CORPORATE STANCE
The Stella Maris Province of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands in solidarity with the victims of human trafficking within the territories of our province and around the globe. Just as we welcome the immigrant in our midst, we condemn the use of violence, abduction, fraud, deception, coercion, or debt bondage to transport women and children from their homes for prostitution, sexual exploitation, forced labor, and/or real or virtual slavery. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2414, “It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights that would reduce them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit.” We recognize that the marginalized status of women and children in our global society makes them vulnerable to sexual and financial exploitation.
We pledge to educate ourselves and others regarding the prevalence, causes, and solutions to the worldwide trafficking of women and children. We promise not only to aid the victims, but also to work together with our friends throughout the world, with UNANIMA and other NGOs, with other religious congregations an advocacy groups, to prevent trafficking, to eliminate its root causes, to identify it when we see it, and to provide alternatives to women and children who have already been or are in danger of being trafficked.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Personally:
- Continue to educate yourself (newspapers, TV programs, videos, websites, books, articles, workshops)
- Pray for the children and women who are being trafficked
- Inform others of the issue of trafficking; colleagues, family, friends, students, work with other groups, etc.
- Purchase items made by victims of trafficking at www.polarisproject.org
- Work on eliminating the demand for prostitution and sweatshop labor
- Speak up!
- Get involved in legislative action in your state:
- Legislative action that needs to be taken:
- Criminalization statutes
- State Commission/Task Force on Trafficking
- Regulation of Bride Trafficking
- Sex Tourism
- States that have begun looking into legislation: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Texas
- Legislative action that needs to be taken:
PLAN OF ACTION:
- If you live in one of the above states, contact your State Attorney General and ask what has been done and who you can be involved If you life in a state where nothing has been started, call your State Attorney General and ask him/her to begin a commission/task force on trafficking
Helpful websites and agencies:
- Cabrini Action and Advocacy Coalition – 610-902-1038
- UNANIMA International
- Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)
- US Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
- Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery
- End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes
- Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking – Hotline: 888-373-7888