“Defeating
human trafficking is a great moral calling of our
time.” Condoleezza
Rice, U.S.
Secretary of State
A
Hollywood film tackles one of the greatest social ills of all time
… with Amazing Grace.
The
hymn that inspired the movie rose from the ashes of human
bondage. The song lives on. So does slavery.
If
there’s one thing Hollywood can’t resist,
it’s a great story. A story with passion and conflict,
tragedy and redemption. The new film, Amazing Grace, tells such a
story. It’s the evocative, true life tale of a 19th Century
social reformer named William Wilberforce -- a man whose faith
compelled him to campaign against the slave trade
But
two centuries after Wilberforce, slavery continues to thrive in our
world today. 27 million people – more than at any other time
in human history. Today we’ll hear from two men
who’ve recently freed slaves. Modern day
abolitionists will tell us why slavery can be eradicated in our
lifetime!
Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery
-from International Justice Mission Canada-
According to Free
the Slaves, there are as many as 27 million men,
women and children in the world today who are held in
slavery. One of the most flagrant forms of contemporary
slavery is human trafficking, which involves the recruitment,
transportation or harbouring of persons for the purposes of
exploitation, either across or within borders. Typically, the
victims are deceived or coerced into sex slavery or some form of forced
labour. Victims of trafficking often suffer brutal conditions
that result in physical, sexual and psychological trauma, which for
those trafficked for sexual exploitation may include violent sexual
activity, forced substance abuse, exposure to sexually transmitted
diseases, food deprivation and psychological torture. Human
trafficking represents an egregious violation of human rights
– of the
universal human right to liberty and integrity and
security of the person; the right to freedom from torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and the right to freedom of
movement.
Statistics
Although accurate statistics on human trafficking are hard to obtain,
the U.S. State Department estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 people are
trafficked across international borders every year. Of these,
80% are women and girls, and up to 50% are minors. The
International Labour Organization estimates that there are 12.3 million
victims of forced labour (including sexual servitude) at any given
time; other estimates range from 4 million to 27 million. The RCMP
estimates that 600-800 victims are trafficked into Canada each year,
and another 1,500 to 2,200 persons are trafficked through Canada to the
United States annually.
Trafficking in persons ranks with the drug trade and arms smuggling as
a major source of revenue for organized crime. The U.S. Federal Bureau
of Investigations estimates that the trade in human life generates
global profits approaching$10 billion annually.
Current
Status
Canada, along with the international community, has condemned
trafficking in persons as an abhorrent form of contemporary slavery and
a fundamental human rights abuse. The most comprehensive
attempt to combat trafficking is the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which
Canada ratified in 2002. The Protocol sets out measures to
prevent trafficking, prosecute offenders, support and protect victims
and cooperate internationally to achieve those objectives.
In fulfillment of its commitments under the Trafficking Protocol,
Canada has enacted a number of laws to combat and prevent
trafficking. New provisions in the Criminal Code specifically
criminalize trafficking in persons, and the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act targets cross-border trafficking in persons.
The federal government has also established an Interdepartmental
Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, with the mandate to coordinate
and enhance efforts to combat trafficking and to develop a national
strategy. However, the Canadian government has yet to
announce or initiate a national action plan to address and combat human
trafficking.
The importance of this issue of human trafficking and the need for a
more concerted Canadian effort has been recognized by parliamentarians.
A private member’s motion (Joy Smith, CPC) on human
trafficking has been debated and passed in the House of Commons, which
states:
"That,
in the opinion of the House, the trafficking of women and
children across international borders for the purposes of sexual
exploitation should be condemned, and that the House call on the
government to immediately adopt a comprehensive strategy to combat the
trafficking of persons worldwide."
This motion passed by a vote of the House of Commons on
February 22, 2007.
The House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women
undertook a study on Human Trafficking from October 2006 to February
2007 and presented its report to the House of Commons on February 27,
2007. The report, entitled Turning Outrage into Action to
Address Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation in Canada,
is based on consultations with approximately 40 witnesses, including
various government departments, police forces, researchers, policy
experts and non-governmental organizations that provide victim services
and/or are dedicated to raising awareness of the issue. The
Committee has requested that the government table a comprehensive
response to this report.
Responding
to the issue.
Many non-governmental organizations across the country are involved in
providing support to individuals who have been trafficked into or
within Canada. These victims need housing, medical care,
counseling, legal information and assistance, psychological and
material assistance, employment, education and training.
Additional resources and better coordination of services are required
to appropriately meet these needs.
Other NGOs are actively engaged in rescuing victims of trafficking and
contemporary slavery from their situations of oppression. One
such organization is International Justice Mission, a human rights
organization that intervenes in individual cases to rescue victims of
violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression. With field
offices in 13 countries, including in countries where human trafficking
and contemporary slavery are prevalent, IJM agents have spent thousands
of hours infiltrating human trafficking operations and working with
government authorities around the world to bring rescue to victims and
accountability to the perpetrators.
2.
Educate Others
Join with a group of friends from your church, school, university
campus or neighbourhood to study “Good News About
Injustice”, a book which provides concrete guidance on the
ways and means the body of Christ can rise up to seek justice
throughout the world. (Book and study guide available from Intervarsity
Press.)
3.
Pray
Download the Prayer Guide for the Abolition of Slavery from www.ijm.ca
and use it at home or in your small group.
