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32
ebf
anti-
trafficking resource
book
ebf anti-trafficking resource book edited by european baptist federation anti-trafficking work group production and design timmer reklambyrå ab printed by solna offset ab copyright copyright södermalms baptist church baptist union of sweden ebf-bok g5 06-09-12 10 09 sida 2
ngos working in anti-trafficking as well as representatives of baptists in 29 countries
across europe we listened to first-hand accounts of those who are the victims of traf-
ficking we prayed and reflected on the scriptures and we helped one another to deter-
mine what part we as the ebf can play with others in countering this contemporary
evil trade in human beings we recognised that it is not enough just to feel moved by the plight of those who are
the victims of human trafficking we must do more to help our member unions face
this issue which perhaps has not been talked about so openly among them and we
must also seek to use the networking possibilities of the ebf and its communities right
across europe the ebf anti-trafficking group was set up to help us to do this we are very grate-
ful for their good work in preparing these materials and in establishing an ebf anti-
trafficking network on behalf of the ebf i commend these papers to you for study and discussion in
our unions and churches but much more important my prayer is that as european
baptists we will follow the tradition among us which will lead us to action on behalf
of the enslaved and the oppressed truly i tell you just as you did it to one of the least of my family you did it to me” matthew 25 40 tony peck
general secretary ebf
prague september 2006
introduction
tony peck
general secretary
european baptist federation
in the late eighteenth century in my home city of bristol england a young baptist
named william knibb became deeply challenged about the exploitation and injustice
of the african slave trade which was then accepted as normal by most of british society the baptist missionary society sent him to jamaica where many slaves were working
on british-owned sugar plantations wiliam knibb campaigned tirelessly for freedom
for the slaves and lived to see their final emancipation today he is remembered as a
national hero by the people of jamaica from then onwards there has been a baptist tradition sometimes a minority and
misunderstood one of working for the freedom of those bound by slavery and oppres-
sion perhaps the most famous example is usa baptist pastor martin luther king jr
who in the 1950s and 60s fought until his early and violent death for an end to racism
and injustice for the black men and women of the southern states of the usa in europe today we face another version of the evil of slavery the opening of
europe’s borders post-1989 has made possible human trafficking across the continent mainly of women and girls who leave their countries with the promise of a better life
and find themselves abused and forced into prostitution the strength of the european baptist federation is that it is a grass-roots movement
of baptist communities in almost every country in europe and particularly strong in
countries where many of these women originate but the ebf also has strong unions
in countries to which these women find themselves trafficked and then enslaved we are very grateful for the initiative of the swedish baptist union in bringing this
concern to the whole of our european baptist family we were encouraged by the atten-
dance at the ebf anti-trafficking consultation held in budapest hungary in april
2005 where we brought together government representatives senior executives of
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turned prayer into business the temple into a den of robbers ” now the word of god
also tells us that the bodies of his creatures are all potentially the temple of god and
whoever violates them will fall under god’s judgement don’t you know that you
yourselves are god’s temple and that god’s spirit lives in you if anyone destroys god’s
temple god will destroy him for god’s temple is sacred and you are that temple” romans 3 16 and elsewhere jesus tells us with the same severity if anyone causes one of these
little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him to have a large millstone
hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” matthew 18 6 the booklet that we present here is the first effort after the conference of budapest
of ebf counter trafficking efforts” 14-17 april 2005 to bring in a written form into the baptist churches in europe and the middle east the unheard voices of the victims of this criminal trafficking we as christians need to hear those voices we need to deepen our knowledge of
this widespread international phenomenon we need to create awareness in our churches
concerning what is going on in the streets of our countries or in thousands of hidden
apartments of our cities we need to reflect biblically on this theme and recognize our
prejudices we need to take seriously our responsibility to denounce the evil powers
who destroy human life and the dignity of so many women we need to overcome the
fear to act we need to fight in our respective countries for fair legislation which punishes
the perpetrators but protects the victims and we need to organize an efficient network
and work together in order to proclaim freedom to the prisoners” as jesus did the pages of this book may represent a humble instrument for a beginning in fulfil-
ling all these needs you will find in the book a proposal to the churches by lauran bethell internatio-
nal consultant on issues of trafficking and prostitution with international ministries abc usa to consider the importance and urgency for church involvement in the
anti-trafficking work elaine storkey one of the most experienced writers and speakers
in relating the christian gospel to contemporary culture offers a presentation of the
phenomenon of international trafficking and gives elements for a theology of human
personhood as a basis for christian mission today marion carson lecturer in new
testament and pastoral care international christian college in glasgow proposes
four bible studies useful for our congregations connected with our theme then you receive from sven-gunnar lidén chair of the ebf anti-trafficking work-
group an interesting word on trafficking from a male perspective which also contains
a sorrowful text for a confession of sin by the same author you can read an article on
research organized in sweden on the use of the internet in trafficking and prostitution then in order to give faces to numbers you can read four brief life stories of victims they are just examples of what is happening everyday in the actual lives of thousands
7
ebf anti-trafficking work group a humble tool for urgent needs by anna maffei general secretary baptist union of italy
chair of the external relations division of the european baptist federation when it was almost time for the jewish passover jesus went up to jerusalem in the
temple courts he found men selling cattle sheep and doves and others sitting at
tables exchanging money so he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the
temple area both sheep and cattle he scattered the coins of the money changers and
overturned their tables to those who sold doves he said get these out of here how dare you turn my father’s house into a market ” john 2 13-16 how dare you turn my father’s house into a market let’s reflect for a moment on these words turning god’s house into a market is a sin it is overturning god’s purpose for his house into something else alien to his will a market is a place where everything can be sold and bought where everything has a price a space where money is the centre jesus in the temple of jerusalem scattered
the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables an act of rebellion a
prophetic cry for truth today the entire world is often defined as a market ” the world market and the
lives of people seem all to be subjected in one way or the other to the strict laws of economy in this booklet which was prepared by the anti-trafficking workgroup of the
european baptist federation ebf we want to offer to the churches and to all the readers another point of view of the world and express a vibrant protest against the
impersonal merciless laws of supply and demand we propose that you have a look
into this special kind of market of human lives which is going on here in europe and
not only here but also in the general indifference of many christians and churches it will be a sad but necessary look we are talking of a special black market in which girls and women coming from different countries are deluded deceived deported sold and bought as sex slaves we
are talking of an enormous business organized to exploit and violate tens of thousands
of young lives bodies and souls the aim of all of this trafficking is to make money big money jesus called money mammon ” underlying in this way the idolatrous and
demonic character of money when a means to live becomes an aim and purpose for
power the treasure of one’s heart how dare you turn my father’s house into a market jesus expressed his deep indignation toward the profaners of god’s temple who 6
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as jesus did why churches should be involved in anti-trafficking
by lauran bethell
international consultant on the issues of trafficking and prostitution with international
ministries of the american baptist churches usa just then jesus’ disciples came they were astonished that he was speaking with a
samaritan woman ” john 4 27 why don’t you take care of the pastors’ daughters and the ‘good’ girls who deserve
your resources and care instead of the ‘bad’ girls ” said a prominent church leader and
member of my board to me just after i’d opened a shelter in thailand for victims of
trafficking and prostitution i was hurt stunned angry and at a loss for words i knew
