The Kahupayan Pastoral Care & Counseling Center in Dumaguete City is calling for an end to human trafficking as it noted the increasing number of females in the country and worldwide being forced into various forms of labor against their will.
Atty. Florence Tangente, who heads the Dumaguete Kahupayan Center that caters to abused women and girls, said on Thursday in a statement that “each one of us is called to help curtail the reality of abuses happening in our own country and in our neighborhood”.
Tangente said the fight against human trafficking must start from the local communities.
“Let us start in our City. Make our women aware not to be victimized by those who are doing it for business or for their own criminal minds,” she stressed.
Citing a recent report, Tangente said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has asked dioceses, parishes, and church-based organizations to help in the fight against human trafficking.
The Kahupayan Center, which will be formally launched on Feb. 14, is under the auspices of the Diocese of Dumaguete, headed by Bishop Julito Cortes.
According to her, the report said there are an estimated 10 million Filipinos who work abroad, and “a significant number of these migrant workers are subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor — predominantly via debt bondage”.
A 2016 Trafficking in Persons report identified the Philippines as a source country “and to a lesser extent, a destination and transit country for men, women and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor,” she added.
“The Dumaguete Kahupayan Center can be a solace for those who have been victims of abuses of sexual exploitation, domestic violence, child trafficking, prostitution and the like,”Tangente explained.
On Wednesday evening, the Kahupayan Center held a simple ceremony in observance of the International Day of Prayer & Awareness against Human Trafficking.
Kahupayan Center volunteers offered prayers and petitions and lit candles for the victims of human trafficking as each one also made a commitment to serve in whatever way possible the clients who would come for counseling and other forms of assistance.
The celebration of the International Day of Prayer & Awareness against Human Trafficking falls on the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, who was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery in Sudan and Italy.
St. Bakhita became a Canossian nun after she was freed from bondage, and dedicated her life to sharing her testament of deliverance from slavery, and comforting the poor and suffering.
“We are here to help you. [Come] see us. Tell us your story,” urged Tangente. (PNA/JFP)
