Nearly 21 million people around the world are currently victims of human trafficking, a vile crime that forces innocents into sex work, domestic servitude and hard labor against their will. Now, a new study in the American Journal of Public Health reveals that even rich, developed countries such as the United Kingdom suffer from staggering rates of Read more
Three years ago, worried that his earnings as a builder were barely enough to feed his family, Seuy San began to contemplate his prospects over the border in Thailand. Like the hundreds of thousands of his fellow Cambodians who migrate in search of work each year, he had a simple but powerful motivation: “I heard Read more
LINABUAN SUR, the Philippines — When Eril Andrade left this small village, he was healthy and hoping to earn enough on a fishing boat on the high seas to replace his mother’s leaky roof. Seven months later, his body was sent home in a wooden coffin: jet black from having been kept in a fish Read more
Crystal was 13 years old when she met her pimp. Of course, she didn’t think of him as a pimp; he was her boyfriend, her savior, the man who doted on her and gave her the things her parents couldn’t or wouldn’t provide. “You know how you’re a little girl and you dream of Prince Read more
February 8 was the first International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. An initiative of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Travellers, it occurs on the feast of St Josephine Bakhita who was kidnapped by slave traders, sold into slavery five times, experienced daily beatings and was used as Read more
Nuns in India want priests and bishops to join them raiding Kolkata’s brothels. The call comes from Sr Sharmi D’Souza, a member of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, who says the nuns will be more effective supported by their pastors. As well as the lack of priests, the nuns are also disappointed that some Indian police refuse Read more
Pope Francis, Tuesday, joined Islam, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish and other Christian world faith leaders to sign a joint declaration of their commitment to end the eradication of modern slavery. The Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders against Modern Slavery underlines that modern slavery is a crime against humanity. The religious leaders’ goal is to have slavery eradicated Read more
It’s Saturday afternoon and in an unmarked police car in central London a burly policeman is accompanied by a tiny, bird-like nun. A raid is about to take place on a brothel whose inhabitants, the police believe, include women who have been trafficked into Britain from eastern Europe. The nun is an integral part of Read more
The EU and its member states urgently need to implement the legal framework already in place and to intensify cooperation with civil society and church organisations that work with victims of human trafficking at the grassroots level. This was one of the main messages of the Dialogue Seminar organised by COMECE and the Church and Read more
New Zealand has an estimated 600 people living in some sort of slavery, according to a report by campaign group Walk Free Foundation. The anti-slavery foundation released its Global Slavery Index which said nearly 36 million people are enslaved worldwide, two-thirds of them in the Asia Pacific region. The report defined slaves as people subject to Read more