Area’s women religious gather to discuss how to help the estimated 20,000 people trafficked into the U.S. annually
Every seat in the chapel of the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse, Brighton, MA was filled Nov. 1 as more than 230 women and men from all over New England gathered for the second symposium on The Human Face of Trafficking offered by the Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) Anti-Trafficking Coalition.
Those attending included members of religious congregations, representatives from at least nine high schools and six colleges, health and social service providers, legal professionals and others. All came to better learn how to address the complexities of modern-day slavery/human trafficking – a horrific yet hidden crime that is now one of the most lucrative businesses in the world.
After the passage of the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops began educating their church about the horrors of human trafficking. The bishops began these efforts with members of religious congregations because they realized the sisters’ potential to educate and influence others on behalf of victims of human trafficking. The November 1 symposium was a natural outgrowth of that.
Trafficking – a problem in Rhode Island as elsewhere, and particularly in Providence – is a form of modern-day slavery in which victims, mostly women, are held against their will and forced to engage in prostitution. In Rhode Island, prostitution is legal when conducted indoors, making the state a particularly attractive destination point for human traffickers and their victims.
Catherine Ferguson, SNJM, is coordinator of UNANIMA International, a non-government organization representing 16 congregations of women religious at the United Nations. She spoke of why women religious are addressing the issue of human trafficking: “because we are human beings, because we are women, because we are women religious with a history of Catholic social teaching, and because we live in the United States, a country of destination for the trafficking trade.”
Sgt. Detective Kelley O’Connell of the Boston Area Human Trafficking Task Force provided sobering statistics on the local situation and spoke of the urgent need in the Boston area for safe houses for women who are trafficked. Cynthia Kennedy of Project REACH followed with ways to recognize someone who is trafficked. All three framed their presentations with real-life profiles of victims of trafficking.
Afternoon breakout sessions focused on high schools, higher education, social services/health care, legal and immigration issues, and local needs. Groups were asked to come up with concrete actions to which they were willing to commit. To conclude the day, Task Force Chair Betsy Goodwin, OSF, invited participants to share the actions that had been put forth in the break out sessions.
Sister Jacqueline Paradis, SUSC, who ministers to the elderly in St. Cecilia’s Parish, Pawtucket said that initially she “was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem. It has opened my eyes to the reality of trafficking and helped me to be informed and more knowledgeable. At the end of the day, I asked myself: What can I do?”
Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious [LCWR] Anti-Trafficking Coalition. Members of LCWR are Catholic women religious who are leaders of their orders in the United States. The conference has approximately 1500 members, who represent about 95 percent of the 67,000 women religious in the United States. The conference develops leadership, promotes collaboration within church and society, and serves as a voice for systemic change. Visit their website www.lcwr.org. The Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious includes sixteen Congregations representing over a thousand women religious in the greater Boston area.
An estimated 850,000 people are trafficked annually worldwide, according to the U.S. State Department, 20,000 of them into the United States. Human trafficking forces men, women, and children into pornography, prostitution and other sexual exploitation, as well as labor exploitation. In 1998, the realization that trafficking was a growing problem around the world—and that it was being largely unaddressed—led to the formation of a broad-based coalition of women's organizations, faith-based groups, children's groups, labor groups, and health groups. This bi-partisan coalition determined that they would do something about human trafficking. Together, they drafted and helped pass the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. The law provides a comprehensive approach to elimination of trafficking in persons through a three-pronged strategy—prevention, prosecution, and protection. In 2003 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services began educating segments of the public about the horrors of human trafficking. The effort began with members of women's religious communities who have the potential to educate and influence others on behalf of victims of trafficking.
Often the hidden and complex nature of this crime leaves would-be advocates feeling helpless. This day offered hope that one person can make a difference. A slideshow of the symposium will soon be available on the website of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. For further information, visit www.csjboston.org
