By Rosemary Lewallen
St. Irenaeus Health Ministry’s Bridge of Light: Human Trafficking to Human Triumph Ministry presented a powerful and prayerful program to honor victims and survivors of human trafficking on February 6 at St. Irenaeus Church. The event raised awareness of the scope of human trafficking in various forms hidden in our midst. The evening started with Taize chant, “Veni Sancti Spiritus” (Come Holy Spirit), led by Belinda Gonzalez, Betty Borowski, Rosalie Valles and Anthony Kocal, Music Director. A scripture reading was read by Deacon Jerry Pyne.
Human trafficking is modern day slavery that occurs in our local communities and around the world. Men, women and children are kidnapped or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. It often begins with recruitment and grooming, then moves to trafficking and control. Only 2% of those trafficked ever recover or have a chance to heal. Human trafficking is the 2nd largest and fastest growing criminal enterprise in the U.S. with close to 70% being U.S. citizens. It has an estimated $150 BILLION in annual revenue, more money worldwide than Nike, Starbucks and Google COMBINED. According to a 2023 Global Slavery Index study, more people are trafficked in the United States than the total number of residents in the state of Wyoming. Human trafficking is most prevalent in societies with wide economic and social disparities. Fifty-five percent of forced labor victims and 98 percent of sex-trafficking victims are women and girls.
Labor trafficking includes forced work on farms, factories, hotels, restaurants, seafarers on cargo ships, fishers on fishing boats, and domestic help. Hours are long, conditions are poor, and victims labor for little or no money. Victims of sex trafficking may work in brothels, strip clubs, luxury homes in gated communities or on the streets. Aged-out foster youth who find themselves with nothing to eat, nowhere to stay and no means of support are most vulnerable. Victims are too afraid to speak up due to threats of harm from their traffickers.
A short film, “Native Hope: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the Red Sand Project,” revealed the high rate of human trafficking among indigenous women and girls. It opened our eyes to the plight of native women in South Dakota, where the third leading
cause of death for indigenous women is murder. We also learned that California is 6th out of the top 10 states and San Francisco 10th out of the top ten cities with the highest number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls’ cases.
Rima Nashashibi, Founder and President of Global Hope 365, spoke about child marriage, another form of modern-day slavery, which is legal in 40 out of 50 states. California is one of five states with no age limit for marriage. Child marriage is marriage before age 18. Her organization is promoting a digital letter writing campaign to California legislators to END CHILD MARRIAGE UNDER 18 – NO EXCEPTIONS. It is also working with cities and counties to pass resolutions. Cities in California with the highest rates of human trafficking are San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to the FBI.
Cypress Mayor, Scott Minikus, a former Long Beach Police Sergeant, talked about the plight of victims of human trafficking who are assumed to be prostitutes when in fact, they are victims. He prayed for an end to this heinous crime.
Cypress Chief of Police, Mark Lauderback, spoke about the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force and their efforts to fight human trafficking. He said one agency can’t do it alone, and noted law enforcements’ victim-centered approach to human trafficking.
If you suspect a case of human trafficking, call the Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. If there is imminent danger, call 911.