October 6, 1998 -- With one more week before Congress goes out of session for the year, the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church said today that urgent action is needed and United Methodists should react quickly to stop the trafficking of women and children.
The Division is calling on United Methodists and United Methodist Women around the United States to call their senators this week and ask for support of victims of trafficking and forced labor in this country.
"We would like to encourage everyone act immediately and call their Senator. Ask them to have Senator Trent Lott take up this resolution as Senate business for this session," says Lois Dauway, assistant general secretary for the division’s section on Christian Social Responsibility. "If not taken up by the second week of October, the issue will be tabled until next Spring and serious human rights violations against women and children will continue to go unnoticed by our government."
One of the fastest growing international trafficking businesses is the trade of women, according to the resolution first introduced by Representative Slaughter and Senators Wellstone and Feinstein.
Girls who have left their country or are searching for a better life unexpectedly find themselves in exploitative situations, including forced prostitution, sweatshop labor, exploitative domestic servitude, or abusive situations. Trafficked women are often subjected to rape and slavery-like conditions, says the report.
The resolution calls upon the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women in cooperation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to look at the extent of trafficking, provide treatment and services for victims, ensure effective prosecution of traffickers, and develop education for consular officers and visa seekers about the rights of victims and potential risks.
Approved by the Senate Foreign Relations committee this July with bi-partisan support, The Women’s Division fears that if it is not calendared for this month, the resolution will have to go through the political process to be re-introduced next spring and it will extend the human rights abuses associated with trafficking of women for even longer.
The Women’s Division represents United Methodist Women, a one-million member organization whose purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders and advocate for justice. Members raise more than $23 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world.
To contact the Congressional Switchboard about the Anti-Trafficking Resolution, call (202) 224-3121 or visit the website at http://pic1.infospace.com/_1_63517506_info/blue/senbystate.html .