STOP. Launch
Date: 19 December 2014
STOP. was officially introduced to the Hong Kong community through our Launch Event held on 28 November 2014.
During the event, Tony Read and Patsy Ho introduced STOP., our mission and goals, and shared our approach to help combat trafficking in Hong Kong, including the following two platforms:
The Stories Platform: We are collecting stories of or relating to victims of trafficking in Hong Kong. Lack of solid evidence and information regarding victims and how trafficking happens makes it difficult to address this hidden issue in our city. By collecting stories and publishing them, we hope to open the eyes of the public, the government, NGOS and other response organizations to the prevalence of and on how trafficking happens in order to improve how we combat trafficking and support victims in Hong Kong.
The Network Platform: To make the Stories Platform and any other future efforts effective, we want to assist all organizations in Hong Kong with an interest in stopping trafficking to find a clear picture of their respective roles, so that a) duplication is minimized, b) referrals are made easy, and c) persons wishing to seek help or information could be easily directed to the right organization. We sincerely hope that this will help all our partners to make their work more effective and be able to focus resources on necessary issues.
The introduction to STOP. was followed by a panel discussion facilitated by Tony Read and consisting of panelists: Sister Juliana Devoy of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Macau; Phoebe Lam, a social worker in Hong Kong; and Patsy Ho, a Human Rights Lawyer with Daly Associates and a member of our leadership team. Key discussion points that came from the panel included that:
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Macau is ahead of Hong Kong in the fight against human trafficking, including strong government support, awareness campaigns including poster campaigns at schools, and new laws enacted
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In Hong Kong, little support is currently given to victims of trafficking
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Our laws are ineffective to address the root cause or trafficking by targeting the wrong people within the supply chain, and also with few prosecutions.
“I love the thoughtful and different approach STOP. is taking to address the issue of human trafficking in Hong Kong,” said an attendee. Another attendee commented, “It was eye opening to hear the different views of trafficking in our city from the panelist speakers.”
The launch event wasn’t all work and no play — attendees also enjoyed musical performances by Mara Measor and Kevin Kaho Tsui, and a bazaar with booths hosted by Sons & Daughters (www.sonsanddaughters.org.hk), Eden Ministry (www.edenministry.org), The Mustard Seed Workshop (www.themustardseedworkshop.com), Emi and Eve (www.emiandeve.com/
www.globus-wine.com) and PhatRice (www.phatrice.com).
All in all, a great event and we thank everyone who contributed and participated in making the evening a success.
Special thanks to our sponsors Cellarmasters Wines, The Beatitudes and Jouer for sponsoring wine and catering at the event.
For those interested to help combat trafficking in Hong Kong, there are a number of ways to support us:
Stories platform: Send us stories of victims and we can help give them a voice through publishing.
Network platform: Support the work of external organization in it’s projects against trafficking.
Share: Let us know your ideas to stop trafficking.
Donate: Help fund our work and future projects.
Contact us at info@stophk.org.
Resource: The Vulnerability Report: Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region
Date: 19 December 2014
This report presents an overview of the findings of an extensive regional study conducted by World Vision in communities in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam on knowledge, attitudes and practices related to trafficking in persons, with a specific focus on the vulnerability of migrant populations.
Click here to read the report.
Churches key to combating slavery across the world
Date: 15 December 2014
Source: BBC
Karen Bradley, the Home Office Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime, says churches are a key partner on this issue for the police and prosecutors because of their worldwide network.
Click here to read the full story.
Resource: Corporations: What can you do?
Date: 19 December 2014
Source: The Mekong Club
The Mekong Club is a not-for-profit organization in Asia using a ‘business-to-business’ approach to fight slavery. Find out more about what corporations can do to fight against human trafficking.
Click here to read more.
Asia: Serbia dismantles human trafficking ring
Date: 19 December 2014
Source: Press TV
Serbian authorities have arrested nearly 50 people allegedly involved in a human trafficking ring that took immigrants from Asian countries to the European Union.
Click here to read the full story.
7 Trafficking survivors who will help you understand the importance of International Migrants Day
Date: 18 December 2014
Source: World Vision International
An estimated 3 to 5 million people from Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam leave home to work. In many cases, the work is not what was promised. Read the stories of 7 trafficking survivors who worked in 7 different industries.
Click here to read the full story.
Ziteng Statement on the 12th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Date: 17 December 2014
Source: Ziteng
An activist group working on behalf of sex workers in Hong Kong and China has issued a statement publishing some data and results from a study regarding sex workers.
Click here to read the full statement.
Mainland sex workers in Hong Kong seek money, travel and tend to be married with children
Date: 14 December 2014
Source: SCMP
A year-long study of 344 sex workers from Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen provide statistics including demographics of sex workers and the number of arrests over the past 4 years.
Click here to read the full story.
Scotland: Human trafficking: Offenders face life imprisonment
Date: 12 December 2014
Source: BBC
People who carry out human trafficking in Scotland could face life imprisonment under new legislation to tackle the problem.
Click here to read the full story.
Canada: Few charged with human trafficking end up behind bars
Date: 12 December 2014
Source: Calgary Sun
Alliance Against Modern Slavery, a Canadian non-profit advocacy group, highlights the low success rate for convictions for trafficking in Canada citing reasons such as lack of police resources and judges who aren’t aware of the subtleties of sex trafficking.
Click here to read the full story.