On February 9, 2016 the Group of Friends United Against Human Trafficking held an interactive discussion on the interdependence between the eradication of human trafficking and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.  See more information at Mercy Global Action  where Sisters of Mercy call for a radical shift in understanding and addressing Human Trafficking.  Good Shepherd collaborated in the statement made by Angela Reed.

The Good Shepherd Statement to the Commission on the Status of Women is published in the 6 languages of the UN and can be accessed HERE  The statement was endorsed by a number of other ECOSOC accredited organizations.  “Our organizations wishes to address the Commission on behalf of one group of women and girls who are extremely vulnerable to the denial of their human rights and are often excluded from conversations about rights and sustainability; that group is prostituted persons. We do applaud and support the recent development of networks of women who have successfully exited prostitution and who speak openly of the exploitative nature of prostitution, its stigmatization and consequent discrimination.”

As you will see we are collaborating with Mercy International co-hosting a paralle event together with Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH).   The event will take place on 17 March, 2016 and is entitled ‘No Random Act: Human Trafficking and the Interplay between Systemic Oppression and the Individual Life Course’.

A second side event is in partnership with our Mission partner Nancy Fritche Egan Monday March 21st, 2016.