List of Resources on Opposing Human Trafficking Published in Mercy E-News, January 2013 - June 2014

Further Resources Opposing Human Trafficking published in Mercy E-News from January 2013 - June 2014 can be found below. If you hadn't time previously to read, watch and listen to these, or you want to check back on a listing, here's an easy way to do it.

        

Note:  Access the current and back issues of the Stop Trafficking newsletter

January 2014 - June 2014

- In its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released last Friday 20 June, the US State Department downgraded four nations— Thailand, Malaysia, The Gambia and Venezuela— to Tier 3, the lowest possible ranking it gives for a country's response to fighting modern-day slavery. Read the Report here

- Toronto is the “most common destination” of human trafficking in Ontario, and a hub on the larger map of national and international trafficking routes, according to a new study released at Alliance Against Modern Slavery conference on 14 June. Read the report here

-Tomorrow (12 June) the World Cup begins in Brazil. In World Cup 2014: On myths and reality of sex trafficking, the author, Sonja Dolinsek, argues that  'Human rights violations in the context of the World Cup 2014 go beyond human trafficking and child sexual exploitation'. Read the article here

-At Georgetown University School of Foreign Service,  the findings of the Institute for the Study of International Migration shed interesting light on ongoing debates in the field of human trafficking. Read the article here

-25 Painfully Disturbing Facts About Human Trafficking. Watch this video here (03:58)

A low criminal conviction rate and worries over the treatment of exploited irregular migrants are key findings in a new report by The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings’ (GRETA)on Sweden’s fight against human trafficking. Read the Report here

-'Haiti-To-Brazil Migration, Along A New Route For Human Trafficking.' Read the article here

-Slavery, human trafficking, and forced labour are more profitable than oil or finance according to a recently released UN Report: 'Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour'.

-The report by the UN’s International Labour Office (ILO) found global profits from exploiting a forced labour force of around 20.9 million people worldwide generates $150.2 billion per year. This compares to around $120 billion generated by the global oil trade and $141.3 billion generated by the US financial system each year. Read the Report here (PDF, 66pps)

-A five-year project to fight human trafficking across Southeast Asia was launched in Hanoi this week by the United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT), Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. Read the article here

-Passport to Freedom is the Sabre® signature corporate responsibility programme to help fight human trafficking and provide support to victims and survivors. This excellent programme is now online, freely available for public use. The programme, which takes about 30 minutes to complete, is visually rich, audio driven, uses accessible language and provides two different scenarios to enable users to apply their learnings about human trafficking. This programme is suitable for use by individuals (self-paced) or with groups and could be incorporated into your own presentation on this issue eg beginning at slide 8. Work through  the programme here

-An estimated 25,000 women and girls fall victim to trafficking in Chicago every year. Chicago Tonight addresses how Chicago is dealing with the problem of trafficking in human persons. Very Informative on the issue generally. Watch the programme here (14:55)

-America's Daughters is a powerful piece of spoken word written and performed by a female survivor of sex trafficking. Watch the performance here (04:00)

-Remember the Girl. 'I believe that by sharing one powerful story you can not only turn negativity into positivity, but you can also ignite a movement around empowerment,' says MIchelle Phan, an American make-up demonstrator and entrepreneur who became notable as a YouTube celebrity, and who features in this campaign to support survivors of trafficking in human persons. Watch it here (03:15).
Visit the website here

-The Vatican and Law Enforcement Agencies from around the world are teaming up to combat human trafficking. The second international conference entitled 'Combating Human Trafficking: Church and Law Enforcement in Partnership' will take place in the Academy of Sciences in the Vatican from April 9-10. Archbishop Vincent Nichols will host the conference.Hear his announcement of the conference (01:41). Read the conference background and process. The conference will be live streamed and can be watched here

-Nefarious: Merchant of Souls. It takes viewers on a journey around the globe and around the US, opening people's eyes to the world of human sex trafficking. A 6 minute preview can be viewed here The film can be watched online for $4.99 or purchased in DVD format. Produced by Exodus Cry

