Indiana Passes Human Trafficking Law in Time for the Super Bowl

Click here to read the Fox News report on the new Indiana law which makes it against the law for anyone to arrange for a person to participate in any forced sexual act. Before, Indiana law only prohibited forced marriage and prostitution. Also, the new law makes it easier to prosecute those who sell children into sexual slavery. It reduces the burden on a prosecutor to prove coercion. Before, prosecutors had to prove a victim was threatened or physically forced into sexual slavery. Traffickers could escape prosecution by claiming the victim wasn't being held against his or her will. Congratulations to the eleven congregations of women religious who continue to work in Indiana and elsewhere to raise awareness of the potential for human trafficking at major sporting events.

Also, click here to read an Op-Ed in Friday's Chicago Tribune by Sister Pat Bergen, a member of the leadership team of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in LaGrange Park, IL.

Celebration Without Exploitation

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) has published "Celebration Without Exploitation," a toolkit for planning trafficking-free sporting (and other) events. Click here to access the toolkit.

Nuns Denounce Human Trafficking Ahead of Super Bowl XLVI

Click here to read the Huffington Post's article about eleven Congregations of Catholic Sisters who have partnered with Indianapolis area hotels to educate workers about prostitution and sex trafficking prior to the Super Bowl on February 5. The article link includes news coverage of a prayer service held by the Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Hershey: Raise the Bar!

From the change.org site:

It has been ten years since major chocolate companies, including Hershey, committed to ending child labor, forced labor and trafficking in their cocoa supply chains, these egregious labor rights abuses continue. A decade later, hundreds of thousands of children continue to labor in hazardous conditions in West Africa, particularly in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, and the US Department of Labor has noted five West African nations whose cocoa may be tainted by forced and/or child labor.

While many chocolate companies have taken steps to trace their cocoa supply chains and implement labor rights standards among their suppliers, Hershey lags behind its competitors in responsibly sourcing its cocoa. Unlike other companies, Hershey has not committed to sourcing cocoa for its main product lines that has been independently certified to comply with international labor rights standards. Tell Hershey to raise the bar and be a leader in sustainable chocolate and shift toward Fairtrade Certified cocoa!

For more information and action ideas, please visit the Raise the Bar Hershey campaign.

Human Trafficking Story on CNNs "Situation Room"

Click here to view the video of CNNs Barbara Starr reporting on sex slaves living only blocks from the White House.

Kristof: What About American Girls Sold on the Streets?

Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times again gives us much food for thought and action in his recent op/ed piece, "What About American Girls Sold on the Streets?" Click here to read the article, in which Kristof chronicles the problem and profiles Rachel Lloyd, trafficking survivor, author of "Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale," and founder of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS). Read the article; read the book; do something!

Trafficking and Hotel Chains

You may recall our efforts to encourage hotel chains to take action against human trafficking during the recent soccer World Cup in South Africa. Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) took a real leadership role in these efforts. Here is a follow up from CBIS with some important information about hotel chains that may still require further education and encouragement:

In April, 2010, 300 clients of Christian Brothers Investment Services, faith-based organizations, and socially responsible investors, including members of theInterfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), sent a letter to eight major hotels with chains in South Africa to learn about actions being taken to combat human trafficking and child sexual exploitation in advance of The World Cup. While not responsible for these crimes, hotels can help to stop the use of their facilities for these purposes. We asked the hotels if they were training staff to be observant to signs of human trafficking, working with local authorities to protect victims, encouraging employees to report incidents to hotel management, and publicly reporting to stakeholders on progress.

Thanks to your support, we now have information from all the hotels we contacted. To read CBIS’ full report, go to http://www.cbisonline.com/page.asp?id=1047for a review of hotel responses, policies and programs to address child sexual exploitation. The report’s major findings include:

- Only three of the hotels surveyed have a human rights policy that specifically addresses child protections – Starwood (brands include Westin and Sheraton), Accor (brands include Mercure, Motel6, Formule1, Novotel), and Carlson (brands include Radisson, Country Inns & Suites).

- We were pleased that Hyatt, Accor, Carlson and NH Hoteles took action to address human trafficking and combat child sexual exploitation in South Africa.

- Accor (http://www.accor.com) and Carlson ((http://www.carlson.com) have the most robust and substantive programs and policies to address child sexual exploitation. When evaluating your travel or conference needs, you may want to consider these hotel chains and let them know that you considered their policies on this issue when deciding on a hotel.

- We applaud NH Hoteles, Accor, and Carlson for endorsing the tourism code of conduct against child sex tourism known as The Code (www.thecode.org), to protect children’s rights.

- Best Western, Hyatt, and Hilton do not appear to have programs or policies to combat child sexual exploitation.

A chart summarizing the results and additional analysis is available in our full report online.

Remember, when you stay at a hotel, be sure to give a letter to the front desk to share your concerns about human trafficking. To download the letter, visithttp://www.cbisonline.com/page.asp?id=1017. Please let us know if you have used the letter and if you have taken other steps to encourage hotels to combat human trafficking.

