Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women campaign brought students together last night to raise awareness and stand up for human rights.

Students listened as an international panel gave their thoughts on violence against women. Students from Africa, India, China, Pakistan and the United States were represented at the event.

The panel focused on issues that included rape, domestic violence and human trafficking.

Kimberly Menard, a lecturer in the sociology department, shared American statistics, saying that at some point in life, one in three women will suffer sexual abuse.

Student panelist Hafsa Haseeb focused her attention on the treatment of wives in Pakistan. "The law in Pakistan recently changed; before women who said they were raped were thrown into jail," Haseeb said. However, many women in Pakistan still face danger, and acid burning has become a common form of domestic violence, she said.

Desirea Rogers, vice president and co-founder of Justice for Children International, focused her attention on the abolishment of child sex trafficking. "There are 27 million slaves in the world today, half of which are children, but there is hope," Rogers said.

Gabeba Baderoon, lecturer in the African American studies department, spoke about the need for alliances and collaboration, as these problems often appear on a global scale.

Loren Heinbach, co-coordinator of Amnesty International Penn State, said she was very excited with how the panel went.

"The discussions were absolutely fantastic, we had very dynamic panelists," she said.

All who attended were encouraged to sign letters to Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., to urge ratification of the Treaty for the Rights of Women, since Amnesty International operates with the belief that the power of change "is in our hands."