From its very roots, the Catholic church has sought to fight against human captivity – what in the modern world, we call human trafficking.
“It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights to reduce them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church [pp. 2414].
“Whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children…” says St Paul VI, in Gaudium et Spes. “They poison human society… they are supreme dishonor to the Creator.”
Chalice sponsorship works in communities where extreme poverty can lead to desperate acts. Children, girls, and women get allured by coercive promises of money, security, or protection. These lies trap the victims into forced labour, sex work, and other ‘insults to human dignity.’
Chalice’s work to prevent human trafficking starts with the core of our sponsorship program: keeping children in school and strengthening mothers’ financial security, and knowledge of their rights. The sites and Chalice family circles create social safety nets that are much harder to slip – or be pulled –out of.
Most of our sites have after-school and weekend programs. There, children and teens can do homework, play, and participate in activities under the caring eye of trusted adults. These teachers, coaches, Sisters, site staff, and other community members become role models and confidantes.
These are powerful, proactive means of keeping children safe. When kids stay in school, and stay engaged in these extra-curriculars, there is a stronger buffer between them and the dangerous influences outside the school walls. When they graduate, they are more equipped to pursue higher education or meaningful work, which further distances them from the pressures of gangs, substance abuse, or other forms of ‘poisons.’
Sadly, despite everyone’s strongest efforts, trafficking can still happen. Some sponsor sites need to devote resources specifically to prevent it and have had to be involved in rescue situations.
In our sites in Sucre, La Paz, and Yapacani, Bolivia, site staff aid victims of human trafficking, intimate partner violence, and gender-based violence. Many mothers and teens are survivors of violence and human trafficking. There have been instances in which funds from our critical needs program have helped survivors of child trafficking in Bolivia.
These sites focus on Chalice-supported programs to develop income-generating skills and start their own small businesses. Empowering them in careers helps reduce vulnerability to trafficking. Yapacani site also offers early-stage psychological support for women and children who have been victims.
The Bolivian sites work hard to create ‘safe spaces’ for youth, and make sure that Chalice fieldworkers are regularly checking in with vulnerable people. They are careful to make sure that every child and parent can speak to a social worker whenever they need to.
Our Goa site, India, serves an area with many sex workers. Site staff work to empower women with skills and offer safe spaces. In Meru and Mombasa, both in Kenya, site staff have rescued children that were sold into sex trade, as well as young girls forced into early marriage. Both sites have programs that directly and indirectly care for victims of trafficking.
Catholics mark February 8th as the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. Thank you for choosing to stay informed about the realities of trafficking – in our sites, but sadly, here in Canada too. May we pray and work together to bring an end to this violence against human dignity.
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