Rose Mary Meyer has been involved
in anti-trafficking work through her role
at Project IRENE (Illinois Religious
Engaging in Nonviolent Endeavors),
an inter-congregational initiative of the
Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). Rose Mary has worked
with others to educate people, train law
enforcement personnel, and offer assistance to survivors of trafficking.
In addition, she has been involved in
legislative advocacy with some success.
The Illinois legislature has passed an antitrafficking bill every year for the past five
years. Rose Mary said that the most recent
legislation will “create an affirmative
defense that allows people facing charges
of prostitution to refute these charges” if
they result from being trafficked.
Like Marilyn, Rose Mary believes that
education is an important step in ending
trafficking. She points out that people
often have misconceptions about this issue
and that “ongoing education is essential”
(see sidebar for suggested resources). Rose
Mary suggests that individuals can help
provide work that will prevent people
from being trafficked in the first place. For
example, people can purchase fair-trade
products and shop at businesses that provide a living wage.
Observe, Report Signs
Both Marilyn and Rose Mary note
that it is vital to report suspected cases
of human trafficking. When asked what
signs to look for, Marilyn responds,
“Watch for children or young people
who should be in school or for groups of
people congregating on street corners or
in front of businesses.”
Rose Mary references information provided by the National Human Trafficking
Resource Center. This organization suggests that possible clues include situations
in which people live and work in the
same place; are always accompanied by a
controlling person or boss; or have a lack
of control over their personal schedule,
money, or identification documents.
When encountering a situation in
which a person is suspected of being trafficked, Rose Mary points out that it is
better to call the national hotline (8883737-888) and local authorities than to
intervene directly. She adds, “You do not
Human trafficking only involves
females who are forced into commercial sex work. Some humans who are
trafficked are forced into commercial sex
work; other people who are trafficked are
forced or coerced into providing service
or labor. Humans are also trafficked for
organ transplants and to smuggle drugs.
Human trafficking only occurs in illegal
industries. Human trafficking happens
in businesses such as restaurants, hotels,
nail salons and massage parlors, and can
occur in industries that include health
care, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and domestic work.
Imagens Evangélicas via Flickr.
Human Trafficking
Misconceptions:
Humans who are trafficked are
uneducated and come from poor communities. Humans who are trafficked
come from various socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.
An important step in addressing
human trafficking is to become
informed about the issue. Below are
some common misconceptions:
Human trafficking is not an issue in my
area. Human trafficking occurs throughout the world and can happen in urban
and rural environments. The National
Human Trafficking Resource Center notes
that people have been trafficked in “cities,
suburbs, and rural areas in all 50 states.” 1
Between 2008 and 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice opened 2,515 suspected
cases of human trafficking,2 and the
United Nations reports that more than
2.5 million people are being trafficked at
any given time.3
Human trafficking is another term for
human smuggling. Human trafficking
and human smuggling are two different
crimes. Smuggling refers to acts in which
people are transported across national
borders. Human trafficking refers to
crimes of exploitation in which people
are forced or coerced into labor, service,
and/or commercial sex work.
have to be sure that trafficking is taking
place. You should call the hotline even if
you have a suspicion.”
In his World Peace Day message, Pope
Francis reminds us that even today, people
of all ages are deprived of freedom and
“are forced to live in conditions akin to
slavery.” Rose Mary concurs: “Trafficked
persons have had their human rights and
their freedom torn from them.”
At the 2014 BVM Senate, the congregation took a corporate stance against
Footnotes:
1 Victims, The National Human Trafficking Recourse
Center (http://bit.ly/1CdpjmH)
2 Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking
Incidents, Bureau of Justice Statistics
(http://1.usa.gov/OJz3i6)
3 Human Trafficking FAQs, United Nations Office of
Drugs and Crime (http://bit.ly/1q0EyHl)
Learn More about
n o
Human Trafficking:
m n raffi
1) Coalition of Catholic Orga
)
f Catholic Organizaat o
rga
tions Against Human Trafficki
ns Against Huma Trafficki
s Human fficking:
m
http://bit.ly/1EfqP7d
/
/b ly/1E P7
1Efq 7
2) Polaris Project: The National
aris rojec
ar s ro ct The ational
r
Hu a
Human Trafficking Hotline and
affi
Hotlin n
n
Resource Cent r: http://www.
ur
u ce ente : ttp / w w
polarisproject.org
rispr
p
o
3) Intercommunity Pea e and J
community Peac and Jusmmun
mmu t Peace n
tice Center: http://www.ip
ice
http://www.ipjc.org
p
p:/ w
human trafficking, affirming the ministry of
Marilyn, Rose Mary, and other BVMs and
associates, who—as a community, stand in
solidarity with people who have been trafficked—and pledge themselves to action.
Footnote:
1 World Peace Day: Pope Francis, No Longer Slaves,
but Brothers and Sisters (http://bit.ly/1z9kO92)
About the author: Associate Dan Abben lives
in Chicago where he is a graduate student in
psychology at DePaul University.
SUMMER TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN
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