Current issues

 

Trafficking

Patsy
Patsy  
 

 

 

 

Patsy Butler is a member of TRAC and sent the following extract:

 

“Welcome to the Trafficking Awareness-Raising and Campaigning Group of the Medaille Trust – better known as the TRAC Group.  The group consists of representatives of many of the religious congregations that make up the Medaille Trust, who come together to:

 

 

  • Raise awareness of trafficking among the UK public
  • Highlight root causes
  • Address the factors creating DEMAND
  • Campaign for changes in the law

 

Many of our members are involved in giving talks, writing letters, researching, networking and promoting campaigns to bring an end to the deplorable trade which has stripped so many people of their human dignity and reduced women, young men and children to mere commodities.  We work to inform ourselves, our congregation and anyone else who’ll listen.”

*  *  *  *

 

“Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me!”

 

 

“The suffering and scale of slavery is vast and can overwhelm us but there is something we can all do, and every positive action is important and impacts on the whole.  The following are some actions that we might consider taking:

 

1       Ask your MP to urge the Government to ratify ‘the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings’

 

2       Ask you MP to use his/her position to obtain funding from the seized assets of the traffickers to directly help the victims in our Safe Houses.

 

3       Become more informed on this issue and engage in conversation with others in your home, workplace, sports club and place of worship

 

4       Pray for all involved in sex trafficking.”

 

*  *  *  *

 

 

 

 PATSY GIVES AN UPDATE ON TRAFFICKING

 

 

 

 

The UK Police held their first National Conference on Human Trafficking in Leeds on 14th Nov.    There were about 300 people present and from the variety of speakers we learnt that many aspects of policing are involved in and committed to eradicating this present day evil.

e.g. the Home Office, Immigration and Crime and H. Trafficking, SOCA,  Border and Immigration Agency,  Interpol, Eaves housing.....

Sometimes we might think that the police are not doing enough to rescue people who are trafficked but to date the information is 

             

          

               55 Police Forces involved

             515 premises visited

             232 arrests

             188 women removed

               88 rescued   

 

Finance is the big problem for all concerned.    The police need more money to send their forces out in search of pimps and those trapped....police say" wherever we look we find".

 

 

ACTION:    We need to write to MPs to ask

 "Has the Government signed the Palermo Agreement?"  and/or

"Have they ratified the Agreement in Parliament/in the Dail?"

 

(This agreement ensures that the country is responsible for the maintenance of those rescued from trafficking while they are deciding whether they want to return to their own country or not...the time given for this decision is 3 months.)

 

 

OTHER NEWS ON JUSTICE ISSUES

 

The Inter -Congregational Working Party in England and Wales has been operating for two years now and at present there are fifty-six Religious Congregations who have supported our work either by giving personnel, money or the use of property.    We have two houses established and twenty-five women have been rescued...two of the women have babies  There are three more houses in the pipeline  ...again finance is the big problem...but all will be well.  

 

Recently a forty-eight year old married woman from Thailand was rescued and assisted in returning home. When she was "captured" she was considered too old to satisfy clients so she was forced to be a Madam in a brothel.     She has arrived home safely and is reunited with her husband and three sons.