4.
Become an Agent of Change
Volunteer your time or give your financial support to a group
confronting modern-day slavery and human trafficking.
In conjunction with the release of the film Amazing Grace, Bristol Bay
is launching an integrated social justice campaign called The Amazing
Change aimed at:
· Increasing literacy about
the historical issue of slavery and the abolitionist movement;
· Raising awareness about
modern day slavery and other forms of oppression;
· Motivating people to get
involved to abolish slavery;
· Raising a new generation of
youth who care about suffering in the world and become abolitionists;
· Engaging new activists in a
life-long journey to invest their time, influence and resources back in
the world;
· Providing much-needed
funding to organizations that are working to abolish slavery.
Together we can end slavery! Together we are The Amazing Change!
Author and Professor Kevin Bales wrote Disposable People: New
Slavery in the Global Economy and documents 27 million people currently
living in slavery, bondage, or human trafficking.
Dr. Bales is the world’s leading expert on contemporary
slavery and president of Free the Salves in Washington, D.C.
Listen Up is looking at the campaign against modern day
slavery. Author and educator Dr. Os Guinness explains the
conditions we’ve created that allow 27 million to be in
bondage. We spoke to him in Vancouver,
BC.
“In
the last 15 years, 30 million people have been trafficked
from Asia alone round the world. It took Europe 400 years to
transplant 12 million Africans to North America – 30 million
in one decade. The supply is the global south; the demand
we’ve got to be honest is Western..”
Jamie McIntosh has seen with his own eyes what it means to live in
slavery in the 21st century. As Executive Director of International
Justice Mission Canada, he travels the globe, working to help rescue
victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression.
So
here’s a review. When we’re talking about
people being in slavery
today it is not a colloquial term. Quoting Dr. Kevin Bales author of
Disposable People;
“We’re not talking about sweat shops.
We’re not
talking about people who have really bad jobs.
We’re talking about
people controlled by violence, who have no pay whatsoever, people who
cannot walk away.”
So now you know about it. What will you
do?
At
Listen Up TV.com are all the links to petition, write and give to the
abolitionist movement in the world. The battle against
slavery is
physical and spiritual. The movie that brought our attention
to this
topic of slavery today was launched out of a slave trader who took his
guilt to God. Forgiven, he helped mentor a fighting politician
-
Wilberforce who begged God for strength to battle
slavery. We don’t
have to fight evil in ourselves or others and by leaving out the
reality of God’s love and amazing grace.
That’s this week’s spiritual
take on news of today’s slavery that we can end in our
lifetime.
Slavery
Statistics
27
Million: Number of people in modern-day slavery across the
world
Sourced by the UN, New York Times, Amnesty International, The Christian
Science Monitor, and Free The Slaves, among others.
800,000:
Number of persons trafficked across
international borders each year
Sourced by the US State Department, International Justice Mission, and
Antislavery.org, among others.
50: Percent
of all victims are children
Sourced by the US House of Representatives Committee on International
Relations, and the US Department of State, among others.
20
Million: Number of bonded laborers in the world
Sourced by Free The Slaves.
218
Million: Estimated number of children working aged between
five and seventeen
Sourced by the International Labor Organization.
126
Million:
Estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor
- one in every twelve of the world's five to seventeen year olds.
Sourced by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the US
Embassy in Uruguay, among others.
300,000:
Estimated number of child soldiers involved in over 30 areas of
conflict worldwide, some younger than 10 years old.
Sourced by UNICEF, the BBC, and Amnesty International, among others.
Resources
& Organizations
That Are Working To Abolish Slavery:
In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) a common standard of achievement for
all people and all nations. To that end, every member of society must
keep this declaration in mind and strive by teaching and education to
promote respect for all these rights and freedoms. In the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has stated the rights
that belong equally to every
person:
1. Right to equality.
2. Freedom from discrimination.
3. Right to life, liberty, personal
security.
4. Freedom from slavery.
5. Freedom from torture and degrading
treatment.
6. Right to recognition as a person
before the law.
7. Right to equality before the law.
8. Right to remedy by competent tribunal.
9. Freedom from arbitrary arrest or
exile.
10. Right to a fair public hearing.
11. Right to be considered innocent until
proven guilty.
12. Freedom from interference with
privacy, family, home and correspondence.
13. Right to free movement in and out of
any country.
14. Right to asylum in other countries
from persecution.
15. Right to a nationality and freedom to
change it.
16. Right to marriage and family.
17. Right to own property.
18. Freedom of belief and religion.
19. Freedom of opinion and information.
20. Right of peaceful assembly and
association.
21. Right to participate in government
and in free elections.
22. Right to social security.
23. Right to desirable work and to join
trade unions.
24. Right to rest and leisure.
25. Right to adequate living standards.
26. Right to education.
27. Right to participate in cultural life
and community.
28. Right to social order assuring human
rights.
29. Community duties essential to free
and full development.
30. Freedom from state and personal
interference in the above rights.
To download the complete Declaration of Human Rights and to learn more
about the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights please see: http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/
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On April 30, 2005 Lorna was privileged to receive an honorary Doctorate of Christian Ministries from Canada's largest Christian university, Trinity Western University. Lorna was recognized for the witness and leadership that Listen Up TV has provided in public messaging: "a leader in the voice of evangelical life in Canada."
