Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

Strategic collaboration, particularly with law enforcement monitoring online crimes, is essential in combating human trafficking, according to the head of an international network of religious orders and partners against trafficking.

“New challenges in preventing and combating human trafficking affecting children have emerged,” said Maryknoll Sister Abby Avelino, international coordinator for the international network Talitha Kum. She noted that traffickers are increasingly using the Internet “to advertise and sell children online for sexual exploitation and to distribute child sexual abuse material.”

The Global Slavery Index 2023 report highlights another concerning trend: "orphanage trafficking," where children are recruited into private, donor-funded residential care facilities with minimal government oversight and exploited for profit. Sister Avelino addressed this issue in an article published in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, on July 29.

July 30 marks the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, sponsored by the United Nations. This year’s focus was on children. According to the U.N.’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, one in three victims of human trafficking globally is a child, with a disproportionate number being girls. Children are also twice as likely as adults to face violence during trafficking.

“Amid overlapping crises such as armed conflicts, pandemics, economic hardships and environmental challenges, children are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking,” stated the report. It further emphasized that “the proliferation of online platforms poses additional risks as children often connect to these sites without adequate safeguards.” Traffickers exploit these platforms to recruit and exploit children while evading detection.

Sister Avelino wrote that Talitha Kum joins the annual U.N. campaign every July 30 “to help protect children and prevent them from falling into human trafficking.” She highlighted various forms of child trafficking including forced labor, forced marriage, criminality or begging, illegal adoption, and online sexual abuse.

Given these ongoing challenges affecting children, she stressed the need for strategic collaboration with law enforcement agencies skilled in combating technology-facilitated human trafficking by monitoring online platforms.

“It is a call for urgent action to protect vulnerable groups, especially children,” she wrote while encouraging people to learn more about Talitha Kum’s work through its new app “Walking in Dignity.”

Founded 15 years ago and based in Rome, Talitha Kum supports training programs aimed at preventing trafficking and raising awareness among vulnerable groups such as women, girls, migrants and refugees. In 2023 alone more than 623,000 people participated in their prevention campaigns.

“Many victims and survivors remind us of the need to create norms that support men’s and women’s flourishing as individuals and community members but above all promote a culture of dignity,” concluded Sister Avelino.