by strangers in her bedroom in the middle of the night as a teenager and forcibly taken across the country. She said her unanswered cries for help repeatedly play out in nightmares which make it difficult to sleep.

Her story, though shocking, is not unique. Hilton is one of thousands of American children sent every year by their parents into a private network of "tough love" residential programmes and schools marketed at reforming their behaviour.

No-one knows how many for sure, because nobody is keeping track.

"My parents got me kidnapped and dropped off in the middle of the mountains," 21-year-old Daniel says in a TikTok video watched more than a million times.

As a teenager, Daniel suffered anxiety and depression. He was 15 and had recently come out as gay when he self-harmed so severely that he required hospital care. It was in hospital that he was shaken awake in the middle of the night by two men. They told him the process could be easy or hard - depending on how much he resisted. With little fight left in him, Daniel went with the pair. But when he asked a stranger if he could use a telephone to call his parents on a brief stop for food, he says the escorts threatened him with handcuffs.

Daniel was sent to a wilderness programme in Utah where he spent 77 days living outdoors, hiking miles a day on rations. He vividly remembers feeling cold, hungry and dirty for weeks on end and witnessing others attempt to run away and try to take their own lives. Like many others sent to wilderness programmes, he was then enrolled directly into a long-term facility - this time in Montana - where he would spend another 15 months.

The Troubled Teen Industry (TTI) has become an umbrella term for a wide scope of private residential programmes like these aimed at modifying adolescent behaviour. From boot camps to boarding schools, these facilities are marketed as treatment for a broad range of behavioural and mental health issues including eating disorders, drug use and defiance.

The people who took Hilton and Daniel were from companies specially marketed to families concerned about how their children might react to being enrolled in a programme. These youth transportation services are well-advertised and often come recommended, with parents typically paying a few thousand dollars to have their children taken from their beds and securely dropped off across the country.

Parents are sometimes referred to the industry by third parties after feeling they have exhausted other means of getting their children help. Programmes sell themselves on high levels of anecdotal success, with testimonials from families and students on their marketing materials and in online reviews describing them as transformative and even life-saving.

But for years, other former residents have been painting a very different picture of their time within these facilities, including in lawsuits and criminal complaints, alleging emotional and physical abuse.

The BBC has spoken to 20 people who identify as troubled teen survivors, aged from 20 to their late 40s, about their experiences within the industry over the last few decades.

Although their individual backgrounds and reasons for being sent away differ, patterns emerge across their accounts and the hundreds more shared in TTI survivor support networks online.

The size of the industry and its yearly turnover of teenagers across the US remains elusive because there is no federal regulator monitoring it.

The US Government Accountability Office was tasked with investigating allegations of neglect and abuse across the industry in 2007, but found it difficult to grasp the national picture due to irregular licensing rules at the state level and ambiguity surrounding the labels facilities use to describe themselves - like boot camps or therapeutic boarding schools.

Their investigators found thousands of allegations of abuse and examined a number of deaths at behavioural programmes across the US and in American-owned businesses operating abroad. Their reports raised concerns about the level of training required of staff as well as what they described as deceptive and questionable marketing practices aimed at parents.

Subsequent hearings in Congress saw parents whose children died within the industry testify.

Cynthia Clark Harvey was one of them. Her daughter Erica was just 15 when she died of heatstroke and dehydration on her first full day in a wilderness programme in Nevada in 2002.

Cynthia remembers her daughter as a bright, thoughtful and athletic young girl who had always done well academically until she began suffering from mental health problems aged 14. Her struggles led her to become suicidal and begin experimenting with illegal drugs. When Erica was admitted to hospital and excluded from school, the family felt frightened and out of their depth.

At the time, the situation felt drastic. Erica had been doing better but her psychiatrist recommended that residential treatment could help her path to recovery.

The programme her family chose was well-known and accredited. They felt reassured Erica was in safe hands and would grow from the experience. After weeks of deliberation and planning, they travelled to Nevada under the guise of a family trip with her younger sister. When the deception was revealed, Erica became scared and angry and refused to get out of the car. After a turbulent hours-long group therapy session with other families, she and the other children were taken away.

This was the last time Cynthia and her husband ever saw their daughter alive. By the time they got back home to Arizona the following evening, there was already a message waiting on their answering phone telling them to call. They were told Erica had an accident and staff were performing CPR.

"I don't remember the time frame, but at that point she probably had been dead already for quite some time," Cynthia says.

