Taina Bien-Aimé is the Executive Director of the

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) is a radical feminist and gender-critical non-governmental organization opposing human trafficking, prostitution, and other forms of commercial sex. It has been described as a "neo-abolitionist ...

and a founding member of

Equality Now Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Th ...

Early life

Bien-Aimé grew up in Switzerland and worked at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. She then went to

NYU School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-b ...

to become a lawyer, and received the Vanderbilt Medal while there. In addition to a law degree, she also holds a License in Political Science from the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

in Switzerland.

Career

In 1992, Bien-Aimé took a job at the firm

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb), formerly Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly & Cox and Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly, Steen & Hamilton, is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York Cit ...

, and she stayed there for four years. While there, she met

Jessica Neuwirth Jessica Neuwirth (born 10 December 1961) is an American lawyer and international women's rights activist. She is one of the founders of Equality Now, an international women's rights organizations established in 1992, and the founder and director o ...

, who had previously worked at

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

. The two helped start the organization

. In 1996, Bien-Aimé then went on to work for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

for four years as the Director of Business Affairs/Film Acquisitions. She then became a full-time member of

, and was its executive director from 2001-2011. While there, Equality Now started campaigns against sex tourism and the Fund for Grassroots Activism to End Sex Trafficking. She was also the Executive Director of the Women's City Club of New York. In 2014, she became the Executive Director of the

. While there, she was involved in the development of laws such as

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (also referred to as the Trafficking Protocol or UN TIP Protocol) is a Protocol (diplomacy), protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Tran ...

, The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and the New York State Human Trafficking Act. She also writes for the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

Honors and awards

In 2007, she received the Susan B. Anthony Award from the National Organization for Women. She received the Phoenix Award from the New York Asian Women's Center in 2008. In 2009, she received the New York County Lawyers’ Association Edith I. Spivack Award. In 2011, she received both the Black Latino Asian-Pacific American Law Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award and NYU Law Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Service in the Public Interest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bien-Aimé, Taina Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Swiss activists Swiss women activists Anti–human trafficking activists People associated with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton University of Geneva alumni New York University School of Law alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni