The United Nations estimates that 7 million women and girls around the world have been kidnapped from their home countries and sold into sex slavery. To Case Western Reserve University Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences graduate and artist Myrna Balk, those were sad but meaningless statistics until she visited Nepal in 1998 and met some of the victims.

Balk was so moved by the accounts of these women that she created a series of etchings describing their experiences. Those etchings, along with drawings produced by the women themselves, will be on display at the Mandel School April 2 through June 30 in the exhibit "Art as Witness: Shattered Lives-Unshattered Dreams."

Balk will talk about the display at an open house and reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m. April 2 at the Mandel School.

A 1963 graduate of the Mandel School, Balk spent the first three decades of her career in private practice and directing the group treatment program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. In 1995 she attended the United Nations International Conference on Women in Beijing.

"That was a fascinating experience, and it got me thinking about wanting to do something beyond my work at the hospital," Balk said. "I had been to Nepal in 1968 to visit some friends in the Peace Corps and thought I'd like to return there."

She sent out inquires to nonprofit organizations operating in that mountain kingdom, and in 1998 received an offer to provide assistance to SAATHI, an agency helping victims of domestic violence. Balk spent time in shelters where, as a way to get to know the women, she encouraged them to make drawings about themselves and their lives.

"For many of them it was the first time they had held a pencil or crayon," she said.

Many of the pictures the women drew described experiences of polygamy, childhood marriage, domestic violence and sexual slavery.

"Seven thousand a year are taken from Nepal alone and sold into brothels in India," Balk said. "There are very few opportunities for women there, particularly in the rural villages. Men come to them promising jobs, then as soon as they cross the border their passports are taken away and they are forced to become prostitutes."

Under those conditions they are subject to violence and at great risk of contracting AIDS, according to Balk. If the women do manage to escape and return to Nepal, they are ostracized, she said.

Balk returned to Nepal in 2001 armed with more art supplies and the determination to let even more of the women and girls tell their stories. She also took photographs of many of the women.

"I wanted to get to know these women better, and I felt it was important that the rest of the world hear their story," she said.

The drawings are accompanied by text, which the women dictated to Balk.

"I offered to let them keep their drawings, but they wanted me to take their work out of the country and show the world what was happening to them," Balk said.

Balk's etchings were displayed at the United Nations in 2000 as part of the UN's follow-up to the 1995 Beijing conference. The drawings and etchings have been displayed together at several locations in the Boston area, where they have been received with great interest.

"One thing I've noticed is that people aren't just looking at the pictures, but are really taking time to read the accompanying text," Balk said. "I hear them talking afterwards, and they are clearly moved by what they have seen and read."

David Schrader, assistant dean for development and external affairs at the Mandel School, arranged to bring Balk and her exhibit to the school.

"Myrna's exhibit is very relevant to what we do as a school of social work and to our larger mission as a university. It shows how the principles and skills of social work can be brought to bear on a global issue."

For additional information contact Traci Douglas at 216-368-0113.