Nuns working on the frontlines to prevent human trafficking have warned that the risks and abuses of exploitation are increasing due to global conflicts such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine continuing to displace millions of people.
According to Maryknoll Dominican Sister Abby Avelino, international coordinator of the Catholic <a href="https://www.talithakum.info/en"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Talitha Kum anti-trafficking network</mark></a>, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have made things worse and led to “increased risks of abuse at various levels”, especially for children.
Among the most recognised anti-trafficking organisations led by female religious, Talitha Kum has been described as a “network of networks”, composed of over 6,000 members running more than 20 networks in over 90 countries.
“Children who are unaccompanied or separated from their families, including those evacuated from childcare facilities, are particularly vulnerable,” Avelino said, pointing to the Global Slavery Index 2023 report, which states that “orphanage trafficking” defined as the recruitment of children to residential care institutions for profit and exploitation, is increasing in part due to various wars.
Avelino <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-07/talitha-kum-calls-for-urgent-action-protect-victims-trafficking.html"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">penned a column</mark></a> about the worsening problems around trafficking of children for <em>Vatican News</em>, the Vatican’s state-run information platform, on the occasion of the July 30 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
“Children are at the centre and call on each of us to protect them and keep them from becoming victims of trafficking,” Avelino wrote, noting that women and children are often the most vulnerable to exploitation given various cultural, social and economic factors and inequalities.
To this end, she referred to the story of an 11-year-old boy named Karim, who she said is from Lebanon and works with a carpenter under difficult conditions while using heavy and dangerous tools and machinery, earing just $0.55 a week and who is often beaten and locked in a bathroom for hours.
Karim’s story is not unique, Avelino said, noting that similar situations occur especially among those living in extreme poverty.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that there are currently roughly 152 million children between the ages of 5-17 who are victims of child labour.
Similarly, a human trafficking report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) states that around one in three of the world’s trafficking victims is a child, with victims suffering various forms of violence and exploitation, including forced labour, early and forced marriage, criminality, begging, illegal adoptions, and abuse and sexual exploitation, including online.
Traffickers, she said, are taking advantage of war and are also becoming increasingly tech-savvy, using technology and the Internet to both advertise and sell children for sexual exploitation online and to distribute sexually explicit materials involving children.
“In this context new challenges emerge in preventing and combating trafficking,” Avelino said, calling for greater strategic collaboration in bringing these practices to an end.
This collaboration is especially needed, she explained, with law enforcement agencies experienced in fighting human trafficking online through technology and online monitoring platforms.
“Urgent action is needed to protect the most vulnerable groups from exploitation, especially children, and support is needed for child victims of trafficking,” she said, and stressed the importance of listening to victims.
“It is essential to listen to those who are suffering," Avelino said, quoting Pope Francis’ message last February for the annual World Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking.
Continuing the quote, she added: “I think of the victims of wars and conflicts, those affected by climate change, those forced to migrate, and those, especially women and children, who are exploited sexually or in the workplace. May we listen to their cry for help and feel challenged by the stories they tell."
Avelino pointed to various efforts Talitha Kum has made to combat human trafficking, especially online exploitation, saying it has organised numerous campaigns, events and awareness-raising programs to prevent trafficking.
Recently, the organisation launched an online app called “Walking in Dignity”, aimed at raising awareness of the signs of human trafficking and promoting behavioural change.
The app, according to an online description, invites users to join Talitha Kum and to make a commitment to contributing to the social transformation needed to achieve a world without human trafficking.
Talitha Kum has also organised various in-person and online events, and members have participated in television and radio programs, as well as street and social media campaigns, promoting awareness with the social media hashtags #EndingHumanTrafficking and #LeaveNoChildBehind.
Avelino underlined the importance of being present with people, and of education in reaching out to vulnerable young people in order to prevent trafficking from the start.
“Our approach aims to educate vulnerable young people and raise awareness of human trafficking, especially that targeting women and girls, migrants and refugees, and people at risk of human trafficking and exploitation,” she said, noting that in 2023, some 623,700 people were involved in prevention efforts.
“As we observe the worrying trends and developments in trafficking, we try to mobilise the attention of a wide range of stakeholders,” Avelino said, noting that earlier this month Talitha Kum’s media channels featured testimonies from their general assembly in May, which was based on the theme, “Compassion in Action for Transformation".
Talitha Kum, she said, made a 5-year commitment to promoting systemic change at various levels, including the deepening a holistic and survivor-centred approach, as well as expanding collaboration and networking efforts.
Avelino said a paradigm shift is needed towards legal, social and economic justice for victims and survivors of trafficking, as well as those who are at risk of falling prey to traffickers and exploiters.
“Many victims and survivors remind us of the need to establish rules and regulations that support the prosperity of men and women as persons and members of their communities. But above all, this involves promoting a culture of dignity and an economy of care,” she said.
In pursuing a world without human trafficking, the whole of society, including government and Church leaders at all levels, must be involved, as well as those at the grassroots, Avelino said.
“We must protect the most vulnerable, especially children, from exploitation, and support child victims of trafficking,” she said, concluding: <br><br>“We are all called to be ambassadors of hope. Together, our actions have the power to transform lives with compassion and create a world free from human trafficking.”<br><br><em>Photo: A woman and her child in a bus about to depart the central bus station in the city of Sloviansk following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a subsequent evacuation call from local authorities, 12 April 2022. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images.)</em>