this man as a person of great compassion and generosity and i had to realize that he
was simply expressing his own frustration at the lack of resources to meet the many
needs of the people who looked to him for care and leadership his question was valid why should we as christ’s body here on this earth get involved in situations which
are bad” ugly” dangerous” and seemingly hopeless” and my answer to my friend and board member was simply because jesus spent a
significant part of his time with those kinds” jesus only spent three years in ministry on this earth and i continue to be amazed
at how much of that limited time he spent with people that his society considered bad” ugly” dangerous” and hopeless” yes he also ministered to the masses the ordinary” people and to the leaders but he intentionally sat down at a well with a
samaritan jews always tried to avoid samaritans woman a good jewish man would
never be seen talking with a woman in public who was outcast she had to come to
the well alone in the heat of the day because she couldn’t mix with the other women
who came at more convenient times because of her sexual sins she had been married
five times and was living with a man she wasn’t married to so very culturally un-
acceptable and he carried on quite a sophisticated theological conversation with her offering her dignity and he gently confronted her with his knowledge about her sins he told me everything i have ever done” and she recognized jesus as the messiah and she became one of jesus’ first evangelists many samaritans believed in jesus
because of the woman’s testimony ” the disciples were astonished they had never
seen a man like this is jesus our example if your answer is yes” and you have chosen to radically commit yourself to follow
him then you can expect to encounter situations in which you could never have 9
of young women in the end of the booklet you have the brief description of two pro-
jects going on in sweden and in italy both projects are run in cooperation with other
governmental and non-governmental organizations attached to the swedish project
you can also find a concise presentation of the swedish law on prostitution finally as you can see at the back of the booklet there is a pocket with a leaflet where you have a list of the contact persons of a number of european baptist unions they are names and e-mail addresses of the people who constitute the first core of a
european network that the european baptist federation is building for the purpose of
countering trafficking and helping its young victims when driving at night in the suburbs of rome i happen to see beautiful young
women earning money for their pimps and persecutors when my eyes dare crossing
their sad eyes hidden behind masks of heavy make-up i ask myself where are the
christian churches where are my brothers and sisters where am i who should protect
the little ones” who christ loved so much what do we what do i do to stop this
horrific market what do we do to stop the trampling of these girls’ souls the destruc-
tion of their bodies the rape of their dignity the answer is simple i shake my head silently go on my way and reach home then
i try to forget and go to sleep is this what god wants from us from me this book has been printed for us to lose some sleep and stop we may find ourselves sharing jesus’ indignation for the profanation of the holy
temple of his spirit turned into a wretched market and after that we may start praying
for those girls we start wondering what is their name where they come from what is
their life story we realize we do not know them yet but god does and wants their salvation we know he loves them so much even to give his only son jesus our
saviour to rescue their life just as mine and while praying god may whisper to us
what to do where to start in order to fulfil his will christian faith has something serious to do with all this 8
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christians are called to simply show up and call upon god’s power and presence to
intervene 2 churches represent the body of christ on this earth and have the capacity to pro-
vide the kind of compassion and caring needed for the healing of victims of trafficking victims of trafficking have been deeply wounded and need to experience christ’s
unconditional love and acceptance to lead the way towards their healing christians
can provide that led and empowered by the holy spirit 3 churches are well-networked and can provide rapid information sharing amongst
each other it is essential in the anti-trafficking movement that many networks cooperate together when a trafficking situation is identified a well-informed network of churches can
facilitate contact with appropriate government organizations go and non-govern-
mental organizations ngo for intervention protection and prevention 4 churches represent people at the grass-roots” of our societies who are observant of
what is happening in their communities and who can identify situations of trafficking
if they are made aware of them if christians are willing to learn about who is at risk for trafficking and willing to look
for signs of victimization more rapid intervention would be possible and rapid inter-
vention can save lives from exploitation or further abuse 5 churches can be confident that jesus will be with them as their example and leader when they follow his call into anti-trafficking activities as they seek his guidance strength and wisdom jesus is our example rev dr lauran bethell serves as an international consultant on the issues of trafficking and prostitution
with international ministries of the american baptist churches usa she served in thailand as the
director of the new life center for 14 years and is now based in prague czech republic living at ibts 11
previously imagined yourself participating that was certainly my story and i’m sure
that the disciples never expected a life such as they had after committing themselves to
follow jesus and the most wonderful part about this following-jesus-life” is that
we’re never alone in it jesus through the holy spirit is with us in every encounter in
every moment and gives us the wisdom and courage to face situations that have few
formulas or blue-prints to guide us to solutions is jesus our example one of the messiest” of situations that we have in our world today involves the trafficking of human beings trafficking usually involves the most vulnerable in our
societies children impoverished women and men who need to support families those
who have been victims of childhood abuse and dysfunctional family and community
systems as soon as they become involved in a trafficking situation they become even
more vulnerable helpless and entrapped because of the threats and brutality of the traffickers often involving mafia-type organizations it seems like an overwhelming situation filled with impossible obstacles and diffi-
culties poverty extreme emotional wounds cultural stigmas organized crime and on and on and on why don’t we just focus our time and energy on the good girls”
instead of wasting our time and energy on the bad girls” the messy ugly uncomfort-
able issues of the trafficking in persons is jesus our example it’s becoming evident that god is calling the church to reach into the dark corners of
this world of trafficking in persons with light and love just as jesus walked into the
messy ugly uncomfortable situations of his time with his light and his love he risked
the judgment of his peers the hatred of the religious elite and the questioning of his
best friends but he knew that he was where he was supposed to be he went with nothing but compassion and caring he met the samaritan woman with a request for
a drink of water not with a requirement for immediate change he met her with respect
for her personhood and with the knowledge that she had been created in god’s image in great love and like jesus we too as his representatives on this earth can enter into
these uncertain situations knowing that the holy spirit will be with us giving us the
wisdom and courage we need to face the most challenging of situations so why should churches be involved in anti-trafficking 1 churches can draw upon the power of the holy spirit through prayer to intervene
in places of darkness and evil the presence and prayers of the faithful in places where the evil of trafficking
abounds can make a powerful difference god is at work in this world and many times
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connected to moral and spiritual implications beneath most theories there is a view of
human personhood that needs to be challenged from a christian point of view this
mechanistic model is against all the foundation of our education and theology john stott a british theologist says that we don’t need a new christian theology we need to use the one we have in the bible and from jesus christ it’s not a new start-
ing point it’s a new destination into new areas and new horizons we have eliminated
so much of this that our wings have been cut our theology have become something
private and only about ourselves stott argues for a fuller doctrine of god a fuller doctrine of human beings a fuller
doctrine of christ a fuller doctrine of salvation and a fuller doctrine of the church we
need to understand god as a god of justice as well as of justification it is a theology
of humanity justice and love for your neighbour theology for human personhood
in the story of creation it is all about sin and reconciliation god is the creator and
the two persons the human beings are doing the sin and destruction reconciliation
in this context is that sin is not the last word god has a specific feeling for his children
and bless them with his love we are also all of the same significance before god every
human being has the same value in his kingdom in the global context this is not so people are not of the same value in the economic model created by god everyone has a purpose and meaning as humans we are dependent
