Avoiding Slavery Dust?
Recently, five GenerateHope members attended the first annual Global Forum on Human Trafficking, presented by the Not For Sale Campaign in Carlsbad, CA. During the two days, they were able to learn more about trafficking worldwide and domestically, as well as to share more about GenerateHope with Forum attendees.
Among the presenters was US Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, head of the United States Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, who shared his belief that we look away from violence perpetrated against women and call it a cultural practice. He also said that trafficked individuals are people with spunk who are trying to break away to live a better life. It is this desperation that can be the very thing that leaves them vulnerable to traffickers. Sadly, many do not want get “slavery dust” on themselves and ignore the problem.
From a GenerateHope participant:
“After attending the Global Forum on Human Trafficking, I was encouraged by the number of people banding together to do something. It’s important that we not give up hope and start getting real about stopping the trafficking of humans, because we are capable of doing much more than we think, especially as a global team.”
Nola Brantley, director of MISSSEY in Oakland, California shared with great passion of her concern for the American children who daily fall through the cracks and into the hands of sex traffickers. Of the commercially sexually exploited children in her program, 59% came from juvenile hall & 58% had been arrested for prostitution. These are the children from our neighborhoods who are being criminalized rather than protected for being serially sexually abused as minors when we have laws in place that are meant to keep them safe.
From a GenerateHope participant:
“I think many of us have wondered how we might have responded to the slave trade of the 1800s probably believing that we would have fought vehemently against that stain on our history. We might imagine our homes being part of Harriet Tubman’s railroad or throwing our selves behind William Wilberforce and yet what are we doing now? We have the opportunity to be a part of ending today’s slavery trade. It’s easy to look away and tough to look at, but slavery exists right under our noses and I believe we have a duty to be the voice, the action and the abolitionist here and now.”
Jonathan Todres, J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law pointed out the obvious, “children don’t run to the streets, they run from something.” He and Eileen Campbell from IJM encourage each attendee to contact California senator, Barbara Boxer (in San Diego at 619-239-3884) and ask her to introduce the Child Protection Compact Act which would provide assistance to eligible countries with a significant prevalence of trafficking. Senator Boxer has voiced an interest in this bill, but has not moved on it. Each of us can also call our house representatives and ask them to join the Human Trafficking Caucus to appropriate funds for laws once passed. Additionally, we can ask our representatives to support the International Megan’s Law, a proposed Congressional bill which is being introduced to complement existing human trafficking laws by notifying foreign governments when a known sex offender in the United States intends to travel to their country. The bill also aims to prohibit foreign nationals who are sex offenders from entering the U.S.