JCU Professor Silvia Scarpa Contributes to Talitha Kum's Call to Action
JCU Professor Silvia Scarpa and Sister Gabriella Bottani, International Coordinator of Talitha Kum, presented an international advocacy document called Call to Action, in an interview by the Vatican Radio on December 1. Professor Scarpa has been working side by side with Sister Bottani and other experts since July 2021 to produce the document, which was also publicly presented at a conference held in Rome on November 25, 2021, a day that marks the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Sister Gabriella Bottani (left), Professor Silvia Scarpa (centre) and Vatican Radio’s journalist Lucas Duran (right) during the radio program “Magari! Il mondo com’è e come potrebbe essere.”
Talitha Kum, the International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons, is an international umbrella network of Sister-led networks that include more than 3,000 Catholic Sisters, friends, and allies who work with victims and survivors of human trafficking in nearly 90 countries. In 2020, Talitha Kum networks helped and supported 15,827 survivors.
The Call to Action is shaped and organized around four main objectives:
- to care for victims of human trafficking and exploitation, and for people at risk;
- to heal physical, psychosocial and spiritual wounds;
- to empower victims and survivors, as well as individuals at risk, by amplifying their voices;
- to restore human dignity by promoting access to justice.
The Call is addressed “to Sisters, to the Catholic Church and religious leaders of other religions or spiritual traditions, to non-believers, to allies, friends and all people of goodwill,” as well as global governance stakeholders, with the aim of promoting a world free of human trafficking and exploitation. It includes four key areas of engagement:
- Ensuring access to justice and long-term, state-supported psychosocial and health assistance, as well as work and residence permits for victims in destination countries;
- Empowering women and girls, as well as their families and communities;
- Supporting safe and legal migration pathways, including in cases of forced displacement;
- Promoting an economy of care and solidarity.
Talitha Kum and John Cabot University recently finalized an agreement that allows JCU students to apply for internship opportunities offered by the network.
Listen to the Vatican Radio’s podcast featuring Professor Scarpa and Sister Gabriella on Talitha Kum’s Call to Action (In Italian)
Listen to the Vatican Radio’s podcast on Sister Gabriella Bottani’s life (In Italian)
