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A History of Alliances in Quebec to Combat Human Trafficking
For some 20 years, the Sisters have been working with women's groups and helping to improve the lives of women and children both here and elsewhere. This fruitful two-way partnership, evident during the Bread and Roses march of 1995 and World Marches of 2000 and 2005, prompted action to denounce worldwide trafficking in women and children and to come up with alternatives to assist its victims. Sharing the same analysis, and having already worked together to combat poverty and violence toward women, predisposed us to join forces to fight this global scourge. When the International Union of Superiors General (IUSG) invited women religious from around the world to act together to fight trafficking in women and children in Rome in 2001, the social justice networks of a number of religious orders, already committed to working with Quebec women, took advantage of the opportunity to contact a few groups concerned about trafficking. The idea of putting on a play to increase public awareness was greeted with enthusiasm. A research group at the Université de Québec à Montréal, the Association des aides familiales du Québec and CALACS, a provincial group of action centres against sexual aggression, generously shared their expertise during the days of data gathering by Théâtre Parminou. The play "Perdues dans le traffic", translated into English as "Lost in Traffic", has toured Quebec and Ontario with more than 30 shows and is still going strong. Wherever the play is presented, it raises indignation and prompts commitment. But what would the next step be? CATHIIIn September 2004, the above groups were ready to take a new step together. A strategy committee was formed, which was joined by other organizations: the ARPF (an association of women religious) and the Canadian Religious Conference, which had already chosen human trafficking as an action priority. Other members of this committee for action against international and domestic human trafficking, which was named CATHII, included six religious orders connected with a UN non-governmental organization. Rounding out the 17-person committee were several university researchers and a representative from the Montreal Police Department. Its role: to analyze and select action strategies to combat trafficking. Everyone at the table represented a network and was responsible for passing on information to his network and expressing his network's concrete commitment. Monthly meetings were held to monitor developments in three aspects of the action plan: research into the reality of trafficking and on Canadian and international law related to trafficking; training for action: an awareness session and a lobbying session for Quebec participants; and finally, finding resources for lodging and working with victims. Furthermore, the meetings were an opportunity to share information, leadership tools and articles written to benefit a specific group. Members who took part in activities related to trafficking brought everyone up to date on what was happening in terms of their analysis and content. In this manner, the committee offered much-appreciated continuing education. Some of the members of CATHII designed an awareness session on the trafficking of women and children and gave it in six different regions of Quebec, reaching more than 1,000 people. Another made-to-measure training session continues to prepare women religious and laypeople to meet with their federal MPs. This guide to lobbying summarizes the proposals to defend with elected officials in light of international law and Canada's involvement in its own territory. This lobbying session is available in English and French. In the area of providing lodgings for trafficked women, identified as an important element in the annual action plan, one religious order has temporarily agreed to take in these women in emergency cases. This keeps the dream alive of opening the first house in Montreal for women who are the victims of trafficking: a CATHII subcommittee is already hard at work on this. During the year, CATHII met with the staff of the International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR) to exchange information on our respective action plans. A person from each organization will liaise to ensure cooperation. CLESCATHII decided to join CLES, an organization to combat sexual exploitation set up in November 2004, since a large proportion of trafficking is closely related to sexual exploitation of women and children. Many women religious already involved in working with female victims of violence had developed a feminist analysis and were ready to join the ranks of this new coalition of CALACS, the World March of Women, the Collectif masculin contre le sexisme, the International Bureau for Children's Rights, researchers from the Université du Québec à Montréal and Abitibi, the Café Graffiti and the Journal de la Rue, the latter two having connections with prostitutes in a working-class neighbourhood. Among the members of CLES are two authors: Yolande Geadah and Richard Poulin, who have respectively published La prostitution, un métier comme un autre? (Prostitution: Just another profession?) and La mondialisation des industries du sexe (The Globalization of the Sex Trade). Trafficking women and children feeds domestic and international prostitution. We cannot work against trafficking in Montreal without taking the Canadian political context into consideration. A parliamentary subcommittee has just completed a cross-Canada consultation aimed at revising solicitation laws. At the same time, in May 2005, the organization STELLA organized Forum XXX, bringing prostitutes from several continents together in Montreal. They wished to be recognized as sex trade workers and called for the legalization of prostitution as the solution to the repression they experience. On May 16, CLES took advantage of this event to hold a press conference which was widely covered in the media. In its declaration of principles, CLES pointed out that "we believe that a world free of prostitution is possible, that the sex trade is profoundly sexist and racist, that it is founded on a lack of equality between men and women, between ethnic groups, between the rich and the poor and between the countries of the North and the South. No one is born a prostitute or a john.but some may become one or the other! Prostitution may not be a profession like any other.but we refuse repression, discrimination and the criminalization of prostitutes."(translation) CATHII and CLES are lobbying the government. CLES attended the hearings of the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws and presented its vision and its fear that legalizing prostitution would make it acceptable and thereby increase trafficking in women and children. Also, CATHII supports teams that visit elected officials to talk to them about trafficking and the need to protect the victims of trafficking, and to share their concerns about legalizing prostitution. At the same time, they draw attention to Bill C-49 tabled in the House of Commons by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Irwin Cotler, who wants to curb human trafficking. International partnersAs much as the United Nations affirms that there are more than 4 million trafficked women and children in the world, it is not easy to identify trafficked women in our communities. It requires a joint effort by research and action groups to act locally in Montreal, in Quebec and nationally. Trafficking has become such a global industry that even when we work locally, we inevitably find ourselves working with international partners. At the international level, CATHII works in conjunction with two NGOs that have advisory status on the UN's Economic and Social Council. The first is Unanima International, through the participation of four religious orders: The Sisters of Saint Anne, the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, the Sisters of Providence and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, who are members of both CATHII and Unanima International, a group of 12 religious orders present on five continents. Unanima International works with the United Nations on the issue of trafficking in women and children. There is also a CATHII member who belongs to the Franciscan family of congregations of men, women and laypeople, giving us a connection with Franciscans International. FI has 1 million members worldwide, including more than 5,000 in Quebec. FI has two offices near the main sites of the United Nations in New York and Geneva. For several years now, FI has been concerned about the problem of trade in women and children for economic or sexual exploitation and strives to combat it through the work of Franciscans around the world. As for the Daughters of Wisdom, trafficking in women and children is one of this international order's priorities. Our participation in CLES has brought us closer to women in the 53 countries of the World March of Women and has enabled us to enjoy the expertise of a number of contacts in countries resisting the legalization of prostitution, such as Gunilla Ekberg of Sweden. In addition, on May 26, CLES invited Indrani Sinha of India to give a talk on her work with the children of prostitutes since 1987. By working locally in different milieus, we end up acting globally. Céline Dubé, CND and Lise Gagnon, SNJM
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• Accueil de la section • Le Réseau de justice sociale • Le trafic des femmes et des enfants • |
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A network set up over the years
