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ITALY - Rome
Sisters Against Slavery; the Hahns in Rome
Missionaries Take Women off the Streets
By Irene Lagan
ROME, MARCH 29, 2007 (
Zenit.org).- There is a side to the Eternal City that most of us are loathe
to acknowledge.
Passing through certain parts of Rome and its
surroundings, one is likely to see women -- or often, girls -- lining the
streets. Via Guilia is one such street known for prostitution, but there are
others.
To much of the world, these women and girls are mere
prostitutes, but to Sister Eugenia Bonetti, they are victims of the most
dehumanizing and crippling type of slavery.
Sister Eugenia, who is also
the head of the Italian Union of Major Superiors, was recently presented with
the Woman of Courage award by the U.S. State Department for her efforts to
combat trafficking in persons.
The work of the religious was also
acknowledged in 2004 when she was named one of six Heroes Acting to End Modern
Day Slavery in the annual Trafficking in Persons report published by the State
Department.
First in Rome, and now throughout the world, Sister Eugenia
has trained women religious to provide shelter and rehabilitation to women
rescued from prostitution.
According to the woman religious, the young
women are the ones punished for the crime of prostitution. Sometimes, she said,
they are arrested, thrown in jail where they might be mistreated, and then cast
back out, while the men who use them walk away free.
The women are
bought and sold, traded and discarded at the whim of their traffickers and those
who abuse them sexually, she said.
"The statistics are staggering," said
Sister Eugenia. "Sexual slavery is problematic worldwide, it happens here. It is
in our face.
"This problem is destroying women, and families. When I see
a car stop with a baby seat in the back, I know this man has a wife and baby at
home.
"When we ask police to help, they often arrest the girls, and let
the men go."
According to Sister Eugenia, most of the women who are
bought and sold for sex in Italy come to the country under the pretext of a job.
In Italy, many are from Eastern Europe or Nigeria.
"The girls are
tricked into this," Sister Eugenia said. "They are offered what they believe to
be good jobs."
Once beyond the safe bounds of home, their documents are
taken away and they are forced to sell their bodies for money. Many of the girls
are just barely teenagers when they are forced into prostitution, she said.
"It takes a Nigerian girl an average of 4,000 sexual encounters before
she is released," the woman religious said. "Who can survive that? If a girl
manages to survive physically, it is a miracle is she survives psychologically."
Nevertheless, Sister Eugenia said there is hope for these women. Once
they are safe, many recover and learn to support themselves. The Consolata
Missionaries provide respite and rehabilitation for girls courageous enough to
leave their traffickers.
The religious said: "Our sisters leave the
safety of our convents at night to reach out to these girls who know no safety.
But there is always a danger.
"When a girl leaves her captors, her
family at home is often threatened. Many girls are afraid to leave their
traffickers.
"In some ways, we are fortunate in Italy because our laws
offer some protection for these girls. When they cooperate with authorities,
they receive other benefits and can be granted citizenship."
Together
with other religious sisters, the Consolata Missionaries have established an
international network of shelters among women religious of various
denominations.
"Sisters can do this work," said Sister Eugenia. "When
the girls see us, they know they can trust us. They see us as mothers, and they
know they are loved. When I visit my girls, they call me
'Mama.'"