Being assigned to a hill tribe in Mae Jam, Chiang Mai, a northern area of Thailand, changed the life of Sr. Marie Agnes Buasap, a Sister of St. Paul de Chartres. Her congregation has been in Thailand for 120 years and has 22 schools for students from kindergarten to high school.
Contemplate This - Contemplation invites us to awaken to the reality around us. It helps us see in new ways what can be considered an everyday experience. It asks us to take a long, loving look at the real so that what is invisible may come into view. The issue of human trafficking has been in our consciousness for many years. Women religious have worked tirelessly to bring this issue to the forefront of political debate and corporate decision making.
Focus on Human Trafficking - Though common knowledge warns against anyone wandering into La Línea, Sr. Angélica Segoviano has gained daily access by establishing trust with the women she visits. It takes time before they open up to her about their lives and worries, their initial suspicion born of the fact that some have gone years without anyone simply asking how they're doing.
Honored as one of the U.S. State Department's "heroes" in combatting human trafficking, Comboni Sr. Gabriella Bottani urged action to fight the situations that make people, especially women and children, vulnerable to trafficking.
For the past five years, I have participated in the annual meetings of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women. I am inspired by the women who come forward to share their stories, but I wonder: Are we going forward in this struggle?
Focus on Human Trafficking - Human trafficking has been on the rise in Brazil. One goal is to keep people who fit the main demographics of trafficking victims — children and women ages 8-29 — from falling into networks of sexual exploitation through prevention in schools.
Focus on Human Trafficking - Sisters from the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and other sisters from different congregations in Nigeria are fighting human trafficking through advocacy and creating awareness to dissuade young girls and women from taking a dangerous route across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, where they can be trafficked into prostitution or slavery.
Online child sexual abuse is a booming international business and religious congregations holding stocks in major telecom firms are stepping up their advocacy to thwart it.
A partnership of resources enabled photographer Lisa Kristine to photograph sisters who work against against sexual and labor exploitation, and who do prevention work with vulnerable migrants in countries around the world. Talitha Kum and the Galileo Foundation aim to raise awareness about trafficking and boost Talitha Kum's worldwide anti-trafficking network.
Recalling Jesus' death on the cross, Pope Francis led thousands on Good Friday in reflecting on the crosses of loneliness, fear and betrayal that crucify countless men, women and children in the world. In the annual Way of the Cross in Rome's Colosseum April 19, the meditation for each station reflected the suffering and pain of people exploited and marginalized.
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