The number of people across Europe identified as being victims of human trafficking rose by almost half between 2015 and 2018, according to the latest annual report from the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA).

According to information provided by the authorities in the 47 countries bound by the Council of Europe’s Anti-trafficking Convention, 15,310 people were identified as victims of human trafficking in 2018, compared to 10,598 identified victims in 2015.

The report reviews the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS n° 197) by the countries concerned, 10 years after the Convention’s entry into force, on the basis of the second evaluation round reports drawn up by GRETA.

“Different countries count victims of human trafficking in different ways, but the available data suggest there has been a considerable increase in the number of people identified as victims of this horrendous crime,” said GRETA President Davor Derenčinović.

“The hidden nature of human trafficking and the fact that we have found problems with the identification process in many countries suggest that the real number of victims may actually be much higher. It is crucial that the relevant authorities step up their efforts to tackle human trafficking and to provide the assistance and support that victims are legally entitled to.”

COVID-19 has impacted our Association in a certain way. We had just started two new projects  at the beginning of March, one of which is a prayer-event series for those who serve vulnerable people. Due to COVID-19, we will now proceed with this via Zoom.

We were delighted to receive a request from a Hungarian faith-based shelter to help the women  in a recovery  programme with some activities. So we proposed cooking classes and health and hygiene classes – but the lockdown prevents us from meeting them. Thanks to the internet we now have  set up the online meetings/ classes. It’s a blessing to reach out to them in such difficult times.

Praying for all our  sisters and brothers worldwide affected by COVID-19  and asking God’s care and love especially for  our colleagues in Italy and Spain.

I wish you all God’s loving presence and His strength in all.

Gabriella Legradi, SCSC and Gabriella Mezinger, SJC.

RENATE members at RUHAMA, Ireland, share about the creative ways in which the NGO continues to support victims of Human Trafficking and Prostitution. Volunteers at RUHAMA meet virtually via online platforms to organise delivery of essential supplies to women who work on the streets and are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The distribution van continues to operate but with observations of health regulations re. social distancing etc.

RUHAMA is a Dublin-based NGO that works on a national level with women affected by prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. RUHAMA offers free, confidential support services, tailored to individual needs.

Given that most of our daily lives have been disrupted within a short space of time and with little opportunities to plan ahead, RUHAMA have compiled an extensive list of what is available from organisations, Museums and individual nationally online covering the following areas:

1.  Virtual tours of Museums & galleries.

2.  Digital Concerts.

3. Libraries Ireland resources, including audio books, E-books.

4. Health & Wellbeing- Yoga online with free classes; Guided meditations.

5. Education & Development via COURSERA, the Shaw Academy and other Online learning Resources.

6. Resources for children – Scoilnet; Twinkl; Dabledoo Music; Microsoft Code; Write Reader and many, many free supports and services.

For more: www.ruhama.ie

Just before the Pandemic reached Hungary, OM Hungary organized a one- week human trafficking prevention training from16-21 March. Colleagues at OM South Africa sent two trainers to Hungary with their Traffick-Wise training.

However, on 16 March which was to be the first day of the training, the Hungarian Government prohibited public events in the country in an effort to reduce the spread of the Corona virus. In response and not to waste the preparations for the training, the team set up the training online in Hungary and it went ahead as planned.

Two sisters from SOLWODI Hungary took part in it and two of our volunteers. The training was a very professional formation, touching and inspiring for all the 14 participants.

We plan on putting all this training into practice in our awareness- raising workshops once COVID-19 social distancing regulations have relaxed.

Sr. Gabriella Mezinger, SJC and  Sr. Gabriella Legradi, SCSC.

There are ca. 20 people in Hungary who have joined our mission against human trafficking and 6 female congregations who pray with/ for us regularly.

We send out monthly prayer intentions to them  in addition to some very practical suggestions, connected to that given prayer request. 

In April we pray for all the people of the streets – homeless, refugees, people forced into prostitution. Due to the lockdown they are really having a very difficult time having no homes to stay and lack of supplies of food and hygiene products. 

We also have some prayer resources in Hungarian – (e.g. a novena for Christmas – based on the human dignity or Prayer of the Faithful – we use to pray on 8th February mass).

