Trafficking Appeal 2009

8/7/2019 Trafficking Appeal 2009

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We Sisters of Charity-Halifax,

called to be prophetic women

in a world wounded by violence

and stripped of hope, are

committed to make the love

of God visible in our world by

serving persons who are poor,

especially those who through

shame conceal their necessities.

We stand together in a time

when we hear the silent cries of

victims of human tracking,

especially those women and

children taken for the purposes

of sexual exploitation and

forced labour.

We commit ourselves to

work to eradicate this global

human rights violation and

to arm the dignity of all

human beings.

Adopted 2008

Corporate Stance on

Human Tracking

Fighting HumanTrackingSlavery is a concept most of us associate with stories of the past.

Its not legal anywhere, yet according to some, there are more

slaves now than at any other time in history. Today we call it

human tracking.

The United Nations denition of human tracking is complex,

but includes three key elements. They are:

The Act (What is done )Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons.

The Means (How it is done)Threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of

power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benets to a person incontrol of the victim.

The Purpose (Why it is done)For the purpose of exploitation, which includes sexual exploitation,forced labour, slavery or similar practices.

With your help we can ghtthis modern-day slavery.


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Bringing Global Concerns Home

Sister Ellen Donovan lives in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and

is an active member of the Congregations Global Concerns

Resource Team. This group researches global issues and makes

recommendations on how Sisters should respond.

The Team was rst introduced to the issue of human tracking

in 2001 through the United Nations. Sister Ellen says, My heart

caught re with a desire to be an advocate for victims of this

modern-day slavery. Humans are being treated as objects to be

sold, resold, beaten and even murdered - all for prot.

I consider tracking as the ultimate scourge against the

most vulnerable in society.

Our Sisters are ghting human tracking

A Problem of OlympicProportions

Sister Ellen Donovan

join us for the launch ofbuying sex is not a sportthe 2010 anti-trafficking campaign

BuyingSEXisnotaSPORT

Sister

Nancy Brown

With the 2010 Olympic Winter Games being

held in Vancouver, much of her recent work

has involved ensuring measures are put in

place to control human tracking during the

Games. Research into past global sporting

events shows that without serious measures, a

signicant increase in tracked individuals at

the Olympics is all but guaranteed. Through her

work with various organizations, Sister Nancy

is lobbying government ocials and taking

advantage of opportunities to educate the

public on the horrors of human tracking, and

how we can all work to stop it.

Sister Nancy Brown works with Covenant

House in Vancouver, British Columbia,

serving clients who have been solicited or

forced into the sex industry. Sister Nancy is

also a member of several committees and

organizations dedicated to ghting human

tracking and supporting its victims.


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Working Together

Sisters Sally McLaughlin and Ann Regan,

members of the Congregational Leadership

Team, are working with representatives of othercongregations on an Anti-Tracking Coalitionin Boston, Massachusetts. The group is lookinginto ways to provide a safe house for victims of

tracking in the area, something the Sistersfeel ts well with their sense of charism.

Supporting New Lives

In 2006 Sister Joan Dawber founded LifeWay

Network in New York to help survivors oftracking and serve as a catalyst for change.It is all the small consistent acts of love thatbring about change, she says. The mission ofLifeWay Network is to provide safe housing fortracking survivors and to oer educationalopportunities for the general public.

I met Luz* in February 2008, says Sister JoanDawber. At that point she had been in hiding for11 months, and her tracker was looking for her.

In her previous life, Luz had been raising threechildren alone. With few options for her future,she was taking sewing classes when she wastracked to the US by a trusted teacher. Oncein the US she was forced to work in a sweatshop

17 hours a day, seven days a week. At night hercaptors locked the doors and she slept there aswell. She was watched 24 hours a day.

After 40 days of nonstop work, she asked ifshe could go to Mass. Her captors agreed, notexpecting her to leave, as she did not know whereshe was and couldnt speak English. Despiteher great fear, Luz ed, running until she wasexhausted. A kind stranger, who saw her fear andconfusion as she tried to use a pay phone, called

the police on her behalf. She was rescued andmoved to safety.

As I spoke to Luz I was struck by her courage andresilience. She wasnt an educated woman, buthad learned to speak some English and, with greatcourage, was willing to tell her story so that otherswouldnt suer the way she had.

*name has been changed to protect her identity

Will YOU join our ght?

Meet Luz

Sister Joan Dawber

Your support canchange lives NOW!


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The US Department of State estimates that between 14,500 and

17,500 people, primarily women and children, are tracked to theUnited States annually.

In Canada, the RCMP estimate that between 800 and 1,200 peopleare tracked into Canada each year; 600 of those are women

tracked for sexual exploitation.

Many children are sold to provide funds for the rest of their family.

Adults are often lured away from impoverished homes with promises

of travel, training and employment.

Ads featuring tracked women are often found in personal ads in local newspapers and on popularbuy-and-sell websites.

If you live in the United States and think you know a tracking victim, please call the National HumanTracking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-3737-888 to anonymously report a tip. The hotline is available24/7 and will connect you to anti-tracking services in your area.

Resources

United Nations Oce on Drugs and Crime (www.unodc.org)

US State Department (www.state.gov/g/tip)

The One Is Too Many Summit (www.oneistoomanysummit.info)

The Future Group (www.thefuturegroup.org)

Canadian Religious Conference (www.crc-canada.org)Coalition Against Tracking in Women (www.catwinternational.org)

PleaseDonate!

Your dollars will help us:

Prevent tracking

Protect victimsProsecute trackersPromote education

Rosemary PreviteAdvancement Associate

Sisters of Charity-Halifax

125 Oakland Street

Wellesley Hills MA 02481

Tel: 781-997-1210

Fax: 781-416-0939

[email protected]

Tracking Facts

Sister Marie Sorenson, SCDirector of Advancement


85-10 61st Road

Rego Park NY 11374

Tel: 718-205-1671

Fax: 718-651-5645

[email protected]

Carrie FlemmingAdvancement Associate


215 Seton Road

Halifax NS B3M 0C9

Tel: 902-406-8114

Fax: [email protected]

Lauren ManningAdvancement Associate


85-10 61st Road

Rego Park NY 11374

Tel: 718-424-1813

Fax: 718-651-5645

[email protected]

To nd out more about how Sisters of Charity ght tracking, contact:

Documents

Trafficking Appeal 2009