of god and also accountable to god for what we do we are also given freedom before
god to be able to respond to and worship god we are also under the divine owner-
ship of this world therefore is all slavery a crime against god himself we are the image of god we have the ability to make relationships make love show compassion and be creative every person born into this world need relations that
gives support and security we are interdependent of each other as communal beings we need some kind of intimacy we need to work created as we are to be creative work has a relationship to the creation of god and we are put in a bigger community
to be a part that grows with others trafficking is built on the opposite side it is fragmentizing humans and placing the
person outside the creation of god humanity and sin
the sin has many faces sin alienates people and cuts us away from god other people ourselves and all of creation the destruction of sin will tear down destroy and hurt
the image of god in us all the things that are good for us will be destroyed in this sin is also distortive it distorts and justifies lies and makes the truth to be con-
sidered a lie too sin is addictive it makes humans dependent and takes all of them
13
sociology & theology notes from a speech held at the budapest
counter trafficking conference 2005 by elaine storkey
wycliff-hall oxford uk
trafficking of people is always done in a global context based on a ‘mechanistic’ economic model in the 18th century men and women were being transported from
africa where labour was abundant and ‘in surplus’ to north america and the
caribbean where cheap labour was ‘needed’ workers were found to meet this demand
from poorer parts of the world they were transported to the areas in need that model is run by a push-pull situation of demand and supply when the need
was present pull the solution was to get new people into the system push the best
way was to find new workers among poorer areas and transport them around the
world this was the demand behind the slave trade for the cotton fields and sugar
canes the same model is now practised in the leisure industry and sex trade women and
children are forced into the sex industry normally they come from poor countries and
are given promises of big money the work they do is making huge profits not for
themselves but for their owners they are the cheapest workers and make the highest
profits what is wrong with this first the need of people is presented as something neutral mechanic and a natural economic transaction the model ignores the issue of moral
and ethics human beings are made into commodities things labour machines leisure
accessories this model also ignores that it violates the identity and the freedom of indi-
viduals to make their own choices it tells the person she’s a prostitute but what if she
wants to do something else what is her choice the model also ignores the ethics of power it creates an economic power that grows
through the exploitation of others and finally ends up as a global structure the relation-
ships between human beings get distorted it is an economically profit making system
that is really based on slavery throughout the 18th to the 20th centuries in the developed world we have had
many legal and constitutional changes including human rights charters protective
legislation for children and women and the protection of the courts yet the trafficking
of women and children has continued illegally on a global scale with relatively few prosecutions worldwide until it has grown to enormous proportions economical and social theories are not neutral they always rely on assumptions
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of the native peoples against exploitation and injustice by government and commercial
companies they played a very important part in the abolishing of forced labour in the
congo they waged war against widow burning infanticide and temple prostitution in
india missionaries have been fighting for the right of the people they come to there is a lot of material in the bible regarding warnings against injustice and war the
prophet’s view is found in jos 5 jos 58 hez 22 amos 5 in the gospel there are luke
giving good news to the poor in luke 4 maria’s song in luke 1 judging the exploitation
in luke 19 the poor widow is acknowledged in mark 12 the woman that anoints jesus
in luke 7 the feeding of the 5000 in matt 14 ‘proclaiming justice to the nations’ matt
12 isa the rich young ruler in matt 19 v 21 washing the disciples feet in john 12 most of the parables are about justice and how to treat poor people matthew 25 the
pharisees thinks they are believers but are self-centered and the actions of their faith are
not true are the workers in the vineyard in matthew 20 exploited or treated well the
unfair judge and the widow in luke 18 and her search for righteousness in the acts there is the first transformation of wealth in chapter 4 creation of deacons ch 5 the list can be made long of words in the scripture about taking care of the poor the oppressed where are we now we are at a crossroad in the global world we need to make way for the truth we are
carrying hope from christ to the broken-hearted and those suffering under injustices
and other’s sin we need to get conscious of structural sin and injustice for these traf-
ficked persons we need to get out of our own comfort there is a need for a bigger vision for the work against trafficking it is a rethinking
of being baptists what will it mean in this aspect of injustice we can stop our attitudes of judging and moralising and become a fellowship that
liberates sinners we can work together as christians over denominational borders we
can start co-operating with non-christian organizations which is hard but can be a
good thing we can use our buildings and material resources the church has a mission in working against trafficking called by god into this
world to be light of christ dr elaine storkey is one of the most experienced writers and speakers in relating the christian gospel
to contemporary culture she has a background in philosophy and sociology and has many years ex-
perience of teaching in the uk and overseas most recently with king’s college london for 7 years
she was the executive director of the london institute for contemporary christianity she is the uk
president of tear fund a vice president of the university of gloucestershire and a member of the crown
appointments commission her most recent publication with the university of salford addresses issues
of helping business leaders explore and apply christian ethics in their work elaine is a senior research
fellow at wycliffe hall a role which allows her to continue her valued wider ministry in writing broad-
casting research and public speaking 15
under the control of sin so will we lose our freedom and so is the sex industry able to
make humans become slaves under the power of sin the structural sin of power will corrupt justice and enslave others trafficking is one
kind of structural sin societal sin is growing within politics and commerce distortive things are seen as
normal and accustomed and it takes much more to brake what is not normal it deludes
and justifies the actions of the rich and powerful there is a need for redemption how can the lives of those who have been violated and harmed be redeemed by the
love of god how can unjust structures especially the trafficking of women and child-
ren be changed and those involved redeemed the answer can be found in the bible in josiah is the servant song 42 1-8 49 1-
7 50 4-11 52 13-53 1-12 it’s a song about a suffering servant god speaks to his
people about this servant god also gives the servant his credentials and god also spe-
aks to his servant in these passages it’s a matter of prestige he is called to be a servant but he shall bring justice to
nations and to rise what is oppressed his method is humility not shout or being bom-
bastic the characteristics of the servant are compassion gentleness care god is present with him the covenant is signed through him it is a light to the heathens who
shall free the captives compassion and love for those imprisoned and in darkness how can we reply to this servant our response to this as christians and church
must be in faith through worship prayer and sacrament that is the visual part of church mission and evangelism is two important aspects nurturing and disciple christians passing traditions to the next generation keeping separate from the world social action other things the european christianity has been involved in colonization and pietism through the
history it has worked together with power and with a strong emphasis on personal con-
viction but on the road of mission into new continents the work is also full of sacrifice against injustice exploitation of commerce james mckean transformed the life of northern thailand by eliminating its three
major curses smallpox malaria and leprosy wells and pure water often came through
the help of missionaries industrial schools were stressed through the 19th century and
industries were established in addition the missionaries were constantly the protectors
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assistance for return is one of the most difficult things to do well it is important
that the conditions for a safe return are guaranteed after the return comes the big process of reintegration trafficked persons are still in danger of being located by their
trafficker and being retrafficked reintegration often meets the rejection of the en-
vironment the assistance of reintegration includes the following categories of needs protection shelter emergency assistance and for basic needs socio-psychological assistance assistance for health problems social reintegration assistance for professional reintegration assistance for getting identity and other documents social intervention and assistance needs good and thorough preparation including a
clear understanding of social and legal conditions and the possibility to help you need