-The National Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Brazil (Cnbb) on Ash Wednesday launched the 2014 Brotherhood Campaign, focusing this year on the theme Brotherhood and human trafficking. In his letter of participation and encouragement for the launch of the Campaign, Pope Francis writes 'It is impossible to remain indifferent when one learns that there are human beings who are bought and sold like merchandise! Think of the adoption of children destined to be sold for organ transplants, of women who are deceived and forced into prostitution, of workers without rights or a voice who exploited, etc. This is human trafficking...'
Read the text of the Pope's letter

-On 6 March researchers in Arizona, where the Super Bowl will be held in 2015, released the first comprehensive research on sex trafficking at the Super Bowl.They analyzed and placed [located] online sex ads, identifying nearly 2,000 potential sex trafficking victims, including 84 children in New Jersey and Arizona, during the 10 days before and after this year’s Super Bowl... Read the interview transcript

-President Obama has declared January 2014  National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Sisters of Mercy continue Catherine McAuley's ministry of outreach with distressed women today by opposing Human Trafficking. Read more

The band 'For Today' will release its next album 'Fight the Silence' on 4 February with the video for the title track raising awareness about human trafficking. The clip was directed by Daniel Davidson (August Burns Red, Norma Jean). A useful resource with secondary (second level) students and older, the clip is already online. View it here (03:50) The clip ends with the address of a website against human trafficking http://www.thea21campaign.org. Check out the site. Educators in the USA: details of a forthcoming high school curriculum resource, Bodies Are Not Commodities, can be found on the site here

-The band For Today will release its next album 'Fight the Silence' on 4 February with the video for the title track raising awareness about human trafficking. The clip was directed by Daniel Davidson (August Burns Red, Norma Jean). A useful resource with secondary (second level) students and older, the clip is already online. View it here (03:50) The clip ends with the address of a website against human trafficking http://www.thea21campaign.org. Check out the site. Educators in the USA: details of a forthcoming high school curriculum resource, Bodies Are Not Commodities, can be found on the site here

June 2013 - December 2013

-In a comprehensive article marking the International Day of Human Trafficking in the Philippines (12 December), NCR reports on the work of religious women to combat human trafficking. Read the article here

-Meeting last week with 17 newly appointed ambassadors to the Holy See, Pope Francis encouraged them to work together, regardless of creed, against the “slavery” of human trafficking. Read the article and listen to the report of this meeting on Vatican Radio here

-'Tricked' is a newly released feature documentary that considers the ever evolving sex trafficking landscape. Visit the website to see the promotional clip (01:47) and to learn more. Visit the site here

-The campaign to end human trafficking is comparable to that of the campaign for the emancipation of women and like that campaign, it will not succeed until people pressure their governments to take action, said Anne Gallagher, a former UN adviser on human trafficking, in an interview following her keynote address on the first day of the Trust Women conference (3-4 December) in London.Watch the videos from that conference here which address the themes of moderrn-day slavery and human trafficking.

-The Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond
This report, released in Brussels, 4 December 2013, by Prof. Mirjam van Reisen, Meron Estefanos and Prof. Conny Rijken, focuses on the trafficking of refugees from the Horn of Africa who are targeted by criminal networks for extortion and exploitation. The report looks at the experiences of the refugees who have fled their countries looking for safety and security.  Download the Report here. Length 238 pages PDF For an outline of the Report, read the article in Social Watch

-Thousands of women and children in the Philippines risk falling prey to human traffickers in the aftermath of last month's catastrophic typhoon, lawmakers and the chief US aid agency warned Tuesday. Read the article here

-Message for the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
'...[I]t is vital that we give special consideration to ending modern-day slavery and servitude which affects the poorest, most socially excluded groups – including migrants, women, discriminated ethnic groups, minorities and indigenous peoples.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  Message for the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

