Choices Global Institute of Healing and Education (501c3) was originally founded by Merle Hoffman in 2015 to help address the global need for education and services relating to women’s and girls’ health, well-being, and ability to thrive and fulfil their potential as full human beings. The history encompasses conducting research, publishing projects, and fostering educational initiatives, services, and programs both within the U.S.A. and globally.
Photo credit: Nirit Mitrany, originally published in Haaretz.
Developing and supporting health education and care was – and is today – at the core of our projects in the U.S.A. Through its community outreach programs, CGI developed initiatives to raise public awareness about women’s health issues and provided support to underserved women and their families. This included the creation of sexual health classes for women and men, from school age through the senior years. We worked closely with community organizations, schools, and women’s leadership programs on reproductive health issues, and sponsored classes and seminars, including those on Birth Control and Healthy Relationships, free of charge. We also promoted education projects that focused on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS. All this continues.
Internationally, our projects included supporting the research and analysis of feminist scholars to help immigrant and minority women who lived in shame- and honor-based cultures. We researched and published material about honor-based violence, including honor killing, and interviewed victims of such violence, with a special interest in identifying what may have accounted for a successful escape from honor-based violence. We hosted evenings, attended and presented at conferences, and appeared in the media to elevate understanding globally and strengthen women individually.
Our projects included CGI Advisor-in-Chief Dr. Phyllis Chesler’s continuing academic studies at Middle East Quarterly about honor killing, as well as a feminist analysis of the burqa and face veil. We consulted with feminists globally who worked in these areas and with those who were starting websites and social media campaigns to address such issues on every continent. CGI also undertook a publishing program, which included writing articles for selected venues and republishing pioneering feminist works with new Introductions and Study Guides for students, therapeutic practitioners, and diverse populations.