Conference lauds women religious' role in fighting human trafficking

Published: 2004-06-17

ROME (CNS) -- The Catholic Church and especially women religious are playing a crucial role in the global battle against human trafficking, said participants in a conference sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See. Between 600,000 and 2 million people each year are smuggled across international borders as cheap labor, sex workers, child soldiers and organ donors, according to the International Organization for Migration. A disproportionate number of victims are women and children, the organization said. Religious orders offer "spiritual, material and social support to victims of human trafficking, whose psychological and physical health has been jeopardized" by the experience, said Stefano Volpicelli of the organization's Rome bureau. "Religious play an important role" in exposing trafficking networks, protecting victims' rights and giving victims a way out of the trap of forced labor, Volpicelli said during the June 17 conference.

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