Directions to Fordham University

By Car

From Upstate NY and Rockland County

NY State Thruway South to the Tappan Zee Bridge. Take Exit 8 onto Rt. 287 (Cross-Westchester Expressway). Take Exit 3

onto the Sprain Brook Parkway South (to NYC). Sprain Brook Parkway turns into the Bronx River Parkway. Take Exit 7W/

Fordham Rd. (US 1). Proceed west for approximately 1/4 mile. The New York Botanical Garden will be on your right. Stay

to the right, avoiding the underpass. At the light, turn right onto Southern Blvd / Dr. Theodore Kazimiroff Blvd. After 1/4

mile, turn left into the University.

From New England

Via I-95: Follow I-95 South to Exit 8C/Pelham Parkway West. Pass the exits to the Bronx River Parkway (the New York

Botanical Garden will be on your right), and stay to the right, avoiding the underpass. At the light, turn right onto

Southern Blvd. / Dr. Theodore Kazimiroff Blvd. After 1/4 mile, turn left at the light into the University.

From the George Washington Bridge

Off the bridge, take the exit for the Henry Hudson Parkway North (first exit from the Bridge). Follow the Henry Hudson Pkwy

North to Exit 24, Mosholu Parkway. Stay on the Mosholu Parkway to the end (the New York Botanical Garden will be in

front of you). Take a right onto Southern Boulevard. Fordham’s main entrance is at the third light. Turn right into campus.

From Long Island

Take the Whitestone Bridge to the Hutchinson River Parkway North. Exit at Pelham Parkway West. Follow Pelham

Parkway West for approximately 2 miles. Pass the exits to the Bronx River Parkway (Botanical Garden will be on your

right), and stay to the right, avoiding the underpass. At the light, turn right onto Southern Blvd / Dr. Theodore Kazimiroff

Blvd. After 1/4 mile, turn left into the University.

By Train

From Grand Central Terminal

Take the Metro-North Commuter Railroad to the Fordham Road Station stop. Exit left out of the train station. The Fordham

University Third Avenue gate will be a few steps ahead of you, on your left.

By Bus

For local bus service, take the Bx9, Bx12, Bx22, or Bx61 to the University.

By Subway

The D subway line stops at Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse, a few blocks from the University.

For further information, visit www.fordham.edu/directions.

The True Cost of the Low Price:

Labor Trafficking and Consumerism

Saturday, 24 March 2012 | 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

O’Keefe Commons | O’Hare Hall | Rose Hill Campus | Bronx, N.Y.

This holiday season, LifeWay Network, Inc. invites you to celebrate the opening of our new Safe House. The start of this Safe House is very exciting as housing options and direct services for survivors of human trafficking are very limited. We have a great many needs to fulfill in order to get everything up and running before the end of the year. This is where you can help. We have created a donation registry using a “Target List” found by clicking here. Please support the beginning of this project by viewing our donation registry. Items vary widely in price and all contributions, large and small, will be greatly appreciated. Best holiday wishes!

Religious Groups Fight Against Human Trafficking on American Soil

Contact: Janet Sassi
212-636-7577
fallersassi@fordham.edu

Rachel Lloyd. Photo by Michael Dames

More than 200 members of the religious and academic communities came together on March 26 at Fordham University to help combat local trafficking of girls for the sex trade.

“Human Trafficking of Young Women” was a joint effort between Fordham and the Coalition of Religious Congregations to Stop Trafficking of Persons (NY-CRC-STOP), a 5,000-strong collective of religious groups that advocate against a lucrative illegal business that lures vulnerable girls into a world of prostitution from which they may never escape.

In a keynote speech, Rachel Lloyd, founder and director of Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS), a grassroots organization that supports 1,000 female sex trafficking victims annually, said that the most critical task is to educate an American public that erroneously views young prostitutes as criminals, rather than victims.

“When we see children from Thailand who have been trafficked, we are sympathetic,” said Lloyd, who was herself coerced into the German sex trade industry as a teenager. “But here in the U.S. there is a sense that girls who are ‘working’ must choose that life because otherwise they would leave.

