The Current

This month was the official launch of our boss Gary Haugen’s new book, The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence. It is an extraordinary story about how common crime—“everyday violence,” we call it—undermines the lives and livelihoods of the poorest people in the world. IJM knows this world very well, because these are the children, women and men who are our clients in Asia, Africa and Latin America. 

Gary took a year’s sabbatical from IJM to write and research the book, and a huge team of staff and IJM supporters have helped launch it. We are confident that the combination of riveting stories of IJM’s field work and the overwhelming data about the costs to development of unchecked sexual assault, slavery, property theft and police abuse in The Locust Effect will persuade policymakers and development professionals that it’s time to put the overlooked issue of violence against the poor on the agenda for donors, development institutions and governments.

IJM’s friends helped make the launch of the book a big splash. More than 100 friends with significant reach through social media urged people to buy the book.  Sales were so strong that The Locust Effect reached number 31 of all books sold on Amazon.com by last weekend. We’re hoping for best-seller status, which will bring even more attention to the issue of everyday violence.

Gary is using the launch of his book to highlight the need for a new Millennium Development Goal on ending violence against the poor. The original MDGs—adopted by the United Nations in 2000—included important development milestones with regard to health, education and nutrition, but contained no mention of violence. The United Nations and its member states are now involved in a complex and lengthy process of revising the goals for the coming 15 years. It is absolutely essential that the new goals address the violence that undermines all other development goals.

Think about how a girl’s education and future are affected when she is assaulted at school by her teacher, or on the way home by a neighborhood bully. Sexual assault is a leading cause for girls in the developing world leaving school. And, as the “Girl Effect” has shown the world, leaving girls behind in terms of education is a serious impediment to poverty alleviation.

I’m proud to recommend The Locust Effect to every one of you. It is one of the most important books you’ll ever read. In addition to picking up or ordering a copy, please check out our Locust Effect website (www.thelocusteffect.com)—and please sign the MDG petition while you’re there.