Justice Tapestry: Shedding Light on the Atrocities of Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation - Seeking God’s Heart & Our Response

Listen to presentations from the conference

Hope Community is hosting this conference to raise awareness about children and women who are victims of human trafficking and to inspire action to end sexual exploitation and gender-based injustice. Mark Wollenberg of International Justice Mission Canada (IJM) will deliver the keynote address, along with presentations by artists and activists who work for justice locally, nationally and internationally.

This Justice Tapestry will gather together people from our community and across Southern Alberta who share a concern for justice in order to empower them both to stand against injustice and to care for the victims of exploitation and abuse. A number of artists will present visual works and performances throughout the conference as a response to these injustices, in the tradition of Hope’s annual Tapestry art gallery and performance event.

IJM’s Mark Wollenberg says, “The church is starting to realize that acting justly is something that is required of us by scripture, but many of us have little knowledge about the kind of injustice that takes place in the world today. I think again of Jesus’ words in Luke 4:18 when he quoted the prophet Isaiah and said that he had come to bring freedom to the captives and release for the prisoners. 

“Today, most of us live without the knowledge that there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world. Most people do not know that there are more slaves in the world today than the 1800’s, when slaves were ripped out of Africa in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. These are people who are forced to work in cocoa and coffee plantations, brick kilns and rice mills, or in brothels and they have no option to leave. They are literally owned by someone else who sees them as a source of revenue for themselves. After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest illegal enterprise in the world today.”

Wollenberg continues, “There are people today who need an advocate, someone to raise their voice on behalf of the voiceless, and say. ‘Slavery must come to and end!’” IJM is a human rights organization that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. 

Other presenters at the conference include:

Andrew Kooman of Raise Their Voice (author of the play She Has A Name)
Amie Gosselin of Hagar International (an aftercare and reintegration organization for victims of sex trafficking)
Stephen Waldschmidt of Burnt Thicket Theatre (director of She Has A Name)
Edmonton’s Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE)
Advocacy for Victims of Abuse (AVA, which addresses domestic violence)
Opportunity International
Ten Thousand Villages

Our children are not for sale to be abused for someone’s financial gain.
Neither should anyone else’s children be!

For more information on this issue: 
Evangelical Covenant Church Human Trafficking Site: http://www.covchurch.org/trafficking/
International Justice Mission Canada: http://www.ijm.ca/

We watched this short video from Evangelical Fellowship of Canada detailing the differences between Holland’s reasons for legalizing prostitution and Sweden’s approach of criminalizing johns and pimps while treating the prostituted women as victims of exploitation and violence. Click here to read the full EFC report.

Why is it ok to criminalize the johns’ and pimps’ part of the transaction if the prostituted woman is free to sell sex? It is internationally acknowledged that the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 years of age. Here’s the conclusion from an exhaustive journal article about the effects of prostitution reprinted on REED’s website:

“Does a john’s payment of money to a woman in prostitution erase all that we know of sexual harassment, rape, and domestic violence? The adage silence is consent is mistakenly applied to women in prostitution. We blame those who keep silent for what- ever happens to them because, the logic goes, they should have protested abuse. Women in prostitution are silent for many reasons. They are rarely given the opportunity to speak about their real lives because this would interfere with sex businesses. The silence of most of those in prostitution is a result of intimidation, terror, dissociation, and shame. Their silence, like the silence of battered women, should not be misinterpreted, ever, as their consent to prostitution.”

She is not freely consenting, she is living out the results of a life of abuse and exploitation. It is like arguing that a battered woman is silent because she consents to domestic abuse.

Last night we also celebrated answers to our prayers that burnt thicket theatre’s production of SHE HAS A NAME was well-received and sold out every show of its three-week run, bringing many people face to face with the reality of human trafficking. Steve Waldschmidt talked about getting to know one of the organizers of 4MYCANADA, on whose website he learned more about M.P. Joy Smith’s work against human trafficking in Canada. 

In order to learn more about trafficking specifically in Canada we watched the first part of the following documentary called ENSLAVED AND EXPLOITED: The Story of Sex Trafficking in Canada from Hope for the Sold. Our country needs to step up and fight this rampant organized crime in new ways. 

