2019 Azbee Awards of Excellence

Category

All Content > Q&A > Southeast

Awarded to

Karla Monterrosa-Yancey, editor-in-chief

Entry details

Lydia Cacho: The Defender of Human Rights

Issue date (if applicable): 12/1/2018
Publication name: ACAMS Today
Publishing company: ACAMS
Website home page: www.acamstoday.org

Please describe the publication's mission and readership:

The ACAMS Today magazine is a quarterly publication for career-minded professionals in the financial crime detection and prevention fields and it is an exclusive benefit for ACAMS members. The ACAMS Today is dedicated to keeping members up-to-date on the latest anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing challenges, legislative, regulatory and international developments in financial crime prevention and practical solutions to compliance problems. As well as offering members career-guidance, highlighting member contributions, ACAMS chapter updates, CAMS graduate listings and other valuable financial crime-related sections.

Please describe the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

Lydia is the embodiment of a human rights activist. She has dedicated her entire life to defending victims of sexual violence and human trafficking. Lydia spoke at two of ACAMS' conferences in 2018. I had the privilege of sitting down with her for an hour and getting to know her on a one-on-one basis. Lydia is both intense and charismatic. She believes in her mission. In her 20s, she was sexually assaulted by those who wanted to silence her. She spent time in prison where she was again assaulted. Lydia has a target on her back and travels with a bodyguard. As a result, she is constantly changing her schedule due to the many threats on her life. As I spoke to her, I was amazed at her continued focus on not only bringing awareness to HT, but being a catalyst for countries to change their laws to help prevent HT. She established a ‘’Shelter Model” for victims of sexual assault and has won numerous awards for this model; however, true to her mission, instead of selling this successful model she gave it away to any one or country who was willing to implement it to help victims. Lydia was once called the “rock star of Mexican journalism,” I would say she is the rock star of anti-human trafficking. She has given a lifetime of service to her fellow men and women and continues to do so.

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