By Amber Edwards

During Women’s History Month members of the Girls v Trafficking Club at St. Joseph H.S., Downtown Brooklyn, made their way to one of the sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The students deepened their own awareness and heightened that of others on human rights issues, particularly those of women and children.

Working with ECPAT-USA, an NGO at the UN, students are committed to strengthening the voices of young people. As president of club, I served on the session’s panel sharing the steps the St. Joseph community is taking in regards to human trafficking.

Throughout the year Girls v Trafficking educates the school community to take the lead in anti-human trafficking efforts using the Youth Against Child Trafficking program. This resource involves the larger community in advocating against sexual exploitation and trafficking. In empowering their peers, the Girls v Trafficking Club educates others to the facts, misconceptions and risks of trafficking. This education enables young people to identify the warning signs and ways to protect themselves and their peers.

On the 2014 International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, Pope Francis stated: “Every human being, man, woman, boy and girl, is made in God’s image. God is the love and freedom that is given in interpersonal relationships, and every human being is a free person destined to live for the good of others in equality and fraternity. Every person, and all people, are equal and must be accorded the same freedom and the same dignity. Any discriminatory relationship that does not respect the fundamental conviction that others are equal is a crime, and frequently an aberrant crime.

“Therefore, we declare on each and every one of our creeds that modern slavery, in terms of human trafficking, forced labor and prostitution, and organ trafficking, is a crime against humanity. Its victims are from all walks of life, but are most frequently among the poorest and most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters. On behalf of all of them, our communities of faith are called to reject, without exception, any systematic deprivation of individual freedom for the purposes of personal or commercial exploitation; in their name, we make this declaration.”

At St. Joseph H.S., we are committed to use our voices and take the necessary action that is necessary to eradicate all forms of slavery.

Edwards is a senior at St. Joseph H.S.