Cluny News: October 2014

Thursday, October 2, 2014

August

Awareness :

The World's Children at Risk - Operation Cross Country VIII, the eighth enforcement action taking place in several US cities by a task force comprising of FBI field divisions and local law enforcement.
The Tahirih Justice Center, in testifying before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, calls for funding and a humanitarian response to the children currently crossing the southern border.
Online Epidemic Against Children - "Sextortion" is the online enticement of children which has no boundaries. Read about what is being done.

Advocacy :

New Screening Tool to Identify Trafficked Persons - a 30-topic questionnaire, created by the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera), is being used by victim service providers and law enforcement to identify victims.
'STOP' App Wins Hackathon Awards - At the 20th Annual Essence Festival in New Orleans, teams created apps that address problems facing the African American community. The STOP app is a valuable tool against sex trafficking.
Brazil: Smartphones Target Violence Against Women and Girls - Free app provides information and help to victims of violence against women. It includes a button to a 24-hour women's hotline.
Educational Materials for Teachers and Students - three-lesson curriculum for children to learn about child labor.
Texas Tasks Force Aids Educators -Manual for teachers and other education professionals, who will be facing potential victims, so they can recognize and understand human trafficking.

Action :

Franciscan Federation and Sisters of Charity respond to the evils of human trafficking.
ATEST (Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking) oppose amendments to the "Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008".

September

Awareness :

Pornography Fuels Demand by Men and Violence toward Women - "A growing number of experts are concerned with the way the entire country has accepted, and even embraced, pornography’s cultural infiltration."
Study: Commercial Impact of Underground Sexual Exploitation in Eight U.S. Cities
Demanding Justice for Minors - report identifies strategies to deter the demand for commercial sex.

Advocacy :

Recommendations from IMAGES (International Men and Gender Equality Survey) study identifies the influences in boys' lives that increase the likelihood of sexually violent behavior and how to counter those influences.

Action :

What You Can Do About Porn
Thank 'Google' for New Efforts to Protect Children - Google implements a "policy change that prohibits porno- graphic ads and ads directly linking to sexually explicit websites. "
More work needs to be done.
Romanian filmmaker produces 'Cutting Edge: The Child Sex Trade' exposing "how underage boys are preyed upon and trafficked to wealthy pedophile clients in the West."
New Educational Video on Human Trafficking produced by The Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI)
Survivors of Slavery: Modern-Day Slave Narratives - by author Laura Murphy
Study/Action Modules - The U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking (USCSAHT) Social Analysis Work Group is offering five newly-updated study/action modules available online.
'Facing the Monster: How One Person Can Fight Child Slavery' - one day symposium October 18th in Pennsylvania.
Land of Missing Children: The Rape Trade - 23-minute documentary about how teenage girls in India are trafficked.

Cluny News