Pope Francis has been calling special attention to the issue of Human Trafficking. In December he said "It's a disgrace" that people are treated "as objects, deceived, raped, often sold many times for different purposes and, in the end, killed or, in any case, physically and mentally damaged, ending up thrown away and abandoned."

 

Human trafficking is currently the second most profitable criminal activity and growing, including here in the Bay Area. Many in the Bay Area and Oakland are trafficked individuals for the sex trades or forced labor.  The numbers are staggering.

 

More people are enslaved today, 37 million worldwide, than at any time in history.  Human trafficking, a $32 billion business worldwide, trails only drug trafficking as a profitable criminal enterprise. The difference is that drugs are consumable; trafficked individuals can be exploited continually for criminal profit.

 

The Bay Area, due to the ports of Oakland and San Francisco, is a center for activity. Many of those trafficked are brought across international borders. However, many are transported short distances or even trafficked simply a few blocks from their homes.

 

Programs in the Diocese of Oakland focus on educating the general public including a cooperative effort among the Sisters of the Holy Family, Saint Vincent DePaul, and Deacons in the Diocese, with support from the Office of Social Justice in the Diocesan Chancery.  A series of presentations around the diocese are planned for the fall, 2014.