Erica's obituary could only say that she died hiking in Nevada. Her parents would not find out her cause of death for weeks - and it took years and a lawsuit for them to get records and find out the truth of what happened that day.

Cynthia says they eventually settled with the programme for an undisclosed amount on the condition they could speak freely about the circumstances of their daughter's death. She learned Erica had been pushed to keep hiking as her condition worsened throughout the day. She later testified to Congress about how her daughter's distress had been mistaken for teenage belligerence by staff. Even after Erica fell off the trail into brush and rocks, she did not receive medical help for almost an hour.

The remote location of the trek and a series of blunders in calling help to their location meant it took hours more for an emergency helicopter to arrive and take her to hospital where she was officially declared dead, long past the point her life could have been saved.

Cynthia continues to grapple with regret and grief over what happened and came to connect with other parents who found themselves in the same unimaginable position. No criminal charges were ever filed over her daughter's death but 19 years on, Cynthia continues to speak publicly in favour of industry-wide reform.

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (Natsap) - the largest membership association of its kind - appeared on behalf of the industry in the congressional hearings, where it was grilled by lawmakers about the protections and checks in place.

Natsap's website today says it and the industry have changed over time. It emphasises that it has ethical standards in place and requires members to be licensed by their appropriate state agency or a national accrediting body and have therapeutic services overseen by a qualified clinician, though it does not accredit facilities themselves.

Campaigners argue that current levels of oversight are not enough. They say the lack of cohesive national monitoring has allowed bad actors to move around the industry and can enable facilities to rebrand under new names and distance themselves from complaints.

In online networks they have built, people who identify as survivors of the industry connect and offer support across the country - pooling information and resources to track alleged abuses and a revolving door of programmes and staff. One Reddit forum on the topic has more than 20,000 members alone.

While a number of the more controversial programmes and organisations have closed down in recent years, allegations continue to plague the industry. A lot of the stories and experiences former residents recounted to the BBC had a lot in common - whether they got out decades ago or within the last couple of years.

Many described arrival processes that left them feeling degraded and dehumanised. Those taken by transport companies described the process as disorienting and frightening. Some, including sex abuse victims, complained of invasive strip searches and examinations. One person, who was sent due to struggles with depression stemming from gender dysphoria, recounted undergoing a smear test as a virgin aged 14. Others described having their heads shaved and having blood and drugs testing despite having no history of substance abuse themselves.

Some claim to have witnessed and experienced practices like isolation and restraint and say they were also expected to punish and restrain others. Many of the systems they described were based on levels where active participation, including in "attack therapy" sessions where group members are expected to confront and criticise one another, was required to progress and gain basic privileges. Others described arbitrary physical labour, collective punishments and periods of mandated silence which could last weeks.

They all described repressive environments with extreme limits and censorship of their contact with the outside world. Many believe their parents were misled about the reality of the programmes they enrolled them in, and describe rules that seeded mistrust between them and their families. Some recounted ongoing damage to relationships and enduring fears of opening up about their experiences, even after leaving, for fear of being sent back or not being believed.

Some told the BBC they witnessed physical violence, self-harm and suicide attempts and many know other residents who took their own lives after leaving. Others have subsequently been diagnosed with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and say they continue to suffer long-term social difficulties, including in trusting in others, because of their experience.

In 2006, journalist Maia Szalavitz wrote a book that urged parents to seek evidence-based treatment for children instead of resorting to behavioural modification facilities. Her book traces the origins of many of the methods used in the industry, including confrontational group therapy, to controversial and discredited programmes from decades ago.

Advocates for change say the teenage "tough love" industry, which first began to take off in the 1980s, has been able to endure decades of controversy in part because of social stigma surrounding the issues why parents seek help. It is not uncommon for teenagers to spend years within the system and monthly tuition, sometimes in the thousands, can mount up fast.

Many, including Szalavitz, believe those referring families can exploit or exaggerate fears children will end up dead or incarcerated because of issues like drug abuse. Both her and Dr Kate Truitt, a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist who works with former residents, say the trauma experienced at these facilities can actually perpetuate or lead to long-term battles with addiction and abusive relationships.

Many ex-residents, including some the BBC spoke to, say they initially viewed their treatment as justified and even advocated for others to send their children. Some took years to change their opinion of their programme after they reflected on their experiences.

Dr Truitt compares the trauma she has seen in some former residents to that experienced by former members of cults or prisoners of war. She points out that their experiences can be particularly damaging as adolescence is such a critical time for development.

