Human Trafficking Español
“Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity … [that] involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them.” — UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (2000).
No country is free from the affects of human trafficking. This is a crime that devastates its victims, often women and children — taking away their dignity and security, and tears at the fabric of our society.
In 2001, the UISG (Union of International Superiors General), an international forum of Catholic women religious leaders, formally declared a commitment to address the abuse and exploitation of women and children insistently and at every level, “with particular attention to the trafficking of women which has become a lucrative multi-national business.”
Our 2009 Chapter Call for Systemic Change impels us to work collaboratively to forge just political, economic and social structures in solidarity with impoverished and excluded persons. In response, we commit ourselves to work for an end to human trafficking by increasing awareness of this issue, networking with other congregations and NGOs, and advocating fair trade as a means of reducing the economic pressures which exacerbate this issue.
Resources
End Human Trafficking, a publication of the Congregation Justice Committee
- June 2011. This issue provides information to help you recognize victims of human trafficking and direct them to agencies in various parts of the world that can assist them to rebuild their lives. It also offers sources from Scripture and our congregational documents that impel us to respond to the scandal of human trafficking.
- February 2011. This educational piece answers basic questions about trafficking: what it is; who is affected; where it occurs; why it continues to exist; and how we can begin to address it globally. Contents include links to several organizations throughout the world that are working hard to bring an end to the scourge of trafficking.
Prayer Resources
Human Trafficking Awareness Day, January 11. This prayer service was prepared by the Coalition for Corporate Responsibility in Indiana and Michigan (CCRIM), of which the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross is a participating member, in honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, January 11.
- Prayer to End Human Trafficking. From January 12 through February 5, CCRIM religious congregations will be invited to pray for an end to human trafficking using a prayer card distributed by the congregations to all of their members. Congregations from nearby states and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas also will join in this effort.
Presentations
- Introduction to Human Trafficking, a PowerPoint presentation by Sister Ann Oestreich, IHM, congregation justice coordinator, given to the Congregation Justice Committee, July 2010.
Reports
Web sites
- CNN's Freedom Project. Throughout 2011, CNN will join the fight to end modern-day slavery and shine a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplify the voices of the victims, highlight success stories and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life.
Free the Slaves liberates slaves around the world, helps them rebuild their lives and researches real world solutions to eradicate slavery forever.
- Stop Enslavement is a Web site dedicated to education about human trafficking, through monthly postings of the Stop Trafficking newsletter.