July 30 is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. This year’s campaign urges accelerated action to end child trafficking according to the UN website. Situations like we have at the southern border of the United States dramatically increase the opportunity for human trafficking, with children being the primary target and girls disproportionally affected. Let’s take a look at what is being done to prevent human trafficking and save those that are victims of this crime.
A Look At Human Trafficking
The theme of this year’s World Day Against Human Trafficking is “Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.” The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) was passed in 2000 to combat human
trafficking. The TVPA defines “severe forms of trafficking in persons” as:
- sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or
- the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
A victim need not be physically transported from one location to another for the crime to fall within this definition,
The TVPA established the framework for the “3 P’s” of the fight against human trafficking:
- Protection
- Prevention
- Prosecution
According to the Polaris Project, an organization focused on human trafficking, 28 million people around the globe are living without the freedom to choose how they live and work. Many worldwide experts believe that labor trafficking is more prevalent than sex trafficking, although there is more awareness around sex trafficking. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people trafficked are children. These numbers are staggering, and as Catholics we need to do what we can to help address this problem.
What Can Catholics and All Christians Do To Help?
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) state:
Catholic social teaching proclaims the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of all human life. Each person is made in the image of God, is loved immeasurably by Him, and has inherent worth. Every person is precious, people are more important than possessions, and the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. Because every life is a gift from God and is sacred, it deserves to be protected and nurtured; we each have a responsibility to fight against the violation and degradation of our brothers and sisters.
The open southern border gives us precious little time to vet incoming migrants, and ensure that the children coming across the border are a part of migrating families. We have seen approximately 370K unaccompanied minors (as of August 2023) cross the border with an estimated 1% of these children rescued. Our elected officials have failed these children and as Catholics we need to do more, but what?
- Make your voices heard about closing the border and routing immigrants through normal channels where the can be properly vetted. You can find your elected officials by clicking here
- Support survivors who have escaped trafficking situations in their recovery
- You can join an anti-trafficking coalition or group in your city, or become a shepherd to lead your parish or community group in the fight against human trafficking
- You can learn how your actions contribute to or reduce the demand for human trafficking by visiting websites like www.slaveryfootprint.org or www.knowthechain.org. You can also use the Sweat & Toil app for this purpose (a free app developed by the US Dept of Labor)
- Praying: You can pray for the safety of those who are vulnerable
God wants us to look out and care for each other. There is a tremendous need for people to help those trying to combat this problem. The movie “Sound of Freedom” was released in 2023 and is based on a true story about a man focused on stopping child trafficking. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend you do to see some of the horrors these children live through. Please pray for the victims and the people working to rescue them. Everyday should be a day to focus on solving this problem.
What do you think about this article? What are your thoughts on this problem? Please feel free to share your thoughts and perspective by commenting below. All comments are encouraged, are welcome, and I will respond as quickly as I can.
God Bless
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