Saying awareness is the key to prevention, Sister Virginia Dennehy, RSCJ, shed some light on sex trafficking, an issue of growing concern in the Chicago area and across the United States, during an informative, interactive Brown Bag Lunch presentation at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart Dec.17.
Dennehy, a past Woodlands Academy head of school, currently works with trafficking survivors in the San Francisco area at one safe house (Freedom House) while serving as vice chair of the board governing a second safe house for minors, which opened this past fall. Her efforts also have led to the creation of new protocols for police and other first responders who may encounter victims in that area – especially minors ages 12-17.
It is estimated that at least 100,000 U.S. children are induced into the commercial sex trade every year in the United States. Dennehy believes the reason there seems to be more of it now is an increased awareness of the problem. She told the many students in attendance that human trafficking is not confined to foreign countries or urban areas of the U.S. “It can happen in places like this – to good girls making good grades in good schools,” she said.
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The program featured a video in which such a girl describes just how she became victimized by one of the most common inducement scenarios – an older boyfriend offering an exciting new life and ways to make lots of money away from family and friends.
After viewing this powerful first-hand account, the Woodlands students were asked to silently reflect upon what they’d seen and heard and then share their thoughts with one another. The reactions included:
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· Confusion: Why wasn’t the victim suspicious about the motives behind all she was being offered?
· Disgust: Such perpetrators have no respect for the human life of their victims.
· Shock: at how easily the victim was enticed by all that she was offered.
Along with the increased awareness they now had, students expressed the belief that another preventative measure would be improving a girl’s self-esteem. To which Dennehy responded, “That’s why you’re here at Woodlands.”
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Founded in 1858, Woodlands Academy is an independent Catholic college preparatory day and boarding high school for young women, and part of a worldwide network of Sacred Heart Schools that spans 19 cities in the United States and 44 countries around the world. A nonprofit, Woodlands Academy’s identity is rooted in Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat’s desire to inspire young hearts and minds to excel, to lead lives of integrity and to serve. For more information about Woodlands Academy, please visit www.woodlandsacademy.org