to stay and follow up the first initial initiative in order to be successful you may help
trafficked persons with some initial assistance but make sure that your resources allow
you to provide further help giving help to trafficked persons can be dangerous but
also tiring and frustrating minimize the risks without being paranoid try to assess the potential risks of any
kind of work the official address of the organization can very well be a well-known
name confidential information shall be shared with as few as possible there is a lot
of things voluntary workers can do to help but get to know them well before entrus-
ting them with work of sensitive nature take care of the well-being of you and your colleagues regular debriefing and pro-
fessional counselling are essential to avoid burn-out learn form others and network in the preventive work the churches have a lot of possibilities through networking
and cooperation a lot of young people can get help not to get caught by traffickers’ promises of a good life in another country read more in books written for church work by catnet christian action and
networking against trafficking in women you find a literature list at the end of this
booklet 17
what can we do by sven-gunnar lidén
minister at södermalms baptistchurch
coordinator of anti-trafficking work within the baptist union of sweden
chair of ebf anti-tafficking work group
all of the problems should not discourage us on the contrary choose to do one or
two things but do them well and in co-operation with others and you will be of great
help it is necessary to start with small concrete steps if you want to change the general
situation 1 reaching out to trafficked people is not easy they can be difficult to locate and
reach so use the signs you can get they are normally discovered in police raids so the
church should have good contacts with the police through information from neigh-
bours and clients hidden women and children can be collected 2 in the process of liberation they need assistance of five major categories a assistance to women who still work for their exploiter b assistance to women who are struggling to disentangle themselves from exploiters c assistance to those who have been rescued and suffer from physical and psychological consequences of mishandling and violence d assistance for return to their home country e assistance for reintegration helping women to free themselves from the trafficker is a very difficult and potentially
dangerous job women are afraid they are threatened and their families can be under
threat as well they can also be dependent upon their exploiter for psychological rea-
sons there is often good reason for these women to be afraid to return to their home
country but the possibility to stay is often also limited to return home is also to give
up the dream of a better life which is usually inextricably linked to a future in the recei-
ving country the assistance when freed is done through safety shelter restoring the physical and
psychological integrity first there is a need of an initial psychosocial assistance and
counselling and also for health problems and diseases there can also be problems
with addictions traffickers force women into alcohol and drug addiction in order to
keep them docile and under their control they can also need help to testify press charges etc the best is not to try to do it all by yourself but to enable the trafficked
person to get her or his rights recognised and her his voice heard in the process support during the judicial procedures includes legal assistance and psychological preparation for what they will face in the process 16
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thousands like her who have been tricked into believing that they will get a good job
and be able to care for their families jesus says whatever you did for one of the least
of these sisters of mine you did it for me ”
will we stand by and let the women and children suffer in this way who will minister
to christ by ministering to them who is willing to help women who have been traf-
ficked giving them shelter helping them back to their homes and to find alternative
employment questions for further discussion in response to christ’s demand that we cannot stand by and do nothing how can you as an individual or as a church minister to the least of these” think of practical ways you might serve jesus in this way what gifts do you have as a church which could be used to serve in this way prayer
lord jesus we hear your voice in this story we hear your call to us to care for the least of these” help us to obey your call help us to know how we can help women like tanya you are the way the truth and the life we pray that you will enable your church to embody your truth to show the way to those who have been in captivity and to give life to those who feel that they deserve to die in jesus’ name we pray amen luke 7 36-50
in this well-known story jesus is dining at a pharisee’s house a woman who is descri-
bed as a sinner” comes in and goes to where jesus is reclining he is lying on a couch facing the table with his feet easily accessible she weeps and kisses his feet which
become wet with her tears she wipes them with her hair and puts ointment on them the pharisee thinks to himself if jesus were a prophet he would know what kind of
woman this is and would certainly not allow her to touch him ” but jesus does not
prophesy in the way simon expects knowing what he is thinking jesus tells a story
which teaches that the more people are forgiven the more they love the woman may
be a sinner but she knows that her sins are forgiven and thus shows great love simon
has not shown such consideration let alone love who is this woman this sinner” she may be known as dishonest or simply as
someone who did not obey the religious and social norms of the day but simon’s 19
bible studies
by marion carson
phd lecturer in new testament and pastoral care international christian college in glasgow
matthew 25 31-46
in this passage which tells the story of the sheep and the goats” jesus speaks of the
end times when he will return with the angels and he will judge all the people of the
earth he uses a metaphor to describe two different kinds of people those who have
cared for others and those who have ignored those in need the first he calls the sheep” and the second he describes as goats” the sheep will be told that they are
blessed by the father and that they are to take their inheritance their rightful place in
the kingdom as children of god they are given this honour because they have fed and
clothed the needy given hospitality to strangers treated the sick and even visited those
in prison although they did not realise at the time that this was what they were doing jesus says that when they ministered to the least of these brothers of mine” they were
serving jesus himself the goats on the other hand are told that they are cursed and that they should
depart from him this verdict is given on the basis of what they have not done they
have ignored those in need around them pretending they did not see them and in so
doing they have failed to serve jesus christ the point of the story is easy to see those who serve the least of these” are serving
jesus himself and their reward will be eternal life in the kingdom of god those who
do not who live a selfish life with no care for others have no place in the kingdom no
place with the one they say they love most of all jesus christ the only real problem with the passage is the meaning of the least of these my brothers ” for some jesus is saying that we need only care for those who are believers those who are in the church but elsewhere jesus does not restrict his compassion to
those who believe in him the pattern of his ministry is that he reaches out to people
on the margins of society and teaches his disciples to do the same in our world today there are millions of people in slavery they are on the margins out of sight tanya is such a slave she is someone else’s property he has taken away
all her belongings as well as her freedom tanya relies on her master” for everything without him she cannot eat or drink he decides when she will work and when she will
not and she gets to keep no money for herself despite working every night in the brothel she has no voice her body is abused and she thinks of herself as a non-person an object for other people to use in the world’s terms and in tanya’s own mind she is the least of these” there are
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prayer
lord god thank you for the way you welcome sinners thank you for your great love for all men and women help us to be the church you want us to be help your people to reflect your compassion and glory forgive us for our wrong priorities forgive us when we are more concerned for ourselves than for others we pray for the help of the holy spirit to break down our fears and resistance and to show love for those who are different from us in jesus’ name we pray amen lamentations 1 1-11
but why should we reach out and help people like tanya one of thousands of girls who
walk the streets of our european cities and gets into cars and sleeps with many men
every night why should we get involved with people like her are we not called to be
holy and to live out of the world to be separate how are we to solve this dilemma if we get involved will we not soil ourselves bring impurity into our communities expose ourselves to danger and sin in lamentations chapter 1 we hear the voice of a person who is observing the affliction of jerusalem after the exile the city is like someone who has been grand once
but whose life has turned to ruin and has become a slave rather than a princess we do
not know who the speaker is but we hear that he believes this princess to be respon-
sible for her own fate the poem is about jerusalem after the exile and these first verses
speak of the suffering of a city which has come under the power of a foreign agency the story that is told and suffering described are those of many who are enslaved
