St. Thomas University (STU) hosted the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, which shed light on activists who strive to free the predicted 49.6 million people living in modern slavery in 2021.
International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking
According to the Archdiocese of Miami, if St. Josephine Bakhita had been present at St. Thomas University on Wednesday, Feb. 8, she probably would have felt content and smiled.
Not only because it was her feast day but also because of two occurrences that stood as a protest against the childhood enslavement she had to experience.
As mentioned, the event's highlight was the presentation of the Gillen-Massey Award during the annual luncheon, which honors the highest accomplishments in the industry.
STU students, social service providers, pastors, lawyers, law enforcement personnel, religious leaders, and a few survivors were among the event attendees, which gathered a crowd of one hundred people.
A journalist and a person who had previously been a child victim were the ones to receive the prize: a block of crystal with a frosted image of the globe.
They were Kwami Abodoe-Herrera, a former presidential advisor on policy surrounding human trafficking, and Noy Thrupkaew, a reporting fellow with the nonprofit news organization type investigations. Abodoe-Herrera was a presidential counselor on the issue of human trafficking under the Obama administration.
According to Roza Pati, the founder, and head of the Human Trafficking Academy at STU, they were selected from applicants on every continent except Australia. She mentioned that the nominees included authors, artists, journalists, other activists, and attorneys.
During the award ceremony, the university's interim dean of law, John Makdisi, stated, "This is a momentous day, and this is an important topic. It comes down to the essence of what St. Thomas University is about. It's not just about providing service; it's about looking out for people."
Human Trafficking
American Civil Liberties Union stated that slavery continues to exist in modern times in the form of human trafficking. It is an extreme labor exploitation in which children, men, and women are recruited or obtained and forced to labor against their will using force, fraud, or coercion.
The victims of human trafficking are frequently drawn in by bogus assurances of better careers and lives for themselves. Women are particularly susceptible to being trafficked due to the status and opportunity disparities they confront worldwide.
Victims of human trafficking are frequently subjected to a variety of forms of physical and psychological abuse, such as beatings, sexual assault, restriction of food and sleep, threats made against them and their family members, and isolation from the outside world.
Moreover, the International Labor Organization (ILO) believes that at least 12.3 million people are forced labor victims, of which 2.4 million are trafficking victims.
The United States Department of State believes that between 14,500 and 17,500 persons are trafficked into the country annually.
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