Talitha Kum joins international campaign to reach human trafficking victims

By Vatican News staff reporter

On the occasion of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, marked on 30 July, Talitha Kum, a global umbrella network of religious sisters, allies and partners established in 2009 with the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), joins the international community committed against human trafficking.

The theme for 2023 is "Reach every victim of trafficking, Leave no One Behind".

Talitha Kum held an online Meeting on Human Trafficking on 28 July with young participants committed to combatting human trafficking, so that they could meet each other and share best practices and ideas.

A delegation from Talitha Kum International will also participate in the World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, on 1-6 August, and will perform outreach to raise awareness about human trafficking.

Talitha Kum recently presented its latest report, available in 5 languages on www.talithakum.info/it/report2022.

The report is rich in data, stories, testimonies and critical analyses, and details the last year of Talitha Kum's activity. The report also offers a working tool for all people committed against trafficking.

The report shows a phenomenal growth, qualitatively and quantitatively, in the areas of prevention, care for victims, access to justice, and networking.

Talitha Kum has grown into a network of networks that reaches 560,606 people worldwide. This represents an increase of 40% compared to 2021. Of these 560,606 people reached, 34,463 were victims or survivors, 442,276 benefited from prevention actions, and 83,867 were involved in networking, training and capacity-building activities.

Another highlight of Talitha Kum's strong collaboration with other religions or inter-faith-based groups is marked by its 31% growth in 2022, at the local, regional, and international levels, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

As an international initiative against human trafficking and exploitation, Talitha Kum promotes collaboration among networks organized at national, regional and continental levels, actively supporting victims, survivors and people at risk. The report reflects this multilevel structure and collects the contribution of all coordinations and members of the network.

According to Sister Abby Avelino, coordinator of Talitha Kum International, "The past year has been one of the most challenging due to many interrelated crises such as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, conflicts in many countries, like e.g. in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, the war in Ukraine which has caused distress for millions of people, and devastating natural disasters as consequences of climate change. All of these crises are having a direct impact on human trafficking worldwide. Furthermore, as we reflect upon the challenges of leadership transition and the complexity of the times we live in, we see that the Talitha Kum network remains committed to its mission, journeying with one another in caring for persons wounded by exploitation, and acting against trafficking of human beings. In spite of the challenges we have witnessed, members continue to respond to the Call to Action by caring, healing, empowering and being involved with the lives of victims and survivors, and populations that are at risk of trafficking and exploitation."

This year, the data analysis was supported by Prof. Giulio Guarini, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy); Prof. Ilaria De Benedetti, tenure track in Economic Statistics, University of Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy); Silvia Di Risio, student in Master Degree “Economics and Communication for Management and Innovation” - Sapienza University of Rome & University of Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy).

The report was produced by Talitha Kum in partnership with the Global Solidarity Fund.