We learned about M.P. Joy Smith’s proposal for a National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and why Canada needs a coordinated effort to connect the many separate government agencies and regional NGOs working to prevent trafficking and rescue its victims. We signed Smith’s petition to Parliament and wrote letters to Prime Minister Harper and four cabinet ministers asking them to develop and implement such a National Action Plan. 

Please watch the videos, read the reports and click on the above petition and letter links BEFORE APRIL 1st when the petitions are due — join us in calling for Canada to fight the devastating reality of human trafficking right here.

God of justice and mercy, help our government do the right thing and may your kingdom come across Canada in every way. Let our land become the true north, strong and free, in actual reality.

Now is an opportune time for you to let your MP know how you’d like Canada’s laws to be re-written regarding women who are bought and sold in prostitution. The current laws have been ruled unconstitutional and the Canadian government will be required to make changes if this ruling stands.

We wrote to our MP (Kevin Sorenson) and asked for the implementation of the Swedish (or Nordic) model of prostitution law in Canada. Swedish model of law recognizes prostitution as a form of male violence against women and children and acknowledges how it’s linked with the demand for paid sex that human trafficking supplies. See this great article for more on that: 10 Reasons Not to Legalize Prostitution.

Want to join us in asking your MP to do the same? Here’s the postcard campaign:

Canada Can Do Better for Prostituted Women

And here’s a good template for a letter to your MP, specifically about the Nordic model of law, and petitions from M.P. Joy Smith’s website (which are due back to her by April 1st). 

Here’s a video from Covenant Women Ministries about the sad reality of sex slaves prevalent across North America. Most are children.

Break the Chains pt 3 from Covenant Communications on Vimeo. 
 

This breaks the heart of God. Thank you REED for the info and your concern for how our culture’s perspective on the sex trade affects human trafficking in Canada!

After much brainstorming, research and planning, hopeTzedekah is pleased to offer a guide to buying Fair Trade products in Strathmore and the area. The brochure looks like the image to the left.

Give a man a fish and you’ll feed him for a day. (Aid)
Teach a woman to fish and she’ll feed herself. (Development)
Buy her fish & she has a sustainable way out of poverty. (Fair Trade)

The brochure answers questions like “What is Fair Trade?” and “Why bother with it?” and most importantly “Where can I buy Fair Trade products in Strathmore?”

We’ve taken the hard work out of the process, now you can easily begin letting your ‘purchase power’ work on behalf of poor producers in the developing world and fight modern-day slavery.

As you’ll see there’s a ways to go for Strathmore to be a Fair Trade haven, but we’ve got to start somewhere. And there’s some more options in Calgary included in the brochure.

Pick up the brochure at Hope Community or download it here. And for more Fair Trade options online, check out this earlier hopeTzedekah blog post.

As the board in the youth room says, “I am only one; but I am still one. I cannot do everything but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”

Or as God says, “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.” Isaiah 58:6 (The Message)

A campaign sticker in Vancouver.

Human trafficking at the Olympics?

Did you know that perhaps 1000 women from around the world have been trafficked into Vancouver for the sex trade during the Olympics? Most will be left there on the streets when the games are done.

Want to do something to resist such exploitation in our country and to support Christians who are working to free and restore these women? Grab some flyers from the welcome desk, spread the word, and go to BuyingSexIsNotASport.com

From the flyer:

An estimated 21 million women and children are trafficked annually, the majority for exploitation in the sex industry. This insidious market is driven by the demand for sexual access to the bodies of women and children. Large sporting events such as the Olympics bring an increase in demand. Often those who are the most marginalized and vulnerable to abuse pay the price with their dignity.

Buying Sex Is Not a Sport is a grassroots campaign that stands with and for exploited women and firmly against the demand for their bodies. Join us in saying, “Buying Sex Is Not a Sport.”

10 Things You Can Do To End Sex Trafficking Today:

• Address the brokenness in your own life. 
• Oppose the legalization (or total decriminalization) of prostitution. 
• Support gender equality and human dignity in your daily life. 
• Directly ask the men in your life if they pay for sex. 
• Challenge those who make sexist “jokes.” 
• Educate others about human trafficking. 
• Question the norm of “sex for sale.” 
• Seek freedom from a lifestyle of consumerism. 
• Support groups working with trafficked persons. 
• Advocate for laws to decriminalize the selling of sex and criminalize the buying of sex.