today 1 the narrator of the poem says that jerusalem is now like a widow one who has
lost all hope and is wholly reliant on other people for her feeding and clothing in fact she is a slave she used to be a happy carefree girl pretty and people called her prin-
cess” 2 but now she cries herself to sleep every night because she has to work in a brot-
hel she has to have many lovers none of whom care for her the man she trusted once betrayed her 3 she is far away from her home and has no way to contact those who
love her her passport has been taken she is an exile unable to escape 4 noone will
celebrate her birthday noone sends her any birthday cards or christmas presents those who are left at home do not know where she is they do not know whether she
is alive or dead 5 she feels that the world is full of enemies that no one cares for her not only that people say that she has brought all this on herself she is nothing but a
sinner and deserves all that she gets she thinks of her children all the time and knows
21
concern for purity might suggest she is a prostitute someone whom the traditionally
religious people think unclean and likely to contaminate those who consider themselves
pure moreover her actions are suspect socially inappropriate and rather shocking it is one thing to wash a person’s feet but to wipe them with her hair and put ointment
on them is to go too far she is being much too familiar much too sensuous in her app-
roach her behaviour is bordering on the immoral perhaps if simon had been left in
charge of the situation she would have been thrown out of the house shouted at and
told not to come back but jesus accepts her gift of worship seeing beyond her repu-
tation and behaviour and into her heart many christians find it difficult to accept those whom they think of as sinners” and women who have been involved in prostitution suffer from a particular stigma they are often seen as dirty or morally depraved even those who like tanya have
been forced to work as prostitutes against their will they are shunned and despised pronounced disgusting” and not accepted in decent society but what if tanya came to your church how would you react to her what if her
behaviour and dress were considered inappropriate or she showed her love for jesus
in ways which did not fit in with your tradition would you shun her worried that
somehow she might contaminate the church community would you be able to see her
as someone loved by god see what jesus does in this story he accepts her extraordi-
nary expression of love despite the fact that it is socially inappropriate she may be a
sinner but so is everyone she may be impure but so are we all in different ways unlike simon jesus loves this woman and does not reject her he accepts her and her
expression of faith just as he accepts the pharisee with all his faults both simon and
the woman have the chance to learn from jesus the woman learns that she is accepted
and forgiven and that she may go in peace the pharisee learns that his sense of religious perfection is not so important as he might think not so important as true
worship and purity of the heart this story challenges us to accept the outsider as jesus accepted them and to make
room for those who do not seem to fit in the social norms tanya has been rejected and
used she needs acceptance and care questions to consider is your community prepared to welcome those whose behaviour may not fit in with the traditions of your group or whose reputations are not as pure” as you might like what are your christian priorities the respectability and safety of the community or welcoming sinners” 20
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window posing looking for customers but they do not think that a human being is
there she is becoming desperate unable to go on suffering in this way she thinks god
must be very angry with her to be punishing her in this terrible way it feels like she is
being burned with fire right through to her bones and if she tries to escape he seems
to put a net on the floor which trips her up god has abandoned her to her fate she is
exhausted crushed and there is no one to rescue her 16-19 when she is alone she cries but there is no one to comfort her she thought
she would be able to feed her children with what she earns but it is all taken away
from her and now her children are without their mother as well as being destitute but even as she dreams of returning home she is afraid her neighbours will know that
she is a whore they will say that she is dirty and that no one should have anything to
do with her she really believes that the lord is punishing her because she was rebellious she had looked for help to feed her children but she has been deceived and betrayed
by people she thought she could trust 20-22 she torments herself with guilt her pimp has told her that if she tries to
escape he will kill her but if she stays where she is she knows that she will die she feels
that she is dying inside like she has a black hole in her soul when she cries for help the pimp only laughs at her she wonders if one day justice might be done but in the
meantime she must accept the punishment she thinks god is dealing out to her and
feels that there is no hope questions for discussion what insights has this passage given you into the situation of trafficked women if a woman who had been trafficked were to come to you for help what needs might she have how would you help her how can we give her and the thousands like her hope in jesus do you as a church know where you could get help prayer
lord we pray for women like tanya we thank you that jesus understands her pain thank you that the scripture gives her pain a voice thank you that jesus too was despised and rejected we pray for the thousands like tanya we ask that you will set the captives free help us to help them in their brokenness help us to give her hope in jesus for his name’s sake amen 23
that she cannot see them or support them 6 who would recognise her now and who
is caring for her children 7 when she thinks of her family her heart is full of pain as long as she is away from them they are in captivity too she is broken brought low soiled people will say that she is filthy who knows what diseases she might have by
now she has even rejected herself she has to dance in a bar and then sleep with the cli-
ents she despises herself how did she end up like this she cries out to god lord please help me help me get away from the people who have enslaved me” 10 any money she earns is taken away from her and she is forced to sleep with
many men she had thought that she would be able to support her family but instead
she has only added to their suffering by bringing worry and shame to them no wonder
she asks the lord to help her for she is despised questions for discussion the writer of the poem describes a woman in great pain and suffering and thinks that her situation is due to past sin what is your attitude to people like tanya do you see her as a victim or as paying for her sin what would jesus do what does the group think of prostitution and prostitutes would you be prepared as a church to help care for someone like tanya prayer
heavenly father grant that we may know your mind that we may grow in our faith and have the wisdom which you promise if we only ask help us to serve help us to love to act with compassion in jesus’ name we ask this amen lamentations 1 12-22
in the second half of this poem the woman herself speaks let’s listen to the lament of
the captive read through these verses preferably aloud then read the commentary read through the passage again and try to hear the voice of thousands of women like
tanya 12-15 noone knows where this woman is many people pass by her window but
they do not know that she is there unable to escape or they pass by her figure in the
22
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the brothel owners want to create a demand for buying sex the market for selling sex
is becoming increasingly open it is advertised everywhere these images create desire
and a perceived need at one conference i attended a leader of a male group said that
when a man sees a naked woman his testosterone levels increase leading to an increa-
se in sexual desire at the same time the image becomes imprinted on his mind as a
strong memory it is difficult to escape such images in public areas and on tv in many
countries the message given to us men is even if you say no we know what you
really want ” how do men cope with this making our public areas free of such images would be
a good first step in the fight against trafficking and prostitution would it be possible can churches take action for example by refusing to buy from those companies which
use such advertisements how can men working within the police and social work with this stay free from
influence to see a lot of men earning a lot of money and freely use women is a temp-
ting situation how is the accountability system organised within these organizations a growing male network can break the old habits be of assistance for debriefing and
make other men accountable for their actions most men desire to get close to women’s bodies there are many different ways for
men to do this and the most common is the caring loving voluntary way in which
there is mutual give and take but men are sometimes using another way which is
force you take what you want and if she complains you hit her there is also the use
of ideological and even theological imposition men might even tell her it is god’s will
that she be subordinate and obeying and that he has all the right over her as the socio-
logist manuel castells writes behind all fundamentalism is the urge for power over
the nation the female body and religion this gets the man in power with free access
to what he wants yet another way is to use money to buy access to a female body for a short time prostitutes and trafficked women are cheap and easily accessed and the buyer does not