-Polaris Project Release longitudinal study on Trafficking
Some 9,000 US cases between 2008 and 2012 are analyzed in a report released last Thursday (21/11) by the Polaris Project, the organization that operates the national trafficking hot line. Among the findings: Children were victims in 33 percent of sex trafficking cases and 20 percent of labor trafficking cases. Read the Report here

-The Freedom Project
CNN ihas joined the fight to end modern-day slavery by shining a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplifying the voices of the victims, highlighting success stories and helping unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life. Read why they are doing this. Find out more. Keep up to date

-Joan S. Dawber, S.C., talks about the work of LifeWay Network, an organization that seeks to combat human trafficking through the provision of safe housing and education. Podcast is available here

-Walk Free Foundation, ranked 162 countries on the number living in slavery, the risk of enslavement, and the strength of government responses to combating the illegal activity in the first ever 'Global Slavery Index' released last week. Modern Slavery includes slavery, slavery-like practices (such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and sale or exploitation of children), human trafficking and forced labour.

A key finding from this inaugural Index is that there are an estimated 29.8 million people enslaved around the world. Read the report here (136 pps) The Terminology, Overview and Methods of research are covered in the first 12 pages.

-International Conference on Human Trafficking
An international conference was held in Brussels on 30 September to mark the 65th anniversary of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.  Read the widely syndicated report here from the Times of Malta

-Human trafficking is a global problem
'The tragic drowning in the Mediterranean Sea of scores of African migrants is a painful reminder of the terrible humanitarian challenges caused by the developed world’s strict immigration policies and the vast, cynical trade in human trafficking that preys on those hoping to outwit the system...' Read the editorial here

-On 15 September at the White House, Humanity United, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development launched the Partnership for Freedom – a public-private partnership to spur innovative solutions to human trafficking challenges. Visit the site to learn about becoming engaged in providing a solution. For those living outside the US, the resources on the site may be of interest.These include the clip of President Obama's 2012 landmark speech on slavery, the first such speech by a sitting president since Abraham Lincoln. Visit the site here

-Trafficking in persons has gained recognition in recent decades as an issue of serious international concern. But while the problem is increasingly acknowledged by the global community, there is still significant confusion about its risks and how it should be dealt with. In other words, what are the security implications of human trafficking, and how can they best be addressed? This article from the International Affairs Review (Spring 2013) addresses 'Human Trafficking: A Security Perspective'. Read the article here (21 pps)

-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's Office has developed a human trafficking prevention manual. While developed to to help criminal justice professionals dismantle human trafficking operations, the manual provides significant background information on the realities of human trafficking and therefore deserves a broader audience. The manual is now online in PDF format. Download the manual here (38 pps)

-In last week's e-news (September 4,2013) we advised of a  workshop on Human Trafficking, 2-3 November, Casina Pio IV, Rome, organised by the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and of the Social Sciences The programme is now available. Download the programme here

-According to Vatican Radio, following a wish expressed by Pope Francis, the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and of the Social Sciences, together with FIAMC (World Federation of the Catholic Medical Associations) are organizing a preparatory workshop on 2-3 November 2013 in the Casina Pio IV to examine human trafficking and modern slavery. Read the details here

On 25 August 2013, the British Home Secretary, Teresa May, announced her intention to introduce a "modern slavery" bill that tightens the laws on human trafficking in an attempt to eradicate an "evil in our midst". Read the details and view the many resources on this issue on The Guardian's Trafficking page. Read the article here

"Still, God Helps You" by Melissa Pritchard
Snatched from a marketplace in Sudan and sold into slavery at the age of six, William Mawwin became one of millions of people in the world enduring some form of involuntary servitude. This is his extraordinary story. Read it here

Image: Carole McDonald rsm, Regional Co-ordinator (Victoria) ACRATH addressing a Lenten gathering on 19 March 2014, co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of Melbourne, to raise awareness among parishes of this important cause. Photo: Adele Howard rsm.