CBIS and members of ICCR will continue to engage hotels about their policies and practices to stop sexual exploitation of children around the globe. We view the commitment of hotel chains to train, report, partner with local authorities, and craft policies as important elements to combat human trafficking and demonstrate corporate responsibility.

Be sure to check CBIS’ SRI Action Center at www.cbisonline.com in the coming months for more ways to become involved and share your concerns. Thank you for your interest in and assistance with improving the social and environmental performance of corporations.

TIP Report

The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for 2010 is available and well worth the time to peruse. For the first time, the US is included in the "tier" placements, which means that the US State Department is holding its own "feet to the fire" for the first time. Click here to view the site that allows you to see interactive maps and videos and to view the TIP Report in pdf format, should you choose to do that.

Human Trafficking and the World Cup

Julie Tanner is the Assistant Director of Socially Responsible Investing for Christian Brothers Investment Services, a leader in Catholic socially responsible investing worldwide. She has written an editorial regarding the potential for human trafficking at the World Cup in South Africa. Click here to read the editorial.

Combating Sex Tourism During 2010 World Cup

Social Funds, the largest personal finance site devoted to socially responsible investing, has reported on the efforts by Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) to ask hotels in South Africa and internationally to help prevent the sexual exploitation of children and other human trafficking crimes. Click here to read the coverage.

Prostitutes Flock to South Africa Ahead of the World Cup

Click here to read the article from the Christian Science Monitor regarding prostitution and the world cup in South Africa. Here's a preview:

As with the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a rampant sex trade is of concern to human rights groups ahead of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, which kicks off next month. Prostitutes, many from impoverished Zimbabwe, are arriving to cash in on an estimated 500,000 visiting fans.

Human Trafficking and the World Cup

The World Cup begins in South Africa on June 11. As we know from previous experience, this brings with it an enormous risk of human trafficking. So often, we ask, "What can we do?" when faced with such huge challenges. See below for what has been done and what you can do:

• In April, Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) sent a letter to hotels to encourage action against human trafficking in advance of the World Cup. More than 300 faith-based organizations and investors joined together to raise their voices against exploitation of women and children. Click here to see the letter that was sent. To date, responses have not yet been received from Best Western, Hyatt, Hilton, Starwood (including Westin and Sheraton), and NH hotels. Congratulations to Accor, Carlson, and Intercontinental, who have responded.
• If you are traveling to South Africa for the World Cup, click here to find a letter you might take with you to present at your hotel.
• If you are planning a stay at any of the hotels that haven't yet responded to this plea (no matter where in the world they might be), click here for a letter you might take with you to explain why this would be a good initiative for that corporation.

January 11: National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Second reminder: Educational materials for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day (January 11) are available at the Stop Trafficking website

Call + Response: Human Trafficking

This is a repeat reminder about the film, Call + Response, called "the first feature rockumentary to expose the world's 27 million most terrifying secrets." Rather than reading a blog explanation, click here to check out the site. Not only will you learn more about the film, but you'll find out where it's playing and have the ability to request a screening near you!

Human Trafficking Article in NY Times

The article, Running in the Shadows, appeared recently in the New York Times. Bradley Myles, Polaris Project's Deputy Director, is quoted in the article, highlighting the importance of awareness and understanding in identifying victims of human trafficking.

Event in NY Metro Area

Art Installation: Actress Emma Thompson is telling a story of a young girl, Elena, who was forced into the global sex industry. This art installation is comprised of seven shipping containers each designed by a different artist interpreting one part of Elena’s story. This art installation will be in Washington Square Park, New York City, November 10-16. Thompson will be in the seventh container. For more information go to: www.NPR.com “On the Media”, and click on Saturday, October 31.

Congress 2009: Women Religious in Network Against Trafficking in Persons

The UISG and the International Organization for Migration are conducting Congress 2009: Women Religious in Network Against Trafficking in Persons from June 15-18, 2009 in Rome. This second Congress aims to reinforce the network of women religious in their commitment in the field of trafficking. Click here to read the brochure that contains the objectives of Congress 2009 and a list of speakers. Let's keep this important meeting in our prayers as we renew our commitment to combat trafficking. Additionally, click here to read the declaration of the women religious who participated in last year's inaugural conference.

"Hidden in Plain Sight"

The January 2009 issue of U.S. Catholic contains an article written by Kevin Clarke, entitled "Hidden in Plain Sight: The Shadow World of Human Trafficking." The article is noteworthy in and of itself, but it made moreso by quotes from our very own Sister Joann Marie Aumand, SCC. Click here to read the article. Thanks to Sister Joann Marie for having represented the SCCs in this very important ministry! (P.S. There's also a link to the pdf file of the article on the Province's social justice page -- go to http://www.scceast.org/ and click on Social Justice, then Human Trafficking. Scroll down to the bottom.)