For Immediate Release           Contact: Robert Cogswell
rcogswell@csjorange.org
(714) 633-8121 ext. 7773

Religious Congregations and Agencies to Convene on Human Trafficking Issues
Symposium 2010: Human Trafficking: the PRICE we pay…

Los Angeles, CA – In a Presidential Proclamation on January 4, 2010, President Obama declared, “Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation.”  For the full text visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-national-slavery-and-human-trafficking-prevention-month. 

Slavery conjures images of the U.S. Civil War-era, yet modern day slavery exists today in greater numbers than the mid-19th century, often right under our noses.  It’s estimated that 27 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking.  Such an outrageous crime against humanity only exists because traffickers rely on people looking in another direction.  You can help bring an end to human trafficking by learning more about it and shining a light in the hidden places where traffickers operate.  A human trafficking educational opportunity is available on February 27 in the heart of Los Angeles.

On Saturday, February 27, 2010, eighteen religious congregations and agencies will gather at Mount St. Mary’s Doheny Campus for a symposium on “Human Trafficking: the PRICE we pay...”  Keynote speaker E. Benjamin Skinner, author of A Crime So Monstrous: Face to Face with Modern Day Slavery, will be joined by workshop leaders on topics including: children and human trafficking, economic causes and effects of human trafficking, modern day slavery and its costs to the millennium development goals, impact on families and communities locally and around the globe, and more.  The public is welcome.  For questions, brochures with detailed topic and speaker information, or to sign up, contact Zonia Duenas at the RSHM Provincial Center at 323-887-8821 ext. 220.

The annual symposium is sponsored by the Southern California Partnership for Global Justice, a coalition of religious congregations and agencies committed to raising awareness and creating action on global, social justice issues.  Members include: 
 Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Human Trafficking
 Daughters of Charity, West Province
 Daughters of Mary and Joseph
 Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose
 Immaculate Heart Community
 Office of Justice and Peace, Archdiocese of L.A.
 Pax Christi Los Angeles
 Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary
 Religious Sisters of Charity
 Sisters of Notre Dame
 Sisters of the Holy Family
 Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus & Mary
 Sisters of Providence
 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
 Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
 Sisters of St. Louis
 Sisters of Social Service
 Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus
 

AT A GLANCE
Symposium 2010 - Human Trafficking: the PRICE we pay…

Date:    Saturday, February 27, 2010
Time:   8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location:  Mount St. Mary’s College – Doheny Campus
10 Chester Place, Los Angeles, CA 90007-2598

Keynote Address: “Human Trafficking: the PRICE we pay…” 
E. Benjamin Skinner
Author of A Crime So Monstrous: Face to Face with Modern Day Slavery 
  
Workshop Speakers: (1) “Modern Day Slavery and Its Costs to the Millennium Development Goals”
Sister Rita Arthur, RSHM, United Nations NGO Representative 
   
(2) “Slavery: Its Devastating Impact on Families and Communities Here and Around the World”
Kay Buck, Executive Director of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)  
   
(3) “Human Trafficking – The Environment as Another Victim”
Allis Druffel, Chair of the Los Angeles Archdiocese Justice and Peace Commission 
   
(4) “Economic Causes and Effects of Human Trafficking”
Dr. Amata Miller, IHM, Professor of Economics and Social Justice
St. Catherine University (St. Paul, MN) and Marygrove College (Detroit, MI)  

(5) “Children and Human Trafficking”   
Sandie Morgan, Administrator, Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force
   
(6) “Redeeming Humanity”
Heather Moore, MSW, Consultant for agencies in developing programs and service provision for women, youth and survivors of violence
   
(7) “Where is the Moral Outrage?  Human Trafficking and the Moral Fabric of Society”
Dr. Jonathan Rothchild, Assistant Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University

Schedule:  8:30 a.m. Registration begins
   9:00  Welcome, Overview, Reflection
   9:10  Keynote Address: E. Benjamin Skinner
   10:00  Survivors tell stories
   10:20  Break
   10:40  Workshop Session I
   11:30  Moving Break
   11:40  Workshop Session II
   12:30 p.m. Lunch
   1:00  Round Table Discussions with Presenters
1:45   Panel Discussion
   2:45   Closing

Logistics:
 Bring bag lunch
 Drinks provided
 Campus cafeteria will be open
 Carpooling is encouraged
 Questions or Financial Assistance, please contact Sister Mary or Zonia at
323-887-8821 ext 220.