And two recent news stories about sex trafficking in Calgary:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Calgary+human+trafficking+case+tied+Internet+luring/2302108/story.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2003/11/06/prositution031106.html

And one more article about sex trafficking in Vancouver connected to the Winter Olympics:

http://tfgwebmaster.site.aplus.net/wwwthefuturegrouporg/id44.html

What does Jesus have to say about this?

“This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
 to break the chains of injustice,
 get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
 free the oppressed,
 
 cancel debts.
” 
      Isaiah 58:6 (The Message) 

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 
 because he has anointed me 
to proclaim good news to the poor.  
  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 
  and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 
  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
      Luke 4:18-19 (Today’s New International Version)

We are praying and asking Jesus how to respond, using as a guide for praying and learning more the Voice for the Voiceless 30 days of Prayer booklet.

Look for either logo that certifies a product is Fair Trade.

We’re frustrated by the lack of fair trade options (meaning slavery/exploitation-free) that are available in Strathmore or Calgary. 

But there are some options. Good work researching this, hopeTzedekah students!

Here are all of the links (and some more) that we talked about on tuesday.
 
shoes.
www.nosweatapparel.com
www.etiko.com.au
www.herseycustomshoe.com (the guy who custom makes runners.)
http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/blackspot (the converse look-a-likes. blackspot shoes.)
www.tomshoes.com
www.keenfootwear.com
 
clothes.
www.tenthousandvillages.ca (go to their two stores in Calgary for all kinds of great stuff)
www.thehungersite.com
www.veganpeace.com
www.fairtrademarketplace.com
www.peopletree.com 
www.novacas.com
www.pristineplanet.com
www.americanapparel.com (the website is slightly weird. but the clothes are fair trade..)
 
chocolate.
www.tenthousandvillages.ca 
www.chocolatecountryfilm.com
www.tazachocolate.com
www.internationalorganics.com
www.divinechocolate.com
 
random.
www.adbusters.org
 
enjoy roaming!

Amos 8:4-7

 ⁴ Hear this, you who trample the needy 
       and do away with the poor of the land,

 ⁵ saying, 
       “When will the New Moon be over 
       that we may sell grain, 
       and the Sabbath be ended 
       that we may market wheat?”—
       skimping the measure, 
       boosting the price 
       and cheating with dishonest scales,

 ⁶ buying the poor with silver 
       and the needy for a pair of sandals, 
       selling even the sweepings with the wheat.

 ⁷ The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done.”

Choices which benefit the poor

James gives voice to God’s anger when the poor are robbed to line the pockets of the rich. ‘The wages you have failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you… (James 5:4). We rarely see the workers in faraway fields, producing the food we buy. However, the choices we make in aisle four on a Saturday inadvertently condone the production system. Buying fair trade products increases the market for them, and therefore demands fair wages and decent working conditions for people living in poverty. It’s an easy, practical way to put God’s love and compassion into action.

As Christians we are called to be concerned about justice in trade – as God is. We must apply God’s heart for fairness and justice to the choices we make when we shop – we can channel our purchases through ethical companies – to make a difference to the poor and we can choose fair trade options, which are already available on the shelves.

We can be advocates for the poor by encouraging others to take their choices seriously too. We must pray that the stronghold of materialism and greed and the love of profit over people will be weakened – and that our generation can catch the vision for justice which is on God’s heart!

Ask yourself:
 How can Christians today respond to these unfair practices?

• As consumers?
• As campaigners on behalf of the poor?
• As employers?
• With friends, family, church, CU, cell groups?

What can we do?

Pray: 
That Christians would wake up to the impact unfair trade has on the lives of the poor. 
That world trade rules would work justly to reduce poverty, not contribute to it.
 Conventional trade relies on us remaining blind to the evidence.

Act: As Christians we must put unfair free trade on trial! We should be concerned that many of our clothes are made affordable because of the suffering of the poor.

Look out for fair trade products when you shop – and choose to buy them. Introduce your friends, family or group to fair trade products.

Don’t shop quietly! You can use your consumer power to speak out on behalf of the poor and needy when you hit the high street!

Learn more at: storyofstuff.org