“You don’t have to be chained to a bed to feel that you can’t leave,” Lloyd said. “We need to teach people to apply the same dynamic to sex trafficking victims as they apply to [kidnap victims] Elizabeth Smart or Shawn Hornbeck. If girls feel like they can’t walk through that open door, they might as well be chained to a bed.”

Somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of girls and boys who end up in the sex trade have been sexually abused by a parent prior to recruitment, Lloyd said. Since approximately 98 percent of the girls and women that GEMS serves are minorities, she added, it is impossible to ignore class and race in the argument of trafficking.

“It is easy in this country to feel like everyone can succeed if they want, that America is the land of opportunity and that you can ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps,’” Lloyd said. “Oh, really? Is it the same for everybody? That hasn’t been my experience. Living in the Bronx looks very different than living in Lower Manhattan. We are in the same city, but we do not share the same options.”

Lloyd recounted the story of a 13-year-old girl who went with a pimp simply because he was nice enough to let her sit in the front of his big car. Another, said Lloyd, was coerced because the pimp took her to a Red Lobster—her first time at a restaurant.

“These things make the girls feel special, make them feel loved,” Lloyd said. “You have to ask what happened to that kid [at home] to make her feel that’s the best it ever gets.”

GEMS works closely with the New York court system to help young sex trade victims break out of the illegal business and start to rebuild their lives. In a panel discussion following the keynote, Queens Supreme Court Administrative Judge Fernando Camacho recalled seeing teenage offenders “crying, with lifeless eyes” come repeatedly before his court for 20-day sentences before going back to their pimps.

“Sixteen years old, seven arrests within a few months? One day I said, ‘Stop the madness.’”

Camacho began to work with GEMS to place the girls in emergency housing and get them counseling, a non-criminalizing approach that was already being administered for certain drug offenders and mental health offenders. Under the Safe Harbor Act signed by Gov. David Paterson in 2008, such emergency and social services treatments are now mandatory for children caught in prostitution.

“The way we had been dealing with these girls in the past as a criminal justice community failed miserably,” Camacho said. “I am hopeful that in the next ten [years] we will take it all the way, and that these kids will no longer be prosecuted criminally but be treated as they should have always been treated—as victims.”

Rose Mary Sullivan, C.N.D., recounted the STOP coalition’s role in supporting the Safe Harbor Act and the New York Anti-Trafficking Law, which passed in Albany in 2007. The law, which Sister Sullivan said can “serve in many ways as a model for other states,” created stiffer penalties for sex traffickers and increased penalties for patronizing prostitutes, among other things. She said it is one of the strongest anti-trafficking laws in the country.

The event was co-sponsored by Fordham’s Office of Alumni Relations, Office of Mission and Ministry, NY-CRC-STOP and LifeWay Network.

NEW YORK, March 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – After intense engagement with management on company human rights policies, ICCR members and shareholders were heartened by Delta Air Ways’ announcement last week that it had signed The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism (The Code). Pledging to educate its employees on ways to identify and report suspected incidents of human trafficking, Delta has taken an important step as the first U.S. carrier to sign The Code.

It is estimated that human trafficking, also known as modern day slavery, impacts over 27 million people annually, and as many as 2 million children. Kidnapped and often transported across international borders for the purposes of forced labor, the commercial sex trade or both, these children become hapless victims in a $32 billion black-market business that today remains largely underground.

To avoid becoming the unwitting facilitators of traffickers, hotel chains and airlines are being asked to scrutinize their operations. It is hoped that formal human rights policies including the education of employees will help authorities uncover traffickers and protect potential victims.

Led by Christian Brothers Investment Services, ICCR members recently launched a campaign to alert hotel chains and travelers and sponsors to the increased dangers of trafficking during large sporting events like the World Cup and the Super Bowl, which resulted in Carlson Hotels signing The Code.

SOURCE Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

October 2010-

Early last month, the popular online advertising service known as Craigslist replaced its adult services section with the word censored – due to the adult section’s possible implications in forced prostitution and human trafficking.  At first, some worried that the removal was not a permanent change but a temporary one in response to pressure from the Attorney Generals from seventeen states and various anti-trafficking groups.  Later, however, Craigslist confirmed that the adult services section would not return. 