To Register:
 $10 before Feb. 5, 2010
 $15 after Feb. 6, 2010
 Walk-ins are welcome at $15 rate if space is available.

Click here for the registration form

Checks can be made payable to RSHM.  Please mail registration to:
RSHM Provincial Center
Attn: Symposium 2010
441 N. Garfield Avenue
Montebello, CA 90640

Please click on the link for articles and video.

Part 1 Slavery in America

Part 2 Slavery in America

NUMBERS
• Worldwide, nearly 12.3 million people (equivalent to one-third of California’s population) are working in some form of forced labor worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization.

California is positioned to impact the supply chains of products associated with slavery and trafficking.
• California imported nearly $200 billion in merchandise from abroad in the first three quarters of 2009 alone—nearly 18 percent of all imports into the United States.
• California’s wholesale trade sales in 2002 were more than $655 billion, retail sales totaled $359 billion, and accommodation and food services totaled more than $55 billion.

 See the new route stadium to sea!

You can click on the youtube interview and a tour of the art installation.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114328601

Supporters of the anti-trafficking movement will be showing up in droves—over 300 people are set to show up at the stadium, brandishing Stop Human Trafficking T-shirts. Lend your voice and presence, and join this team! You can purchase discounted tickets, and get your T-shirt here: http://www.sharedhope.org/what/events.asp

Read their press release below:

WASHINGTON, July 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

Shared Hope International will release a groundbreaking report on child sex trafficking in the United States at the Congressional Human Trafficking Briefing on Capitol Hill hosted by the Human Trafficking Caucus and Victims' Rights Caucus led by Congressman Poe (TX) and Congressman Smith (NJ), long-time advocates for victims protections. Former Congresswoman Linda Smith (1994-98), Founder of Shared Hope International, will open a panel discussion on the findings of more than four years of research in America. Shared Hope International's National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, America's Prostituted Children highlights the harsh reality that hundreds of thousands of American children are victimized through sex trafficking in the United States driven by the demand for the commercial sex acts they perform. A child sex trafficking victim who is purchased for sex by 5 different men per night, 5 nights per week for an average of 5 years would have been raped by 6,000 buyers during her victimization through prostitution. Many of these child rapists are never charged or prosecuted while the young victims' lives are destroyed.

"The horror is that our children are victimized twice—first by the prostitution and then by the broken system that treats them like criminals while the buyers are given a slap on the wrist, if anything at all. What kind of message is this sending?" asked Founder and President of Shared Hope International, Linda Smith.

Ambassador Louis C. de Baca of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State will present findings from the 2009 TIP Report and panelists from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Criminal Division will discuss domestic child sex trafficking, followed by an NGO panel led by Congresswoman Linda Smith and highlighting Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

"From our investigative research gathered from 11 cities across the nation, we've found so many victims of domestic minor sex trafficking that are misidentified, and labeled as prostitutes. They are sold every day, every night in every city in America," said Smith. Watch human rights surveillance video instantly here: http://www.sharedhope.org/what/dmst.asp.

What: Congressional Human Trafficking Briefing

Where: Capitol Hill, Rayburn Room 2226

Washington, D.C.

When: Tuesday, July 21, 2009

10:00 a.m. - Noon

About Shared Hope International

For more than a decade, Shared Hope International (SHI) has worked around the world partnering with local groups to prevent trafficking and to rescue and restore the victims of sexual slavery. Shared Hope International's DEMAND. project was a 12-month investigation which focused on commercial sexual exploitation in four countries, including the United States. With funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), SHI conducted field assessments on child sex trafficking in 10 U.S. locations. Visit www.sharedhope.org.

SOURCE Shared Hope International

For more information, go here.

Or, call the National Human Trafficking REsource Center at 1.888.3737.888

The ACLU reported the publication of this pamphlet on their Blog of Rights, saying:

The pamphlet, whose creation and dissemination is mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), enacted last December, is to be distributed to temporary visa holders before they leave their home countries. It will be available in 11 languages and will be distributed by every U.S. Embassy and Consulate throughout the world.

The pamphlet provides workers information about their legal rights regarding pay, discrimination, sexual harassment, health and safety, unions and collective bargaining, leaving an abusive employment situation, and employer retaliation. Domestic workers employed by diplomats are specifically advised that they have the right to an employment contract describing their work duties, work hours, days off, and pay and that their diplomat employers may not confiscate their passports or other personal property. The pamphlet also describes warning signs of human trafficking, explains how to get help, and addresses concerns about deportation.

Download the pamphlet here or here.