need to care about her afterwards this is said to be the oldest female work which
should legitimize the deed there is an argument that this is the only way some men for example those who have physical or mental disabilities can get sex it is said that
they need the opportunity to buy sexual pleasure if they are unable to form relation-
ships but this begs a very important question is sex a human right” is it a human
right” to be able to buy someone else’s body for my own relaxation such a right” is
not mentioned in the united nation’s declaration of human rights unlike the rights
not to be oppressed or enslaved but if sex is not a human right what is it what about
the bible apostle paul talks a lot of treating each other with love and dignity and not
to misuse any other being to buy sex from a woman is to violate that woman it is time for us men to say that
25
trafficking a male issue
by sven-gunnar lidén
one of two problems at the basis of human trafficking is the men who buy these
women for their own leisure the other is the situation and poverty of women in many
countries in order to combat trafficking it is necessary to tackle these areas this
article will raise some questions about men’s involvement and quiet support of sex as
a human right” it will also raise the question of whether men who buy sex should be
considered as committing a criminal act most men would agree that it is wrong for men to use women as slaves however as the market for women in prostitution differs from country to country and because
some women appear to voluntarily become prostitutes a debate has arisen within the
eu as to whether prostitution should be legalised or not there needs to be a debate
whether this is a kind of enslavement one first step is not to talk about voluntary”
prostitutes but to talk about prostitutes who do this consciously” there might still
be some kind of pressure behind the involvement of women into this most of the western world has reduced human beings to bodies which consume men and especially women must take care of their bodies and make them attractive this ethos focuses on training diet plastic surgery cosmetics and so on bodies are
big business and the sex industry is seen as part of that business the debate about
sexuality also reduces human beings to mere bodies something which can be bought
and sold the fact that human beings are spiritual is lost among the adverts which
encourage you to change your body for us to start talking of trafficking as a male issue
is also to start seeing ourselves as more than simply male bodies to be a spiritual man
is to accept that sex is more than a physical thing it is a spiritual issue in germany and holland it is legal to be a sex worker the motivation behind this
is the wellbeing of the prostitute who is given the status of ordinary” worker however in reality it is only the pimps and exploiters who gain on legalisation and the
easy access to prostitutes it is all about money and making it as quickly as possible in sweden it is forbidden to buy sex from another person one reason for the ban
is that experience has shown that prostitutes become victims of their past and are
exploited another is that most prostitutes and all trafficking is organised by criminal
networks any man who buys sex from another person is often becoming a part of the
criminal network supporting it financially by buying the illegal product so shall we
continue to watch men become involved in growing criminal networks by permitting
them easy access to girls and children or can we support the work that wants to make
all of this a criminal act 24
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we repent
for touching you in ways you did not want and which have inflicted deep wounds we repent
for making you go further sexually than you are comfortable with we repent
for believing that our money gives us the right to use you to degrade you violate
your boundaries and then making you pretend that you have enjoyed it we repent
for hitting you kicking you beating you and not stopping even when you beg for
mercy we repent too for abusing your children we repent
for raping you and violating your sexuality we repent
for believing that our sexual need for release is more important than all of your
needs especially your need for dignity we repent
for all these things we accept responsibility for what we have done and are sorry
for our actions we repent and ask your forgiveness prostitution and the internet
millions of hits are made on internet websites every day in fact we could get the
impression that the internet is overloaded with information this is certainly the case
when it comes to items linked to trafficking and prostitution a swedish project has been researching the internet to find out what is going on in
the world it has been organised by the social work department in the city of
stockholm with the cooperation of the police since its beginning researchers have
found 327 people linked to the selling of sexual services directly to sweden especially
stockholm the 272 girls and 55 men were mainly 17-30 years of age the average age
was 27 many of the girls had more than one advert posted on the internet they were
contactable by e-mail or by a cell phone number 73 came from outside sweden and
were non-swedish speaking while 21 were swedish-speaking but not swedish born 27
we have had enough of women being treated in this way recently i attended a conference in the united states on trafficking and prostitution there i heard many stories women from all over the world told us of their lives my frustration grew as i heard how men treat women on the final day of the confe-
rence we men decided to say something collectively some of the men wrote a state-
ment of repentance which was read out at morning prayer we could not take the place
of the perpetrators but we wanted to show the women that there are men who think
differently at this meeting we knelt before the women who gathered round us in a
prayer of forgiveness next to me stood a woman who had been staying in the room
next to mine in the conference centre she had never said hello” to me suddenly she
burst into tears for a moment we were joined together in her pain she told me after
this that for the first time in her life she felt really free she could find forgiveness to get
over her hate in the presence of another man and be free if any men reading this want to be seen as part of a male community which does not
see women as something to be used but instead wants to show respect and are prepared
to take responsibility in the work against trafficking and prostitution please send me
a note male repentance the international consultancy on ministry to women in prostitution
2 cor 3 16-18
but whenever anyone turns to the lord the veil is taken away now the lord is the
spirit and where the spirit of the lord is there is freedom and we who with unvei-
led faces all reflect the lord’s glory are being transformed into his likeness with ever
increasing glory which comes from the lord who is spirit we men repent for undressing you with our eyes for making sexual jokes and comments and de-
meaning who god created you to be we repent for not giving you a safe place to experience your feminine sexuality in its god-given
fullness and for not nurturing your femininity we repent for viewing pornography and seeing only body parts rather than a person with
thoughts feelings and dreams 26
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life stories
ildiko
ildiko is 35 years old her mother is raising ildiko’s teenage son by now she doesn’t
understand why she left him in the shop where she worked she met a man they talked
a lot and she wanted to spend more time with him the man did not hide how he earned
his wealth” for his love he asked love” in return but the woman lost her good sense
when she thought of the man like a crazy teenager she left her work child relatives
and friends behind because she wanted the love” of this man next day she was al-
ready selling herself on the side of the road but she could spend the night with her
lover sometimes occasionally when her co-workers or his official companion were
not with him after a while she also received some of his slaps and since she saw what
happened with her room-mate the bouquet of roses did not make her forget the second
beating next day she fled to the capital city with a client for a week she was hiding
in a friend’s office because she knew what would happen if the friends of the man
found her then they called a secret phone number full of fear she sat in a strange car
and could hardly say anything when she stepped into the shelter house she decided
beforehand that she would only need the security found there but she was touched by
the unexpected love she experienced on the first afternoon the unconditional love and
acceptance she had desired all of her life that she did not receive at home nor from all
the men that she could receive from god only today her life is his and ildiko works
so that other girls may find this unconditional love as well lujza lujza is 17 years old now and she is from a small village in eastern hungary she was
not even fifteen when she fell in love with a boy a few years older than her she ran away
from home because of him and they lived in a nearby town where the boy rented a flat
with his friends lujza became pregnant soon and she wanted to give birth to the child the problems started after the child was born money was scarce and the boy became
harsher and harsher with the girl once he asked a small favor” from lujza to help
them through their temporary financial problems this was the time she received her
first slap he asked this favor” more and more often and became ever harsher and
demanding lujza became a prostitute she wanted to flee but the boy and his friends
did not let her take the child with her one day she had to go for medical control with
the baby and this was her chance to flee from her boyfriend” she did not dare to go
