The School Sisters of Notre Dame are ardent advocates of human dignity and basic human rights. They are very concerned about the trafficking of women and children, a modern-day form of slavery and an international attack on human rights and human dignity.
The Extent of the Problem
700,000 to 2 million women and children are trafficked across borders each year. International trafficking is a significant human rights problem and a gruesome crime affecting women, children and men.
“Trafficking in women reaps greater economic gain than drugs, a significant factor in their exploitation. How mind-boggling is it to you to discover how far reaching and extensive is this practice of trafficking in women?” (Canadian Religious Conference, Ontario)
What needs to be done to combat modern-day slavery?
We need to educate ourselves about it so that we can be advocates for those trapped into the global sex trade, sexual exploitation and the many other forms of slavery alive today.
Analyze and work at changing the root causes: economic globalization, extreme poverty and attitudes that fail to see each man, woman and child as a person with dignity and worth.
Officers of the law and health professionals need to identify and respond appropriately to victims of gender-based violence.
Pray for the victims trapped into slavery. Pray for the victimizers. Pray that we may all come to recognize, reverence and uphold the dignity and rights of each person.
Educational Workshops
SSND efforts to stop human trafficking focus on education. Sisters and Associates have organized workshops for various groups throughout Canada. Write-ups have appeared in the Catholic Register (March 11, 2005), the Prairie Messenger (April 19, 2006) and The Record (June 7, 2006).
The Sisters, together with the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC), hosted a Not For Sale Trade Show at the SSND motherhouse in Waterdown on Monday, March 16, 2009. A brief write up is in the News section of this website.
Learn more about Human Trafficking
Awareness of the reality of human trafficking is a major part of working to end it. Here are a few resources to help you learn more. There are also resources that the School Sisters of Notre Dame offer through their SHALOM network in North America and at the international level.
Looking for more information? Contact our JPIC office.
