Human Trafficking

More than two months after 5-year-old Loan Peña went missing in the northeastern Argentina town of Nueve de Julio, the church continues to promote marches to demand his captors release him.

Nigeria has remained a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa, but a network of Catholic Sisters of St. Louis at the Bakhita Empowerment center, a safehouse in Lagos, is determined to change that.

As the nation marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Jan. 11, women religious in the U.S. are combating modern slavery with prayer and education.

Human trafficking is at a global high, with many victims often hiding in plain sight. January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and steps can be taken by bystanders to help.

The pope’s message for International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, observed Feb. 8, was directed to young people.

Experts differ over the Super Bowl’s impact on human trafficking, but overall data shows that the problem has risen sharply across the globe. 

Armed gangs are terrorizing poor areas of Port-au-Prince, and cholera has made its way back to the Caribbean nation as the gangs have blocked access to the main fuel terminal, preventing hospitals and water purification plants from operating normally.

Archbishop Caccia called for “a global convention on crimes against humanity,” which he said would indeed further strengthen the current framework of international humanitarian law, international criminal law and human rights law.”