home because the boy knew her parents’ address so she called a number that was ans-
wered by a reassuring voice she lives in the shelter ever since she is looking for a job
in the capital and a cheap flat where she could live with her child for a while 29
there are three types of advertisements 1 via chat-rooms or forums 2 portals which
feature a lot of girls and 3 individual homepages you will also find buyers chatting
about the girls they have seen and how to get them these men show little respect
towards the prostitutes the centre for all this is a server in the netherlands once you have accessed the
website you find a map of europe click on the country you want and you will be
given information about all the girls who are available in that country some girls will
come to your home at your request others go on tour” and are available in towns
and cities for a short time only a new phenomenon is web-cam sex” in which you
pay to watch a girl performing” in front of a web camera in this case client and girl
do not meet the internet is used for selling trafficked women and children in many places it is
highly unlikely that a girl from a poor country would be able to buy her own ticket to
sweden rent an apartment there have nude photographs taken of her set up a website
and present herself on it in swedish surely it is much more likely that there is a know-
ledgeable and wealthy organisation or pimp behind it all a major question for us is whether it would be possible for us to get in touch with
girls through the internet and offer them help or a way of escape servers can be traced so can owners of homepages the difficulty is that when the women are in countries
in which the selling of sex is legal there is little possibility to be able to prove a link
between a person and the trafficking business sometimes the internet has helped in investigations of trafficking it has been possible by using pictures of women advertised on the net to trace apartments used
and the trafficking network involved prosecutions have been made possible this way prostitution on the internet is growing pornography on the web is also increasing some lobbyists want this to be made normal” they say that this helps people to
improve their sex lives and that this is good for you for many men this already has
become a normal” part of life when travelling salesmen or others going away to stay in hotels during business travels the desire for company for the night is only five clicks” away most hotel offer
connection to internet and it is easy to find a girl in the town you stay in you don’t
even need to go out in the streets today the industry is starting to get into the cell phone market soon it will be possible to have photographs and movies of children girls and men downloaded into
your cell phone the people behind this want to make a lot of money and they know
how to exploit people who produce pornography they do earn a lot of money and ruin many lives in the process 28
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some projects
collaboration against trafficking in sweden 2005-2007
a project supported by eu-funding programme equal
according to the national criminal investigation department approximately 600
women and an unknown number of children are yearly transported to sweden for the
purpose of sexual exploitation even though trafficking has become an issue of political
priority much work still remains concerning development of methods for the collabo-
ration between authorities and organisations related to law enforcement as well as in
the work with victims of trafficking and concerning attitudinal change on a general level the baptist union of sweden represented by one church in the centre of stockholm has been involved in creating a big swedish project to meet this situation the project
has been financed through eu-funding and governmental support mostly given in
working hours of staff the project has focused on three problems 1 the insufficient collaboration and co-ordination between authorities and non-
governmental organisations ngos as regards law enforcement of traffickers pimps
and sex buyers as well as concerning the provision of dignified support and rehabilita-
tion to the women girls boys and men who are victims of trafficking to sweden 2 the insufficient and unsatisfactory support given to the individual woman girl boy
or man concerning accommodation social support rehabilitation employment and
possibilities to build another life 3 the need to work for attitudinal change in society concerning how women girls boys and men subjected to trafficking in human beings are seen and treated views on
prostitution and power relations between women and men girls and boys aim and goal
overall aim
the overall aim is that trafficking in human beings is reduced and that a dignified program for support and return is developed for those victims of the trade further-
more the partnership will collaborate transnationally with tratta no modelli inno-
vativi di informazione strategica nel contesto della trata from italy atvertu darba tirgu
sievetem from latvia and aspidda developmental partnership to promote equal
rights for trafficked persons in greece the collaboration between the four partner-
ships aims at increasing the awareness of trafficking in human beings the work on
changes in attitudes exchange of experiences and knowledge between authorities and
grass-root organisations exchange of policies praxis and instruments the work will
be carried out through the development of a moving exhibition it-based multimedia
31
anett
anett was 19 when men were already selling and buying her among each other now
she is 23 and she cannot deal with money when she has money she spends several
thousand forints per day on cosmetics and clothes she says that the streets have worn
her down and it takes more and more money to hide it she does not like to talk about
her work she only speaks about her ponces when she is mad when she remembers
how many times they beat her because she did not earn enough money she was working
on road six when one day after work she did not get off the truck but came to the capital fortunately the ponce did not remember which truck she travelled with so he
could not find her though he tried to track her down by car in the first days in the shelter she slept a lot but then she started to miss her phone and friends she did not
bring any clothes with her either she did not have money for cosmetics and when she
heard about respectful work and the money she could earn by it she just laughed she
could not handle the freedom that an ordinary life provides so she fled from the shelter
as well and went back to the streets she hopes that alone without a ponce she can save
up some money many share this hope but very few succeed dorine
dorine applied for a foreign well-payed job advertised in romania she was supposed
to work in a bar in italy but she found out too late that the milan night club was not
looking for waitresses since they took away her passport and documents she could not
flee at the border she had to smile because they threatened to kill her if she revealed
the purpose of the travel she never reached italy the ponces left her at their
hungarian friends to clear off an old debt as a twenty-year-old girl she worked in a
strangers flat one of her fellow workers gave her the phonenumber to a place where
they help girls like her now she doesn’t know what to do she does not dare to go
home because they may find her and it is also difficult to stay in the shelter without the
knowledge of the language and her official documents sometimes she thinks that she
should go to italy anyway because there might be places where they are really looking
for waitresses 30
ebf-bok g5 06-09-12 10 09 sida 30
swedish law on prostitution
factsheet
ministry of industry employment and communications april 2005
in sweden prostitution is regarded as an aspect of male violence against women and
children it is officially acknowledged as a form of exploitation of women and children
that constitutes a significant social problem which is harmful not only to the individual
prostituted woman or child but also to society at large the swedish government has long given priority to combating prostitution and traf-
ficking in human beings for sexual purposes this objective is an important part of
sweden’s goal of achieving equality between women and men at the national level as
well as internationally gender equality will remain unattainable as long as men buy sell and exploit women and children by prostituting them prostitution is a form of male violence against women
in the legislation on gross violation of a woman’s integrity kvinnofridslagstiftningen the swedish government and riksdag the parliament defined prostitution as a form
of male violence against women and children since january 1 1999 purchasing or
attempting to purchase sexual services has constituted a criminal offence punishable
by fines or up to six months imprisonment the women and children who are victims
of prostitution and trafficking do not risk any legal repercussions public support for
the law is widespread and growing according to opinion polls conducted by sifo an
opinion and social research consultancy firm on april 1 2005 the legislation pro-
hibiting the purchase of a sexual service was extended to include cases where the payment has been promised or made by someone else swedish penal code chapter 6 section 11 a person who in other cases than previously stated in this chapter obtains a casual
sexual relation in exchange for payment shall be sentenced for the purchase of a sexual
service to a fine or imprisonment for at most six months that which is stated in the
first section also applies if the payment has been promised or made by someone else ”
33
personal stories study visits in the respective countries workshops for exchange of
experiences and a final impact seminar in brussels project goals
there has been an opening of an exhibition about trafficking in gothenburg there will