 We usually send these prayers out to the Hungarian Religious, inviting them to join us in prayer before Christmas and before St. Bakhita’s Day. At the same time,  we encourage them to celebrate mass  for the victims or have a prayer event using the suggested resources.

With the approval of Sr. Gabriella Légradi SCSC, my boss, on the behalf of SOLWODI Hungary Association I will send the link of House of Prayer to our prayer group.

Sr. Gabriella Mezinger.

Work at grassroots level is so very demanding and requires a long-term investment, patience and great hope in possibilities. As RENATE members share their experiences with us, we are uplifted by the impacts of their work and rejoice in the renewal and hope for the future. 

This week’s insights come from Lalini Gunawardena, OLCGS, now working in Portugal.    

1. Claudia is with us for about 5 years now , brought by the police in Korce, Albania and was immediately admitted into the mental hospital in Elbasan as she was mercilessly  abused by the traffickers outside Albania. We were told that she was in Bulgaria and Milan etc. Since then, the social services handed her over to us and we now accompany her. We provide her with medicine, food, clothes and with regular visits to her and her family. We did a complete repair to her house which was in a miserable state. We also equipped the house with basic furniture, including the kitchen. Due to her unstable health condition she has to be admitted to the mental hospital when necessary from time to time.  We sisters have to buy her medicine especially and provide her with everything essential for her living. At the moment our aim is to give the family a proper toilet and water. The sisters support her and accompany her with great love and respect.

1. Ela was trafficked 7 years ago – waiting in Durres, Albania, to be sent to Italy. After she was rescued by her own father,  she was found to have been made pregnant by the trafficker. The family did not want to accept this pregnancy and advised her to abort the baby if she wanted to be accepted by the family. Ela did not want to kill the baby in her womb but gave birth to a beautiful boy. We sisters accompanied Ela and also her family in her struggle. From the beginning we sisters helped her and her little son, providing them with medicine, food and sometimes clothing too.  Ela had gone to school only up to grade 9. We took the responsibility to give her the love and care to bring her back to normal life. She took time to overcome the traumas she experienced before she was fully able to begin her studies. We encouraged her to complete her studies which would give her the education to empower her life. Ela wants to be nurse. We supported her to get a good part-time job in the mornings so that she could attend school in the afternoon. Really she is a very bright student too. We sisters give her classes in English as well as provide all the necessary books for her studies. 

1. Her little boy too is going to school and is now in 2nd class and doing quite well in school. We sisters strongly felt that we should empower both the mother and the child, offering them a good education until the very end, so as to uplift their life socially and spiritually in every way. Ela is very keen to complete her university degree in Nursing and achieve a professional qualification to realize her dream.

1. We also accompany a lot of Roma children loitering on the streets. We give them breakfast and short lessons on Shqip, drawing etc. We provide them with a good shower, changes of clothes and launder their dirty clothes to be for the next days. We encourage the parents to send their children to school so their futures will be bright with possibilities. This we do really as our mission of prevention work.

Lalini Gunawardena, OLCGS.

Haven of Light Modern Slavery _ Human Trafficking Update March 2020 (1) (1)

At this time of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are still trapped in slavery throughout the world, experiencing abuse and violence and at risk of contracting the CORONA virus and becoming ill. Exploitation and criminality will not stop, and it is anticipated that the situation for potential victims may get worse, due to the desperation and vulnerability that so many people are now facing, and the many opportunities for criminals to take advantage of those in need.

With this in mind, it is vital that the work continues, and the strategies against modern slavery and human trafficking are developed on international and local levels. Consisting of a collation of a wide range of links  to  reports and organisations worldwide, the information provided in this document ‘’Modern Slavery/Human Trafficking update,’’ has been produced by the Haven of Light through various means. The collated document provides a selective summary of recent news and updates, focusing on the subjects of modern slavery, human trafficking, exploitation, and related issues, in the UK and internationally.

For more information on the haven of Light  www.havenoflight.co.uk

Please find the document below.

STOP Trafficking April Newsletter 2020 2020_04_Stop Trafficking