JPIC Working Group on Trafficking in Women and Children

1. JPIC Working Group on Trafficking in Women and Children

2. TheGroup was constituted in April 1999 after a public meeting with Sr. Lea Ackermann MSOLA, foundress of Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI ). It was convoked by Frans Thoolen, SMA

3. The Religious Congregations represented in the Group MMB SMMXSMAhad members in the past HFB – Holy Family of Bordeaux IBVM – Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary RGS – Religious of Good Shepherd MC – Missionarie della Consolata FSC - Fratres Scolarum Christianarum SSND– School Sisters of Notre Dame OLA – Our Lady of the Apostles FMA – Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice SHCJ – Society of the Holy Child Jesus RNDM – Our Lady of the Missions RSHM–Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary RJM – Religious of Jesus and Mary OLC – Our Lady of Charity SDNSC – Daughters of O. Lady of the Sacred Heart BSG – The Brothers of St. Gabriel

4. The aims of the Working Group: To raise awareness, share information, build networks and facilitate action at pastoral and structural level to combat specific human rights violations To provide education through materials, counselling and reintegration programmes from the perspective of prevention and direct assistance to women victims of trafficking

5. Some members of the Group from Educational Congregations set out working on the kit in 2001

7. This kit provides an overview of some of the main issues regarding trafficking in women and children and outlines possible strategies for religious congregations to network and work together to combat trafficking

8. It also offers an opportunity to bring this serious and urgent issue of trafficking into the open specific information from official documents from the United Nations, reports and articles from various organisations who work in the field of trafficking resources for theological reflection workshop ideas at the end of each section and in a separate appendix

9. The Kit has seven sections identifiable by colours Blue Section Red Section Green Section Orange Section Yellow Section Indigo Section Pink Section

10. Blue Section Who are trafficked? Stories of those who are trafficked

11. “You can’t use my real name. Or even the name they gave me in China. I don’t even know what my name should be. I am not the same person who left this village two years ago. My body came back but my soul is somewhere else.” Hear from Lena

12. Sold for the price of a TV When Ngun Chai sold his 13 year old daughter into prostitution for the price of a TV set, he had one regret – that he did not get enough money for her

13. Gjin Lieshi lost two daughters – one was 15 and the other 17. He says that they were taken by two men who promised to marry them. Instead the girls wound up as teenage prostitutes on the streets of Italy Hear from the father of two girls

14. Berta comes from the small town of Sapele in the Delta state, bordering on Edo (Nigeria). An acquaintance approached her and asked if she would like to work with his sister, who owned a hairdressing shop in Germany. Instead Berta was taken to Italy, was given skimpy clothes and told to get to work. Hear Bertha's story

15. An accepted international definition of trafficking is given in theUNProtocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Childrensupplementing the Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime What is trafficking?

16. «"Trafficking in persons" shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation» Definition of trafficking

17. Who are trafficked • Marginalised women and children • Ethnic minorities • Indigenous people and hill tribes • Refugees and illegal migrants • Illiterate women, run-away girls

18. The Magnitude of the Problem Between 700,000 to two million persons are trafficked each year

19. The Magnitude of the Problem The largest number of victims come from Asia, with over 225,000 victims each year from South-East Asia and over 150,000 from South Asia.

20. The Magnitude of the Problem The former Soviet Union is said to have become the largest new source, with over 100,000 trafficked for prostitution and sexual exploitation.

21. The Magnitude of the Problem 75,000 or more are trafficked from Eastern Europe

22. The Magnitude of the Problem 200,000 to 500,000 women are trafficked from Latin America to the United States and Europe each year

23. The Magnitude of the problem Another 50,000 are said to be from the African continent

24. The causes of trafficking Yellow Section A look into the supply and demand factors with a focus on the socio-cultural, economic and political aspects of life.