also be a mobile exhibition that will be available for touring europe the collaboration
shall achieve changes in the attitudes and priorities among authorities and the civil
society including ngos church communions and culture institutions as well as at an
individual level through development of knowledge exchange of experiences develop-
ment of common strategies and a debate in the society as regards trafficking and its
structural economic and genderbased reasons and its consequences for the individual the collaboration between authorities non-governmental organisations nationally
and internationally will ensure the development of routines aiming at ensuring efficient
law enforcement as well as to offer persons of the trade an adequate and co-ordinated
support as well as the development of alternative income-opportunities for preventive
as well as rehabilitative purposes partners
kvinnoforum gender organisation hela människan multi-denominational and national organisation for diacony baltic fem creating enterprises for women the office of the public prosecutor the association male network the police authority in the county of västra götaland the museum of world cultures the city of stockholm caritas sweden the baptist union of sweden through södermalm’s baptist church a women protection shelter other organisations involved in the project
the swedish migration board the county administration of stockholm gothenburg and malmö the stockholm criminal police the prostitutiongroups of gothenburg and malmö the university of gothenburg 32
ebf-bok g5 06-09-12 10 09 sida 32
offices toilet facilities regional funding part of the agreement of the general
programme apq will finance furnishings personnel board and other expenses this
funding which will enable the project to operate for about three years is a response to
a policy of valuing people with a view to valuing the area clearly it is a new way of thinking which puts people and social concerns at the centre this way of thinking is very close to what we as believers mean by proclaim-
ing the gospel we are talking about taking action for the salvation and liberation of
the individual and society from evil organisations and from false cultures that generate
violence and that seriously harm the weakest members of society women and minors in this work or mission has been to make a specific baptist”contribution a com-
munity activity at a local level in other words this has meant that the management of
the project is carried out by a working committee made up of those associations which
are part of the project and chaired by the pastor of the local baptist church the most
important aspects of the project are therefore the people for whom the project was set
up women and minors a working network with a wide involvement of all those who
share the goals of the project and have signed the protocol agreement a joint admini-
stration of the project in a spirit of participation without delegating responsibility or
accepting privilege the personnel involved are all qualified there are three highly motivated and professionally trained social workers who have shown that they are capable of taking
full responsibility for the success of the project there is also a group of educators a
project like the one we are describing requires training skills meetings a clarification
of the methodology and the goal of the work carried out together and a definition of
the rules training therefore involves all those taking part workers voluntary workers representatives of associations the local government’s social workers psychologists lawyers the police and the management committee each member has their own role
within a common philosophy” free phone number within italy 800 11 59 60 enables women in need to
contact the operators the laws governing privacy prevent us from giving details of the work and of the case
history of the guests we can affirm though that violence against women is not a fabri-
cation and daily we come up against soliciting and international trafficking which is a
scourge that furthers prostitution finally i want to say that the safe house” began to function in october 2005 and
with the current funding the project is due to end in august 2007 for the moment the
time has been too short to highlight all the potential that has been invested in the preparation of the project as a church we have found ourselves running something for
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the project of the safe house in syracuse
promoter the baptist church
preaching the good news of salvation in jesus christ is the job of the church it is
hoped that this traditional expression is comprehensible to those who are church-goers but to be understood outside the walls of our churches the proclamation of the gospel
must be expressed as an act of liberation migrants women who are slaves to trafficking
for sexual exploitation and normal” people from western societies are all to different
degrees recipients of jesus christ’s message of liberation our baptist church in syracuse sicily was stimulated by these guidelines to become
part of a group which includes public bodies voluntary associations who provide assist-
ance to migrants seasonal workers romany gypsies women who are victims of violence within their families or are the object of trafficking among those operating
with us are the regional province of syracuse the syracuse local government associa-
tions working to combat violence and to enhance women’s culture médecins sans
frontières groups of lawyers trade unionists the local health service and catholic
parishes different agencies helped to produce orientation material in various languages emphasis was given to the subject of interculture and the specific value of each indi-
vidual whether italian or migrant man or woman a website was set up which offers
helpful information forms and advice in real time in a short time we became promoters of various key projects mainly at a local level for instance the aim of the event called plurality of voices for a new society 15 may
2005 was both to give prominence to and listen to testimonies and issues linked to
migration clandestine migration and the violence exacerbated by the harshness of the
law but also by the lawbreakers this was a unique opportunity for italians and migrants men and women representatives from the ministry of equal opportunities from the police force the province and from the local government from trade unions
and churches to discuss and listen to each other examining the issues which are crucial
for migrants housing health pension work contracts the reunion of families literacy
and schooling it was also a welcome chance to listen to ethnic music and to enjoy the
taste of exotic foods it was also a means of recognizing diversity the riches that everyone is able to bring to society so that it can be renewed in this network where the equal opportunity’s office plays a key role our church
was invited once more to be promoter of a special project designed to organise and run
a safe house” with a secret address for women and minors who are victims of violence twenty-three organisations including the province local government health services
and other associations are involved the province made available a building suitable
for 14 people with single and double bedrooms rooms for meetings and workshops 34
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37
which we were not prepared and it is only thanks to the work of the network that we
hope that it will be possible to conclude the project we hope that the project will not
finish but that it will be able to continue and that the experience that we have had until
now will be like yeast the seed for a new plant that like the kingdom of god matt 13 31 is able to welcome people from all parts of the world rev salvatore rapisarda
coordinator of the project and vicepresident of the baptist union of italy 36
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church material
churches in europe against trafficking in women conference of european churches
2003
christian action and networking against trafficking in women an action guide cat angel coalition global database governmental and non-governmental resources
providing trafficking victim assistance a list of partners around europe literature
there are a lot of books written about the subject of trafficking they can be found
in any internet bookstore like amazon com selling olga stories of human trafficking and resistance
by louisa waugh august 2006 trafficking and the global sex industry
by delila amir february 2006 what’s so amazing about grace
by peter yancy
working in the street
by ruth robb & marion carson
2005 report trafficking in persons report released by the office to monitor and
combat trafficking in persons
by us government june 3 2005 free to download at http www state gov g tip rls tiprpt 2005 2003 year book on illegal migration human smuggling and trafficking in central
and eastern europe www icmpd org movie
lilja 4-ever
swedish film about a victim from latvia coming to sweden it’s a fiction based on a
true story director lukas moodysson
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sources for more information
internet
qweb database in sweden published english www qweb se european council of churches cec-kek
www cec-kek org churches commission for migrants in europe ccme www cec-kek org ccmeeng ccmeindx htm
coatnet a catholic and protestant network in europe www coatnet org angel coalition based in the russian federation www angelcoalition org unesco
www unesco org unicef
www unicef org unhcr
www unhcr org amnesty international
www amnesty org anti slavery international
www antislavery org humantrafficking research and education www humantrafficking com
international organization for migration
www iom int international centre for migration policy development icmpd
www anti-trafficking net 38
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