Slight increase in human trafficking and slavery during pandemic as Catholic NGOs reach out
Vatican News – Reports from various parts of the Catholic world received by the Vatican's Migrants and Refugees Section indicate that human trafficking and slavery are continuing, perhaps even growing, under the Covid-19 lockdown.
Amid the Covid-19 restrictions, Catholic groups are continuing to reach out to the vulnerable. The international network against human trafficking of people, Talitha Kum, has noted an exponential increase in numbers of vulnerable people.
Speaking to Vatican News, Sister Gabriella Bottani, the organisation’s international coordinator, said that they are particularly focused on groups with a high risk of being trafficked, especially in rural areas, refugee camps and city slums.
In North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is providing vocational training and income-generating activities to help displaced women improve their livelihoods and reach self-sufficiency, Vatican News noted.
As the restrictions came into force after the pandemic broke out, in many cases Christians were targeted on a religious basis or excluded from distributing food aid.
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