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The UN Gift Box at New York City’s Union Square: Raising Awareness to Stop Human Trafficking
February 4, 2014
The UN Gift box, spearheaded by the UN NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons (of which MIA at the UN is a member) ended its first US-based advocacy campaign 2 February in New York City. The Gift Box For two weeks, as visitors flocked to the City in the days prior to the Super Bowl, a larger than life Gift Box was displayed in lower Manhattan t…
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Anne's Story from Newfoundland
September 23, 2012
When Mary Purcell asked me to share a story of one of the women I had journeyed with over the past number of years, I immediately thought of Anne. Hers is an agonizing story of hurts, hunger, homelessness but also one of healing and strength. Through this writing I share something of my journey with Anne from her brokenness and bondage to freedom and dignity. “Sister Margie, a womanüs got to do what a womanüs got to do.? …
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Ana’s Story from the Philippines
September 23, 2012
?Anna,? who has asked that her identity be disguised, was trafficked to Malaysia from her home in the Philippines .Promised a job as a waitress, she arrived to find her traffickers had something very different in mind. Anna: My manager told us we will work as a prostitute ‘ I go there, I'm still virgin. I tell my friend I don't want this work because I cannot give myself to anybody ... My boss tell me I sign contract, I cannot go back…
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Australian Mercies Speak for the Rights of Trafficked People (Sisters of Mercy in Australia &PNG)
September 22, 2012
¼Sisters of Mercy in Australia are active in ACRATH, the Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans endorsed by Catholic Religious Australia – the peak body for 180 religious orders in Australia, representing 8000 religious sisters, brothers and priests. ACRATH is committed to working together towards the elimination of human trafficking in Australia, in Asia, the Pacific and Internationally. Australia is a country…
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Newfoundland and Labrador initiatives on Human Trafficking
September 18, 2012
The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland, together with other religious congregations, NGO and police force members are part of the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Trafficking Committee. The aim of the committee is to end Human Trafficking through public awareness, services to trafficked persons, advocacy, and resources and training support to law enforcement. Their objectives are to:- 1) Ensure a coordinated effort…
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Trafficking E-Focus Group – Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community, USA
August 25, 2012
¼ ?At the June 2012 Gathering of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community, I spoke with several sisters about trafficking as an issue of particular interest to them and/or in which they are involved in some way, ? writes¼Jeanne Christensen rsm. ?The West Midwest Community covers a huge geographical area; for those familiar with the United States, our community spans from Michigan to California. This makes it impossible to hold fac…
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Anti-Human Trafficking Report from the Irish Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy
August 25, 2012
Did you know that more people – children, women and men – have been trafficked, bought and sold, in the past decade than in the 400 years of the Slave Trade? This shocking truth is so contrary to our ?Gospel/Mercy values of human dignity, justice, compassion, service and the alleviation of extreme poverty...ü* that it is no surprise that Mercy International Association have chosen to address the issue. *Congregational Policy for P…
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Trafficking is an issue which engages the Sisters of Mercy in Argentina
October 10, 2011
¼One example of trafficking into the country is the story of a young Aymara woman, Aida, who was brought by the police to the Sisters of Mercy refuge for women in Moreno, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Aida comes from a remote and very poor village in Bolivia. She responded to an offer by relatives in Buenos Aires to come and work for them. She left her village (much against her mother's intuitions) and crossed the border without documents. …
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Justice Project in Kansas City
October 10, 2011
The Sisters of Mercy, West Midwest Community, are the primary funders of the Justice Project in Kansas City, a project which works with women who have been trafficked within the United States. A number of Mercy Sisters volunteer at the project, including Sister Donna Ryan, chair of the board. The term human trafficking usually conjures up images of women brought to the United States from impoverished nations and forced into prostit…
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Irish Congregation address the issue of human trafficking
October 10, 2011
One of the major issues being addressed by the Irish Congregation is the issue of human trafficking, particularly of women for prostitution. Sr Mary Ryan is working with the major organisation in Ireland working on prostitution, Ruhama, providing a safe house for women who have been trafficked. The work involves accompanying trafficked women to court, helping them access medical and educational services etc. Most of these women com…