25. The causes of trafficking Socio-cultural Patriarchy Illiteracy Inadequate educational and employment opportunities Erosion of traditional family values Racial discrimination, racism and related intolerance Media and new technologies Supply side

26. The causes of trafficking Socio-cultural Patriarchy Pornography and its role in the growth in demand for sex Male attitudes and perceptions of women in society Consumerist behaviourwith the commercialisation and commodification of women’s bodies Demand side

27. The causes of trafficking Economic Economic disparities Feminisation of poverty Globalisation and its differential impact on women Economic liberalisation A lucrative business with high monetary returns Downfall of communist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe Supply side

28. The causes of trafficking Economic Demand by employers for an unskilled and cheap labour market Confinement of women's labour in the domestic and entertainment spheres and in the informal sector Increased commercialisation of sex Development policies and patterns that depend on temporary migrant workers Demand side

29. The causes of trafficking Political Feminisation of international migration Civil and military conflicts Growth of transnational crime Weak law enforcement mecchanisms Corruption of police and law enforcers Supply side

30. The causes of trafficking Political Military bases with its enormous prostitution infrastructure Unequal and exploitative political and economic relations Restrictive migration policies Sales of arms and increased armed conflicts Weak law enforcementmecchanisms Demand side

31. Mechanisms of trafficking: are widespread, complex, underground and are often out of the reach of the legal system constantly changing and often follow migration patterns have extensive complicity of corrupt State officials facilitated by technological advances such as telephone, fax, internet

32. Techniques of trafficking: traffickers enlist the help of local persons and villagers to identify vulnerable families direct sale: women and children are sold to traffickers by parents or other family members deceit, debt bondage, kidnap, falsification of documents, bribes transportation: women and children are transported by foot, motorcycles, mini-buses and pick-up vans, and boats

33. Red Section Theological reflection and Strategies for Religious Congregations

34. This section offersa means for exploring our theological tradition, where we find rich sources that: Promote the dignity of women Acknowledges human sexuality as a gift Condemn exploitation and slavery Call for mutual respect in the relationship between women and men Invite us to work for the liberation of those who are enslaved Red Section

35. I ask your pardon in the name of all of us women, because we left you alone on the streets to live your drama of solitude, anguish and fear through our indifference and silence. At the funeral of Tina Motoc

36. …..the Church desires to give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the "mystery of woman" and for every woman - for that which constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the "great works of God", which throughout human history have been accomplished in and through her (MD #31). John Paul II

37. The trade in human persons constitutes a shocking offence against human dignity and a grave violation of fundamental human rights. ….the selling of women and children and disgraceful working conditions …constitute “a supreme dishonour to the Creator”. Such situations are an affront to fundamental values that are shared by all cultures and peoples, values rooted in the very nature of the human person. John Paul II

38. Research, data collection, and dissemination of information Awareness raising and advocacy Prevention Protection, return, and reintegration Advocacy and lobbying of governments Networking Strategies for Religious Congregations and their Collaborators

39. The section analyses the movement of women and children who are trafficked across borders for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The traffickers prey on vulnerable women and children in the poorer countries of origin, taken through transit countries to meet the demands of men in the countries of destination Green Section Global patterns of supply and demand

40. Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children: Africa Routes Green Section

41. Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children: South America Routes Green Section

42. Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children: South East Asia Routes Green Section

43. Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children: USA Routes Green Section

44. Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children: Russia Routes Green Section

45. Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children: Australia Routes Green Section

46. International Standards UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS – 1948 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES Orange Section Permanent International Criminal Court - Rome Statute 1998

47. SOLWODI WRTV COLWOD Good Shepherd Sisters USMI- Mobilità Etnica - Settore "Tratta“ COSUDOW – Nigerian Women Religious Co-ordinamento Nazionale contro la Tratta di donne e minori Coatnet Indigo Section Networks of Religious Groups Working Against Trafficking in Women and Children

48.     Goals of a 5 hour workshop to introduce the magnitude of the problem of trafflicking to examine the underlying causes to engage in theological reflection on the issue to identify ways in which participants can get involved in preventative or rehabilitative action Pink Section How to organise a workshop

49. The Working Group hopes that this kit will serve as a catalyst for further study and action at local, national and global levels

50. Special thanks!!!! for the financial contribution to: Caritas Internazionalis JPIC Commission of the USG/UISG SSND – School Sisters of Notre Dame SHCJ – Society of the Holy Child Jesus for the illustrations to: Alain Damiani Julieta Egui Sánchez FMA