However there is still concern that pimps and traffickers will simply post their ads in other sections of Craigslist or other classifieds sites which already offer ads of that kind and which are not as closely monitored as Craigslist.  There are other venues beside online sites – such as newspapers – that they can use to advertise.  Additionally, if these ads go underground, law enforcement could be impeded.  Finally, the Craigslist “adult services” section is still active in other countries.

            The CEO of Craigslist, Jim Buckmaster, complained that the attack on Craigslist was unjustified.  He feels that Craigslist was being unfairly targeted particularly because it is a highly visible company considered representative of the whole online advertising industry. Pressuring the company to remove its adult ads, he stated, strains the first amendment rights of free speech as well as the Communications Decency Act which protects web sites against lawsuits for content posted by users.  Mr. Buckmaster asserts that the company is trying to fight trafficking and examines all ads before they go on the web site.  In addition, Mr. Buckmaster argues that Craigslist should not bear the whole burden of the crime of trafficking.  First, Craigslist was not unique in its posting of these kinds of ads.  Second, a complex series of issues and problems leads to trafficking, and the advertising industry is not the only cause.  Mr. Buckmaster admits that these ads may help the business of trafficking, but the ads do not tell the whole story. 

            In 2008, Craigslist faced attacks over the news that Philip Markoff, a Boston medical student used Craigslist to find, rob and murder Julissa Brisman who had advertised in the “erotic services” section.  After Markoff committed suicide while awaiting trial, Craigslist renamed the section “adult services”.  Craigslist began a more thorough examination of ads and began to charge $10 for posting adult ads.  The money earned from these ads may add up to anywhere from $36 million to $44 million, according to the Advanced Interactive Media Group.  Then, in August of this year, a seventeen year-old-girl known as MC posted an advertisement in the Washington Post, claiming that ads posted on Craigslist led to her being trafficked.  A fellow victim known as AK also condemned Craigslist’s adult services ads.  At the end of August, seventeen State Attorney Generals, led by Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, sent a letter to Craigslist urging it to stop posting these ads because they enable traffickers to harm more women and children.   Various nonprofit advocacy groups, such as the Fair Fund and the Rebecca Project for Human Rights, also placed pressure on Craigslist.  

            Little more has happened since Craigslist removed “adult services” over a month ago.  Hopefully, its removal will deter many traffickers and protect those who are most vulnerable to trafficking.  The removal of this very public medium may greatly decrease opportunities for human trafficking.  Craigslist’s ubiquitous and highly visible position on the web made it more convenient for traffickers to find and use women and children.   Ernie Allen of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children asserts that anti-trafficking activists need to “follow the money” and “to destroy the business model” of human trafficking.  Although Mr. Buckmaster argued that Craigslist was unfairly judged due to its public nature, it is necessary to applaud Craigslist precisely because it brings the issue into the public arena in order to raise awareness.  Many hope that if a company as familiar and public as Craigslist would take the lead in fighting human trafficking by removing its adult services ads, other classified sites may follow suit.  However, if the sex industry is resilient enough, it will find other sites or means of advertising.  Craiglist may not be posting adult service ads but other companies may take advantage of its absence or diminished presence.  Those who pressured Craigslist about its adult ads agree that further action is required regarding these other sites.  Removing these ads from Craigslist may strike a large blow to the trafficking industry, but there is much work to be done, both in the advertising industry and in other spheres in order to fully combat this form of modern day slavery.

Update… On December 22, 2010, Craigslist ended all Adult Services worldwide.

The more people join this campaign spearheaded by AVAAZ.org, the more powerful the call will be. Please help spread the word. Send the link to friends and family, and post it on Facebook:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/hilton_sign_now/97.php?cl_tta_sign=d9050d4ccbe683b19ce956c09fbcb5fa

The speakers offered insights to the healing that can take place when a trafficked woman finds a place of safety to rebuild a shattered life. Terrasita Hinnegan, president of Dawn’s Place described how her multibed facility has helped many. Professor Greg Maney from Hofstra stated that the preliminary findings of his reseach team conclude that there is a great need for safe housing in the New York area. “These findings underscore the importance of establishing longer term safe housing programs,” Professor Maney said. Our Board President Marianne Mocarski’s remarks centered on the commitment of the LifeWay family to the end of human trafficking. And most sobering of all was when ‘Rosa Perez’ shared her survivor story. ”Now, I live for my son,” Rosa told the audience. ”My voice is the voice of all other women… you have the power to make the dreams of these women [come] true.”

