Helping Improve The Status Of Women And Assisting The Victims Of Sexual Abuse In The Developing World.

Donna McDermid was a former missionary to India and Australia and a great supporter of the work of ARMS. Donna was an inspirational leader who had a life-long passion to see the status of women improved in the Developing World. Sadly in February 2008, Donna died after a long illness.

The ARMS Board has decided to set up a specialized fund to improve the satus of women and help the victims of sexual abuse in the Developing World,  In consultation with the McDermid Family the Board has decided to name the fund in memory of Donna McDermid.

Some Of The Problems Facing Women In The Developing World.
The ARMS Board sees that the Donna McDermid Memorial Fund has enormous possibilities to alleviate the suffering of many women in the Developing World.

The plight of the girl child in the Developing World is well documented. In poorer nations, women have fewer opportunities to be educated or to enter into the business world. They are the major victims of slavery and they suffer marital violence. Women are the victims of rape and are beaten and in some cases murdered in order to settle family honour disputes. A recent UN report on Human Trafficking stated that 79% of human trafficking was for the global sex trade.

Of the estimated 12.3 million people who are trafficked each year the vast majority (up to 80%) are women, many of whom are forced into prostitution; (the rest are forced to do menial labour for little of no reward). This might explain why the majority of heterosexual HIV / AIDS sufferers are women.