The L.O.V.E.[1]  Task Force on Non-Violent Living will present a panel discussion on human trafficking, “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Engines That Drive Human Trafficking,” during the 58^th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58), on March 12, 2014 at 7 PM at the Church of the Holy Trinity, 316 East 88^th Street. The discussion will be preceded by a drama, dance and song performance by Girl Be Heard.

Panelists participating in “Hidden in Plain Sight” will include: The Hon. Nana Oye Lithur, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection of the Republic of Ghana; Ms. Linda Oalican, Co-founder, Damayan Migrant Workers Association; Dr. Pam Rajput, Chairperson of the Government of India’s High Level Committee on the Status of Women; Ms. Deborah S. Sigmund, Founder/Director, Innocents at Risk; Ms. Jessica Greer Morris, Executive Director of Girl Be Heard, a non-profit theatre company that brings stories of trafficking to light through performance; and Ms. Melanie Thompson, Performer/Writer, Girl Be Heard.

Academy Award-winning actress Ms. Mira Sorvino, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking, has been invited to participate on the panel. The panel’s moderator will be Janelle T. Marshall, Esq.

The organisers of “Hidden in Plain Sight” believe that the theme of the current CSW session The challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls as well as the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) themselves must directly address the human rights of victims of human trafficking.

"There is no better voice to activate MDG promises than that of a girl,” says Jessica Greer Morris, executive director of Girl Be Heard. “Giving a girl a stage to speak out for change is the first step in stopping the cycle of gender-based silence and violence for future generations."  

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons notes that, overall, 27 per cent of detected victims are children. The average age of these victims is decreasing as the prevalence of child trafficking, particularly girls, has been increasing.

”Each year over two million children are sold to the sex trade” according to conference panelist Deborah Sigmund, director of Innocents at Risk. “Children have actually become a commodity,".

This presentation is part of the L.O.V.E. series, “Non-violent Living: Made in the Image of God,” which addresses the myriad forms of interpersonal violence, prejudice, and oppression, especially violence against women and children world-wide. The L.O.V.E. Task Force seeks to promote a gentle and mutual sharing of our Creator’s call in non-violent actions for life in abundance, while providing healing justice and inclusion for all. Founded and facilitated by The Rev. Dr. Victoria Jeanne Rollins, the L.O.V.E. Task Force on Non-Violent Living reaches across religious and secular dimensions towards an embracing, interdisciplinary community approach to ending all forms of interpersonal violence. 

Notes:

• The Church of the Holy Trinity is a dynamic neighborhood Episcopal parish in the City of New York.  It is a parish community that embraces all people, across the spectrum of cultural, ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, and class diversity, as full members of the household of God. Our Church is located on East 88th Street, between First and Second Avenues. For more information about The Church of the Holy Trinity, please visit our website at http://www.holytrinity-nyc.org/.
• For additional information contact Yvonne O’Neal at nonviolentliving88@gmail.com.