Category Archives: Human Trafficking News

March Recap

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Since we did not have our regular meeting in March, here is a brief recap of our recent activity and some things to keep in mind before our next meeting in April.

1. Free2Walk – The walk is happening Sunday, April 21 at 2pm! We still need 1-2 more volunteers to help with registration and staffing the U-ACT table. Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering.

If you had sign-making materials to contribute, please bring them to our April meeting. We will also need someone to lend us a folding table and water jug for use at the water station at the mid-point of the route. Please contact us if you can lend us these items.

The best way you can help Free2Walk at this point is PROMOTION! Be sure to invite your family, friends and coworkers to attend! All funds raised go to the Not For Sale Campaign. In addition to the 3-mile walk/run, the event will include a fair trade exhibition.

Download the promotional flier
Join the Facebook event
Register online

2. Purchased Fundraising Event – On Saturday, March 9, Katie and Julia volunteered at the fundraising dinner and silent auction held by Purchased, an Indianapolis group that works to raise awareness about human trafficking and provide educational curriculum to at-risk youth. Katie volunteered as a server and Julia assisted with the silent auction. The event raised almost $23,000, which is an increase of $7,000 over what the same event raised last year. Learn more about Purchased’s mission and activities at www.purchased.org.

3. Speaking Engagements – Sharon spoke this month at Faith United Church of Christ to a group of about 30 people. Katie spoke at the Avon Public Library to a group of about 10 people, who enjoyed receiving a list of resources for learning more about human trafficking. Many thanks to Sharon and Katie for their awareness-raising work!

4. Legislation – Senate Bill 509 has passed both houses of the Indiana legislature and is now with Governor Pence for approval. This bill raises the age at which force, fraud or coercion must be demonstrated for a case to be labeled human trafficking. The current law sets the age at 16, and SB 509 raises it to 18. This change will extend additional legal protections to 16- and 17-year-old victims of human trafficking.

5. Upcoming Events
Resolution Hope concert – Wednesday, April 10 at Butler University. Raises awareness about domestic child sex trafficking. Learn more at http://www.resolutionhope.org/13a-concert-tour/

Tread on Trafficking, a fitness-based fundraising initiative for Love 146, runs from now until June 30. Learn more and sign up at www.love146.org/tot 

6. Next Meeting – Our next U-ACT meeting will be held on Monday, April 15 at 7pm at Zion Evangelical United Church of Christ in downtown Indianapolis. A representative from International Justice Mission will be joining us to talk about her upcoming work in South Asia.

I look forward to seeing everyone in April!

Pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act!

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The Trafficking Victims Protection Act is a key piece of legislation that strengthens programs and dedicates vital resources for the U.S. government agencies that fight human trafficking. This important act, passed originally in 2000, is about to expire. Many anti-trafficking organizations are asking citizens to contact their legislators to ask them to sign on as co-sponsors of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which will extend this crucial law for at least two more years.

The Not for Sale Campaign sent out an email with these instructions:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator. Tell them your town and state and say:

“It is important to the people of this state that we reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act this year. I would like to ask the Senator to please sign on as a co-sponsor to Senate bill 1301 to help ensure the passage of this very important piece of legislation”. 

Time is of the essence because the legislative calendar is in its final weeks, and if the TVPRA is not passed by the end of the session, important programs for victims could lose funding.

Find out who your Senators are here.
Check out the full text of the bill here.
Learn more about the TVPRA at International Justice Mission.

Dept. of Labor Releases New Reports on Child Labor

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The Department of Labor recently released three new reports about child labor. The reports contain images and statistics that show how child labor remains a major and tragic problem throughout the world, as well as accounts of what countries are doing to combat child labor. I was stunned to see images of children toiling in coal mines and carrying stacks of bricks, but I was encouraged to read about good efforts like Brazil’s robust plan to reduce child labor. I highly recommend taking a look. Find summaries and links to the reports at the Labor Is Not a Commodity blog.