Lastly, attendees enjoyed high tea in the Center’s beautiful rooms on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Photos by S. Mary Katherine Hamm

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Sister Joan shared with the audience the dual mission of Lifeway Network- to educate the general public about this form of modern day slavery and to provide safe welcoming housing for survivors of human trafficking.

The evening ended on a hopeful note as Sister Joan spoke of a recent encounter with a survivor who stated how having safe housing enabled her to feel safe and begin to heal.

On Sunday, October 25, LifeWay Network held an Autumn Tea at Our Lady of Grace Spiritual Center, Manhasset, N.Y. from 2:30 to 5 pm.

Approximately 76 men and women attended in support of LifeWay Network’s mission to end human trafficking. Those who came began the afternoon listening to a panel of well-informed and dedicated women, led by Joan Dawber, SC, Executive Director and Kati Hamm, SC, president of the corporation, as they described their efforts to network and collaborate with other agencies and organizations to raise awareness of trafficking and begin to take practical steps to provide both shelter and rehabilitation for victims-men, women and children of this global travesty. Their presentations were sobering, enlightening and hopeful on behalf of these voiceless thousands.

The tea which followed was an opportunity to forge connections with new people and enjoy one another’s company and, of course, enjoy the tea and sandwiches!

Thank you for all the organization and work which helped make both the event and cause more meaningful.

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Sister Joan addresses AAUW

Sister Joan Dawber, Executive Director of LifeWay Network, gave a presentation about the organization and its efforts in combating human trafficking for the American Association of University Women on Monday October 5, 2009 at the Garden City Library.

The presentation began with human trafficking terminology, putting an emphasis on the most important aspect of human trafficking, the exploitation of human beings.

Sister Joan provided the audience with the following facts:

The 2009 TIP (Trafficking In Persons) reports which comes from the State Dept., says, “Human Trafficking, in essence, is a modern-day form of slavery. It involves exploitation and forced servitude. To recognize and address all forms of human trafficking, the language used to discuss it should focus on the harsh reality of victims’ suffering and the horrific crimes of perpetrators”. So we speak then of human trafficking as modern day slavery. This broadens the understanding from merely “trade” (“bought” and sold”) to include the clear exploitation of human beings, day after day, for years on end.  “The clarity of language is important in creating effective legislation or policies to prosecute offenders and protect victims.” So we move the focus from merely the transaction aspects of a crime and more accurately described it as enslavement. The exploitation of people.  (UN Report Feb 2009)

AAUW members and non-members alike attended the presentation to learn about the tragedy of human trafficking

Sister Joan also provided current trafficking statistics (see “Trafficking Facts”) and then went on to inform the audience about legislation that has been passed on federal and state levels:

On the federal level, Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) came into force in 2000, it was reauthorized and strengthened in 2003, 2005, and 2008 to better server victims and hold perpetrators responsible.  TVPA is a comprehensive federal law, established to combat sever forms of trafficking. TVPA defines “severe forms of trafficking in persons” in two ways; sex trafficking and labor;

(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person is induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

(B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

In New York, in June 2007, due to a lot of hard work in letter writing by many, the anti-trafficking law was passed and came into effect on Nov. 1, 2007.

The Law:

• Criminalizes sex and labor trafficking
• Toughens penalties
• Establishes services for Victims.

An interagency Task Force was established. The Chairs of the Task force are Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and OTDS Office of Temporary Disabilities. (Duties: Collecting data to determine nature and extent, identify state, federal and local programs, collaborate to prevent trafficking and assist victims, develop protocols/collaboration, increase public awareness, training and evaluation, measure and evaluate progress) A report on this work was published in August 2008.

The evening ended with a question and answer period that further helped those in attendance appreciate the magnitude of the work that needs to be done and the suffering of human trafficking victims.

The Garden City News provided information about this presentation. Click to view.