Women religious join crusade to end modern-day slavery |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
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Friday, 05 September 2008 01:00 |
TOLEDO—The trafficking of human beings is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world today, claiming victims from every corner of the globe including northwest Ohio.
Approximately 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked annually across national borders worldwide, with as many as 17,500 trafficked into the United States. Millions more are trafficked within their own national borders each year and Toledo has been cited by the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Youth as a major recruitment area for sex trafficking.
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| During an ecumenical prayer service at Toledo St. Martin de Porres,
Tiffin Franciscan Sister Marcella Herman and others decorate a wreath
with flowers representing the victims of human trafficking. (Chronicle
photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke) |
In response to this atrocity, women religious of the Diocese of Toledo and their associates proclaimed a corporate stance against human trafficking during an interfaith prayer service Aug. 17.
Representatives from the Catholic Diocese of Toledo, the Islamic Mosque of Toledo, the Jewish Community Relations Council, Monroe Street United Methodist Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Rural Opportunities and Toledo Area Ministries joined them at Toledo St. Martin de Porres to show support and pray for an end to this modern-day form of slavery.
"Our purpose of making it an ecumenical, interfaith prayer service is because we know that this goes way beyond our borders here — that it infects, indeed, all faith traditions, all cultures, in fact the entire world," explained Ursuline Sister Sandy Sherman, a member of the Stop Trafficking of Persons (STOP) committee formed by women religious. "We happen to be right in the middle of it here in Toledo because of our easy access by the water system and the highway."
Second Chance, a social service agency offering comprehensive services to victims of child sex trafficking and adult prostitution, reported more than 50 young women under the age of 18 from the Toledo area have been identified as victims of human trafficking since 2006.
Only seven of those young women have been rescued, added Mary Schmidbauer, program coordinator for Second Chance.
"People are floored when they hear this, that this is going on right in our city," said Sr. Sherman. "Everybody is vulnerable, and we need to look out for one another, so that’s what this is all about."
The horror of human trafficking — in which victims are subjected to force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor — came to the attention of the sisters two years ago at a regional gathering of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. They were spurred to action by a presentation from School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Ellen Dougherty, who spoke about the topic on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Office of Migration and Refugee Services.
Representatives from the Sisters of Notre Dame, Ursuline Sisters, Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania and Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin formed the STOP committee to raise awareness, which inspired the sisters to take their first corporate stance together on an issue.
"This is in itself a historic event," noted Tiffin Franciscan Sister Mary Kuhlman, chair of STOP.
With the prayer support of the Contemplative Order of the Visitation Sisters of Toledo, women from the four congregations vowed during the prayer service to support human rights "by explicitly opposing the trafficking of women and children for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor."
Statements from other area faith leaders affirmed their commitment.
"It is through actions like yours today that we are able to keep this issue before our community," said the Rev. Stephen D. Anthony, executive director of Toledo Area Ministries, the organization sponsoring Second Chance. "It’s often said that prostitution is a victimless crime — that women and children choose this life. But nothing could be further from the truth.
"This is a crime so pernicious, so insidious, that it robs women and children of the very core of their being and their very sense of self," the Rev. Anthony added.
At the end of the service, those in attendance decorated a large wreath with cut flowers that symbolized the victims of human trafficking. They were also invited to sign up to offer prayer support, join the STOP committee or write to legislators.
The United States passed a federal law to protect victims of trafficking in 2000, but "currently there is no legislation in Ohio to work against this," Sr. Sherman noted.
Sylvania Franciscan Sister Sharon Havelak, a member of the STOP committee, believes the joint commitment of the sisters will "maximize" their efforts around the issue. More than 700 sisters and associates belong to the four congregations.
Ursuline Sister Christine Pratt, director of parish ministries and social concerns for Catholic Charities, expected the prayer service to be a catalyst.
"It gives us now an opportunity to work across the diocese on education and advocacy with the leadership of the women religious," she explained.
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Last Updated on Friday, 07 November 2008 09:00 |
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