Just a Step Away
Depending on the country, the tactics used may differ, but the story is basically the same. Young women and children are lured or taken by force into degrading sexual or economic exploitation. "Trafficking in persons is complex and multifaceted. Victims may be deceived by false promises of legitimate work, defrauded, tricked, threatened with force, coerced, abducted or even sold by their parents. Women are often more vulnerable to traffickers because of lack of education or access to work near their homes, or because of the prevalence of gender-based abuse and violence. Victims are exploited for sexual purposes, such as prostitution or pornography or for labor without compensation in homes, farms, factories or other business. Those who are sexually exploited may become infected with HIV or other sexually transmitted infections."-U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Women in Development (USAID)
The Peoria Area World Affairs Council presented the 35th annual Central Illinois World Affairs Conference a few weeks ago: "Crime Without Borders: Globalization & Human Trafficking." USAID expert Ruth Freedom Pojan gave the keynote address. "Traffickers prey on the plight of the desperate," she told the audience. "It is human nature to dream of a better life, to hope against hope that they can escape the poverty or violence in which they have found themselves."
It may not be greed that motivates a parent to "sell" his child, but the hope for a better life for them. A young woman, desperate to escape from an abusive home, is frightened, hungry, and believes the job offer will buy her freedom and a new life. When she is drugged, her money and/or passport taken away, beaten, raped, and forced into prostitution, it is often impossible to escape. She subsequently contracts HIV, becomes very sick, but is still forced to "work" until she dies, infecting others-even her child who contracts HIV from breast milk. Or a young wife contracts HIV from her husband, who evicts her from the house, as society condemns those living with HIV.
Living in my "safe" central Illinois home, I find it difficult to comprehend the heartbreaking stories of human trafficking. Reports that tsunami orphans and widows were also being victimized by traffickers, and a 22-year-old Ethiopian mother, dying from AIDS, brought her 15-month-old baby and six-year-old son to a local orphanage only to be told there were 150 other children on the waiting list at that facility. It's easy to take a deep breath and thank God we live in the United States, removed from terror of that nature. But are we?
Talk with Martha Herm at the Center for Prevention of Abuse, Jenny Armstrong at the Crittenton Centers, Arlene Happach at the Children's Home, Pam Schubach at the YWCA, Lesley Matuszak at the Boys and Girls Club, or Joan Krupa at the Heartland Clinic-to name a few local organizations that deal with vulnerable women and children. I, too, asked the question, "What can we do in our corner of the world to help?" Educate friends and colleagues, volunteer at non-government agencies, send money, research and write about the atrocities to raise awareness, and do not look the other way if you suspect a child or woman is being abused. Potentially, we're all one step away from being victimized. Those of us who have the emotional and financial strength to give, should. TPW
The Peoria Area World Affairs Council presented the 35th annual Central Illinois World Affairs Conference a few weeks ago: "Crime Without Borders: Globalization & Human Trafficking." USAID expert Ruth Freedom Pojan gave the keynote address. "Traffickers prey on the plight of the desperate," she told the audience. "It is human nature to dream of a better life, to hope against hope that they can escape the poverty or violence in which they have found themselves."
It may not be greed that motivates a parent to "sell" his child, but the hope for a better life for them. A young woman, desperate to escape from an abusive home, is frightened, hungry, and believes the job offer will buy her freedom and a new life. When she is drugged, her money and/or passport taken away, beaten, raped, and forced into prostitution, it is often impossible to escape. She subsequently contracts HIV, becomes very sick, but is still forced to "work" until she dies, infecting others-even her child who contracts HIV from breast milk. Or a young wife contracts HIV from her husband, who evicts her from the house, as society condemns those living with HIV.
Living in my "safe" central Illinois home, I find it difficult to comprehend the heartbreaking stories of human trafficking. Reports that tsunami orphans and widows were also being victimized by traffickers, and a 22-year-old Ethiopian mother, dying from AIDS, brought her 15-month-old baby and six-year-old son to a local orphanage only to be told there were 150 other children on the waiting list at that facility. It's easy to take a deep breath and thank God we live in the United States, removed from terror of that nature. But are we?
Talk with Martha Herm at the Center for Prevention of Abuse, Jenny Armstrong at the Crittenton Centers, Arlene Happach at the Children's Home, Pam Schubach at the YWCA, Lesley Matuszak at the Boys and Girls Club, or Joan Krupa at the Heartland Clinic-to name a few local organizations that deal with vulnerable women and children. I, too, asked the question, "What can we do in our corner of the world to help?" Educate friends and colleagues, volunteer at non-government agencies, send money, research and write about the atrocities to raise awareness, and do not look the other way if you suspect a child or woman is being abused. Potentially, we're all one step away from being victimized. Those of us who have the emotional and financial strength to give, should. TPW