Hidden In Plain Sight: The Engines That Drive Human Trafficking
A panel discussion and a performance by Girl Be Heard
NEW YORK, February 27, 2014 – The L.O.V.E.[1] Task Force onNon-Violent Living will present a panel discussion on human trafficking, “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Engines That Drive Human Trafficking,”during the 58th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58),onMarch 12, 2014at7 PMat the Church of the Holy Trinity, 316 East 88th Street.The discussion will be preceded by a drama, dance and song performance by Girl Be Heard.
Panelists participating in “Hidden in Plain Sight” will include: The Hon. Nana Oye Lithur, Minister forGender,Children and Social Protection ofthe Republic of Ghana; Ms. Linda Oalican, Co-founder, DamayanMigrantWorkersAssociation; Dr.Pam Rajput, Chairperson of the Government of India’s High LevelCommittee on the Status ofWomen; Ms.Deborah S. Sigmund,Founder/Director,Innocentsat Risk; Ms. Jessica GreerMorris, ExecutiveDirector of Girl BeHeard, a non-profit theatre company that brings stories of trafficking to light through performance; and Ms. Melanie Thompson, Performer/Writer, Girl Be Heard. Academy Award-winning actress Ms. MiraSorvino, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)Goodwill Ambassadorto Combat HumanTrafficking, has been invited to participate on the panel.The panel’s moderator will be Janelle T. Marshall, Esq.
The organizers of “Hidden in Plain Sight” believe that the theme of theupcoming CSW session – “The challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls” –as well as the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) themselves must directly address thehuman rights of victims of human trafficking."There is no better voice to activate MDG promises than that of a girl,” says Jessica Greer Morris, executive director of Girl Be Heard.“Giving a girl a stage to speak out for change is the first step in stopping the cycle of gender-based silence and violence for future generations."
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons notes that, overall, 27 per cent of detected victims are children. The average age of these victims is decreasing as the prevalence of child trafficking, particularly girls, has been increasing.”Each year over two million children are sold to the sex trade”according to conference panelist Deborah Sigmund, director of Innocents at Risk.“Children have actually become a commodity,".
This presentation is part of the L.O.V.E. series, “Non-violent Living: Made in the Image of God,” which addresses the myriad forms of interpersonal violence, prejudice, and oppression, especially violence against women and children world-wide. The L.O.V.E. Task Force seeks to promote a gentle and mutual sharing of our Creator’s call in non-violent actions for life in abundance, while providing healingjustice and inclusion for all. Founded and facilitated by The Rev. Dr. Victoria Jeanne Rollins, the L.O.V.E. Task Force on Non-Violent Living reaches across religious and secular dimensions towards an embracing, interdisciplinary community approach to ending all forms of interpersonal violence.
The Church of the Holy Trinity is a dynamic neighborhood Episcopal parish in the City of New York. It is a parish community that embraces all people, across the spectrum of cultural, ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, and class diversity, as full members of the household of God. Our Church is located onEast 88th Street, between First and Second Avenues. For more information about The Church of the Holy Trinity, please visit our website at
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION,please contact Yvonne O’Neal: by telephone to (860) 337-2340, or by e-mail to .
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[1] Liberate Ourselves, Value Everyone