By Sister Franca Edet Oqua : A life subjected to poverty, hunger, and inequality has contributed greatly to extreme side effect of , underdevelopment. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals address each one of these calamities as separate but inter-related challenges. Nevertheless, all three conditions are considered to be tragic, unnecessary, and, most importantly, avoidable. In what way is the opening statement connected with our topic of interest?
You may or may not want to agree with me that the concept of intersection which covers not only poverty, hunger or migration extends itself to include climate change, trafficking in Human person inequality and socio/cultural behaviours which pushes the boundaries of ignorance to a deliberate act of human exploitation that in my opinion represents an utter disregard for the fundamental human rights of the person. The argument is that poverty, hunger, and inequality persist because global society does not find them morally troubling enough to ensure their complete eradication. As a result, many nations do not directly implement policies specifically targeting the cause of these issues. Rather, policy makers tend to address them notably by emphasising economic growth and democratic transparency. [1]
The revolution of Morden Slavery:-
Human Trafficking is a form of modern slavery which is developing at levels that go beyond what we have known previously. In 2010, there were an estimated 27 million slaves in the world; this figure represents double the number of all slaves who were forced to migrate from Africa to America or Europe in previous century. In 2019, the latest estimates produced by International Organizations put the number of people deprived of freedom at over 45 million worldwide, with strong growth between 2010 and 2019. The profits of modern slavery in the world, according to the same source, exceed 150 billion dollars[2]. Subject to this human insensitivity to their fellow humans, President Joe Biden, describes human trafficking as an affront to the foundational values that everyone is created equal and has the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It erodes our communities, weakens the rule of law, and undermines our national security[3].
It is important to bear in mind that when we celebrate the past history of the abolition of slavery and colonialism, we cannot be too triumphant about it as the world has all over again been inundated with a modern form of slavery as illustrated in the venture of human trafficking, organ trafficking, cheap child labour and sales of children. This calls for an urgent need to make a concrete commitment to the liberation of Modern slaves and to the abolition of all contemporary forms of trafficking.
Combat against human trafficking by Catholic Sisters of Nigeria:-
The phenomena of human trafficking became prominent to the leadership forum of the Catholic Sisters of Nigeria Through the Initiative of Sr. Eugenia Bonetti who was then the president of USIG. She challenged the conference of the catholic Sisters in Nigeria about the number of Nigerian girls and women who were found in the streets of Rome and other cities of Italy and were engaged in commercial sex work. In response to this challenge, the conference of Catholic Sisters established the Committee for the Support of the Dignity of Women (COSUDOW). This was a vision that would unite the consecrated women of Nigeria for a common purpose; respect for the dignity and integrity of the human person. Consequently, the Nigeria Conference of Women Religious (NCWR) in 1999 commenced their involvement to tackle human trafficking.
The Sisters were moved by the exploitation of Nigerian women and girls in Europe and elsewhere in the world who were caught in the web of Human Trafficking. The leaders of NCWR felt a strong need to put up a strategy to liberate the women of Africa from the shackles of traffickers who were the new slave masters. They located the office in Benin City in Edo State of Nigeria where most of the trafficked victims in Nigeria originated from and extended to other parts of the country. Since its establishment in 1999, COSUDOW has been in the forefront combating Human Trafficking in Nigeria They have collaborated with many faith-based organisations, NGOs, CSOs and Government agencies at National and international capacities to tackle the scourge of modern slavery. They do this through:
Prevention which takes the form of public enlightenment and awareness creation against human trafficking in every possible direction – school and church campaigns, market women mobilization and market campaign, local government and community mobilization; road walk, town hall meeting and meeting with opinion leaders, advocacy visits to stakeholders and government leaders, TV and Radio documentaries, jingles, social and print media, etc.
Protection of victims of human trafficking takes the form of, identifying, rescue and profiling the victim, providing shelter for safety and recuperation, counselling for psychological and emotional healing, medical and spiritual care, psychosocial support, family tracing and reunion. They provide economic empowerment for self-reliance and reintegration back to family and society, formal education and referral services where applicable, follow-up services, monitoring and evaluation.
Prosecution of traffickers is done as referral or in collaboration with the law enforcement agents and with the government agencies designated and empowered to arrest and prosecute traffickers. They are National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Edo State Taskforce against human trafficking (ETAHT). Other states are gradually establishing their own taskforce against human trafficking.
Partnership and Collaboration: COSUDOW partners and collaborates with stakeholders and interest groups in the fight against human trafficking both international and national, state and non-state actors such as NGOs and CSOs. It seeks financial help from donors and benefactors both international and local.
In Kumasi Ghana; the Daughters of Charity also works in anti-trafficking ministry where they see it as a call to liberate the women, boys and girls who are trapped in this repulsive phenomenon. The director describes it as “a gross human right violation; the worst form of wickedness and human inhumanity to itself. She engages in this service with a passion to contribute to ending the monster. In the last 8 years, her involvement in anti-trafficking apostolate has evolved into collaborative ministry with many organizations with like-minded interest. With them, she has created the anti-human trafficking network of consecrated persons in Ghana and the best practice efforts include:
Campaign Against Trafficking:-
With sisters in community and other collaborators, they organize and lead campaign against human trafficking on special days connected with human trafficking such as World Day of Prayer against human trafficking, International Day against human trafficking, World day of prevention against Gender Based Violence. On these occasions, they mobilise other interested organizations, groups and individuals. they carry out both physical and online campaigns against human trafficking and host webinars to reach as many people as they possibly can. In the last webinar to mark the World Day of Refugee, they hosted close to 100 participants.
- Provision of shelter
One of the most valuable services to victim of human trafficking after escape or rescue from their perpetrators is providing them with safe shelter. A place where they are free from harassment and threat. A place where there is no fear or intimidation, A none judgmental space. A place where they do not have to sale their bodies for sex before they eat and have access to basic needs. This is what the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Kumasi provide for victims of human trafficking when the escape from their traffickers and find their way to our Drop-in Centre. Sometimes victims are rescued from the anti-trafficking police and brought to the Daughters of Charity for shelter and human support.
[1] Nations, Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 (accessed on 8th July 2024
[2] https://www.cuhd.org/online-courses-2/?lang=en
[3] Trafficking in persons report 2023: Message from the Secretary of State.