human trafficking \ Addressing the issue

About 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders according to the U.S. Department of State, and some 20,000 are victims in the United States. Human trafficking involves forced labor and sexual abuse. The American Baptist Women’s Ministries, http://www.abwmbreakthechains.org/, is addressing this modern form of slavery and raising funds to combat it. Funds from Break the Chains will help six ministries. They are:

New Life Center Foundation, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Directed by American Baptist missionary Karen Smith, the center will educate and provide rehabilitation services to 15 girls and women who are victims of sexual abuse, labor exploitation and human trafficking.

The Mansion of Light Baptist Church in Costa Rica. The church will open a family life center to help children subjected to physical and sexual violence in their homes.

The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches in the Philippines. This program will minister to young girls at risk and girls who prostitute themselves in five communities in the beach area of Iloilo. Funding will help construct a building and provide staffing and programming that will offer girls education and healthy alternatives to prostitution.

First Baptist Church in Sioux Falls, S.D. The ministry, Elizabeth’s House, offers safe and secure housing to young, single women who are at risk of exploitation. Practical training resources will be offered.

Night Light USA, Los Angeles. The new ministry is developing outreach and support ministries to women in the sex industry who are trafficked or exploited in the United States.

Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service, Peoria, Ill. The jewelry-making cooperative is teaching Hispanic immigrant women a cottage industry. The cooperative will make and market Scripture-based charm bracelets.

Facts and figures:

The International Organization for Migration accuses criminal organizations in Russia, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and Colombia as being top producers of human trafficking.

The Not For Sale Fund at www.notforsalecampaign.org claims “27 million people are enslaved today.”

The U.S. State Department estimates between 600,000 and 820,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders annually.

Some recommended Web sites:

www.ncccusa.org/news/080110humantrafficking.html: The Justice for Women Working Group (of National Council of Churches USA) offers information and Web site links to other denominations’ resources and work to end human trafficking.

www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Basic information and excellent “tool kits” are available for free.

www.catwinternational.org: Coalition against Trafficking in Women. This is a global nongovernmental Web site (multilingual) that offers many articles and facts.

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org: The Salvation Army National Headquarters (click on Services/Human Trafficking).

www.captivedaughters.org: Captive Daughters is committed to ending the exploitative practice of sex trafficking, with a particular focus on girls and women.

www.antislavery.org: Anti-Slavery International, founded in 1839, is the world’s oldest international human rights organization and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery and related abuses.

Hot line: Trafficking Information and Referral, (888) 373-7888, operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.

Some recommended films:

“Sex Slaves,” a PBS documentary Frontline presents a unique hidden-camera look at this world of sexual slavery, talking with traffickers and their victims, and exposing the government indifference that allows the abuses to continue virtually unchecked.

“Human Trafficking,” a two-part miniseries starring Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland. A gripping presentation that does much to educate the public on the realities of human/sex trafficking.

“Born Into Brothels,” a documentary about children reared in Calcutta’s red-light district.

“Fields of Mudan,” a 23-minute film by Florida State University’s Film School focuses on trafficking of children. Viewers will learn how the sex trafficking issue affects women and children.

Some recommended books:

“Not for Sale” by David Batstone; “The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade” by Victor Malarek; “Woman, Child — For Sale” by Gilbert King; “Human Traffic: Sex, Slaves and Immigration” by Craig McGill; and “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers.

Source: ABWM