"And because of the type of specific trauma they've endured, most survivors don't feel safe seeking out treatment, because the people who were the treatment providers are the perpetrators," she tells the BBC.

Paris Hilton revealed she had already run away from a number of other placements before she was taken to Provo Canyon in Utah and kept for almost a year before she turned 18.

The documentary This is Paris shows her reuniting with classmates as they go public with their ongoing trauma from alleged experiences of emotional and physical abuse there, including allegations of punishments like solitary confinement.

Provo Canyon remains open. A statement pinned to the top of their website says it was sold to new owners in 2000 and it cannot comment on operations or patient experiences before this time. They also say they do not use methods like seclusion or mechanical restraint now.

Hilton's documentary has been watched almost 30 million times and she has continued vocal advocacy since its release.

This role marks a drastic departure from the persona she built her celebrity brand and business empire around. Although her teenage history was already known among those who went through the same systems, they say having someone as high-profile come forward has helped bring credibility and awareness to the issue.

People within the community say the documentary has empowered some to speak out about their experience for the first time. or has been used to help others, including parents, understand what they went through.

Some former residents have united under the idea of #BreakingCodeSilence, in reference to the periods of mandated social isolation used as a punishment and as a method of control in some facilities.

"One of the rules in many of these programmes is that you couldn't take anyone's phone number or name when you left. So, we were never meant to connect," Katherine McNamara, who went to Provo with Hilton, says about the groups that have emerged on social media. She and some others are now working together on a non-profit to help raise awareness, support those who identify as survivors and advocate for change.

Other celebrities, including Paris Jackson and tattoo artist Kat von D, have been inspired by the documentary to come forward.

Rapper Bhad Bhabie, real name Danielle Bregoli, has called for television personality Dr Phil to apologise for sending her and other teenagers to troubled teen facilities on his popular US show.

It came after another former guest filed a lawsuit alleging she had been punished for reporting an alleged sexual assault by a staff member at the same therapeutic boarding ranch Bregoli was sent to. The facility, which the BBC contacted for a response, has previously denied the allegations against it and disputed their accounts.

Phil McGraw said in an interview he was sad to hear of Bregoli's alleged bad experience but distanced himself and his show from her claims.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT
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Younger people, once isolated from their teenage peers because of their experience, are using social media to try and break the stigma. Some have gained huge followings on platforms like TikTok from telling their stories. But none of this is not without personal risk - the BBC has seen legal letters sent to one content creator after they spoke publicly.

Daniel has gained more than 240,000 followers and millions of likes since he started telling his and other people's stories last year. He now gets dozens of messages every day from others who went through similar situations and has had parents contact him to say they've reconsidered plans to send their children away after seeing his videos.

"If my 15-year-old self knew that people were out there fighting for me, I would have felt so relieved," he says about the movement.

In some cases, social media has been a tool for tangible change. One woman, Amanda Householder, used TikTok to spread awareness of allegations surrounding her parents' treatment of girls at a religious boarding ranch they were running in Missouri. Millions viewed her videos and eventually officials closed the school.

Prosecutors later filed more than 100 charges of physical and sexual abuse against the pair, which they have denied.

All this attention has coincided with a cascade of state-level legislative reform.

Householder testified to end religious exemptions in the state of Missouri that stopped even basic oversight of conditions at private religious facilities like the one her parents ran. She described the experience to the BBC as "very cathartic… knowing that maybe in the future kids won't have to go through what we went through" and says she hopes to give evidence in their criminal case.

Hilton was part of a group who spoke at a hearing to convince lawmakers to introduce better protections in Utah - the state thought to have the biggest density of troubled teen facilities in the US.

"I don't know if my nightmares will ever go away, but I do know that there are hundreds of thousands of kids going through this, and maybe if I stop their nightmares, it will help me stop mine," she testified.

But for her and others, the real end goal is national change.

Previous attempts to push for federal oversight and regulation have repeatedly faltered in Congress.

But a spokesperson for Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff's office confirmed to the BBC that he is working to update and re-introduce legislation aimed at prohibiting and ending abuse at residential treatment centres and increasing national oversight of such facilities.

Today, Erica Harvey should be in her mid-30s.

"It doesn't get better as the years go on, because it's just more milestones that go by," Cynthia reflects.

It's been well over a decade since she took part in hearings pushing for federal regulation. But against all odds, she remains hopeful.

Cynthia has been emboldened by the momentum building over the last year as more and more have come forward.

"When I first started doing my work after Erica's death, there were survivors out there, but they were not being listened to. And now they're starting to get listened to."