Human Sex Trafficking: “A Special Evil”

1. Human Sex Trafficking:“A Special Evil”

2. A Survivor Speaks “So often I thought of killing myself, and then I thought of my poor mother and my sisters. I prayed every day that today I will be rescued. But the days just passed and passed.” Marika (not her real name) Ukrainian survivor. From “The Natashas: The New Global Sex Trade” by Victor Malarek, 2003. Image not Marika.

3. A Survivor Speaks “What rape is to others is normal for us.” (Melissa Farley, survivor statement presented to the 4th Annual BLSC Conference, 2004).

4. Scripture “But this is a people battered and cowed, shut up in attics & closets, victims licking their wounds feeling ignored & abandoned but is anyone out there, is anyone paying attention to who is coming?” −Isaiah 42:22

5. Biblical Authority “Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.” −Leviticus 19:29

6. What is Sex Trafficking? • Human Sex Trafficking is a form of slavery. It happens when human beings are sold and bought for the purposes of sexual exploitation. It includes people (mostly women and girls) being recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received. It includes force, the threat of force, or other forms of coercion. • Trafficking is always involuntary, because even when consent is achieved, it is only through some form of fraud or deception, abduction/kidnapping, or abuse of power/vulnerability. • (Based on the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, 2000)

7. International Scope of the Problem • There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today, not including persons trapped in the sex industry. • The last 3 years have seen a 20 percent increase in the number of prostituted children in Thailand.* • One million children enter the sex trade each year.* (*End Child Exploitation, UNICEF/UK July 2003)

8. Trafficking in Canada • At least 2500 foreign women and girls are coerced into joining the Canadian sex trade each year by human traffickers. • Another 2,200 people are coming to Canada in transit to the United States for work in brothels, sweatshops, domestic jobs, construction work. • Only 1 in 10 victims in trafficking report to the police, so the numbers are likely much larger.

9. Sarah’s story • “Sarah” comes from a small village and a poor family. At a young age, her mother “gave” her to a neighbour for the night so that she would have enough money to feed her family. As a teenager, Sarah moved to the capital city. She made a good friend who encouraged her to go work abroad and make lots of money.

10. Sarah’s story cont. Sarah was unsure, and yet attracted to the idea of freedom, living in a new place, and making lots of money. She was told she would be a waitress and make lots of tips. Sarah thought this would be a good way to eventually get an education, as well as be able to send money home for her mom and the rest of her family.

11. Sarah’s Story cont. Once in Canada, Sarah discovered that she would not really be working as a waitress. The first night, she was forced to have sex with 3 men. She was told by her new “boss” that he would protect her, but she would have to meet certain quotas in order to pay off her plane ticket that he had purchased.

12. Sarah’s story cont. When he saw her crying, he suggested some drugs to calm her down. When she tried to leave, he hit her and showed her that he had her family’s address back home. He told her they were only one phone call away from his reach.

13. If you suspect… If you think that someone you know may have been trafficked please Contact your local law enforcement agency (e.g. police) and inform your local Anti-Trafficking Network Representative (a list of members is available at www.salvationist.ca/trafficking)

14. Sexual trafficking is evil • Lies, violence and power characterize the entire spectrum of these crimes against humanity. • The sale of human beings is run by international organized crime, and it is one of the largest money making industries in the world. • Human trafficking is a $10 billion (USD) annual business. • Traffickers may be men or women

15. Traffickers use: • Intimidation and threats (of violence, etc.) • Lies and deception (i.e. promising attractive employment possibilities) • Identity control (i.e. confiscating passport) • Emotional abuse/manipulation • Money (situations of debt bondage to the trafficker) • Social isolation

16. For the Purpose of Exploitation: Prostitution “Of Others” or Other Forms of Sexual Exploitation Forced Labor or Services Slavery or Practices Similar to Slavery Servitude Removal of Organs

17. Commercial Sexual Exploitation Prostitution Live Sex-Shows Pornography Stripping Mail Order/Child Brides

18. Brothels and Cage Brothels Message Parlors And Saunas Escort Services Prostitution Fronts And Venues of Sale Health Clinics Night Clubs and Strip Clubs Streets Internet/“Electronic Red-Light District”

19. Government Policies New Technologies Cultural Attitudes And Values Orphaned War Gender Prior Sexual Abuse Sexual Trafficking Demand for Commercial Sex Poverty Abandonment/ Runaways Ethnic Minority Legal and Tolerated Sex Industries Corruption

20. So what do we need to do?

21. We need to seek God’s heart, pray and fast! • Join the international weekend of prayer and fasting for victims of sex trafficking – last weekend of September each year • Pray and fast for those at-risk of being trafficked, people who are trafficked, traffickers and those in the commercial sex industry, and all of us who are fighting against this sexual slavery

22. We need to become more informed, teach others and partner locally and globally • Organize workshops at our workplaces, churches or schools on this issue • Encourage youth to do research projects on sexual trafficking • Find out (i.e. from anti-trafficking network representative) who our potential partners are and meet with them to work together

23. We need to know our history • During the 1880s The Salvation Army joined Josephine Butler in her Christian movement to rescue and restore "fallen women" (the Victorian-era euphemism for prostituted women) • In August 1885, partly because of The Salvation Army’s advocacy in England, the age of consent was raised from 13 to 16 (although reformers sought 18).

24. We need to reduce the destructive factors (e.g., poverty, corruption, discrimination, lust, greed, injustice) • Be on the lookout for those who have been trafficked or those who are at-risk • Avoid all forms of pornography • Write to our members of parliament showing our commitment to this issue

25. We need to address demand for commercial sex • Advocate for laws that criminalize demand • Pressure government to put up billboards with pictures of men arrested for soliciting • Impound cars of men arrested for soliciting • Continue supporting john schools • Christian-based sex addiction treatment • Oppose legalization of prostitution • Property buy-outs (purchasing property which is or could be potentially owned by brothel keepers)

26. We need to check our attitudes • We need to consider how we (and others) view trafficking victims or those in the sex trade • We need to look at gender relations in our community

27. We need to advocate on behalf of victims of sexual trafficking • We need to plead with government to make funding available so that victims of trafficking can be assured of good services is they escape their traffickers (i.e. safe houses with counseling and protection services, repatriation and reintegration programs, cooperation with government, immigration, and law enforcement, etc.)

28. We need to increase the positive factors (e.g., debt reduction, community development, fair wages and fair trade, evangelism and discipleship) • Support Fair Trade initiatives • Give to “partners in mission” and other initiatives to alleviate poverty and assist trafficking victims

29. The True Fast “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And to break every yoke?” − Isaiah 58:6

30. For more information… www.salvationist.ca/trafficking www.salvationarmyusa.org/trafficking Dianna Bussey Canada & Bermuda Territorial Anti-Trafficking Network Chair Dianna_Bussey@can.salvationarmy.org *Thank you to Lisa Thompson for her contributions towards creating this powerpoint.