XI International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking - 8 February, 2025
2025 theme: Ambassadors of Hope: Together Against Human Trafficking
Pope Francis has designated 8th February, the feast of St Josephine Bakhita, as the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking following a request from Talitha Kum, the worldwide Network of Consecrated Life Against Human Trafficking.
There will be an online Marathon of Prayer (Friday, February 7 from 10am to 3pm) CET – people are invited to join in this prayer, especially in their own Region.
Who is Josephine Bakhita?
Josephine Bakhita was born in Southern Sudan in 1869, and during her life experienced kidnapping and slavery in both Sudan and Italy. After gaining her freedom Josephine Bakhita dedicated her life to sharing her story and to supporting the poor and suffering. She eventually became a Canossian Sister and was canonised in 2000.
Learn more about Josephine Bakhita here.
Suggested Actions for Participating in the Event
ORGANISE A GROUP/COMMUNAL PRAYER
Organise a group/communal prayer in your neighbourhood/parish. The resource obtained by clicking on the button below may be of help.
REFLECT AND PRAY
View the daily calendar of reflections and prayer created by the Sisters of St Joseph Orange (USA) from 11th January to 8th February. (Click on the calendar to download a copy)
READ AND REFLECT
The primary objective of this day is to create a greater awareness of the phenomenon of human trafficking, to reflect on the situation of violence and injustice that affects so many people’s lives and to attempt to provide solutions to counter human trafficking by taking concrete actions.
The background notes to the Pilgrimage theme - Ambassadors of Hope: Together Against Human Trafficking - can be downloaded here.
SUPPORT COMPANIES WITH TRANSPARENT SUPPLY CHAINS.
Begin following companies that are making changes to try and eliminate slavery from their supply chains. Look up the modern slavery statements of Australia’s top 4 companies at the Online Register for Modern Slavery Statements.
PILGRIMAGE OF PRAYER AND AWARENESS
View the 2024 ACRATH and Talitha Kum's prayer reflection featured during the international pilgrimage or Prayer here:
ASK THE QUESTION – WHO IS MAKING MY CLOTHES?
Chances are that children and adults, working in sweatshops for little money and often in appalling and hazardous conditions, make some of the clothes you wear or clothes you might want to buy this summer. Baptist World Aid has produced the Australian Fashion Report. It’s a report card on the fashion industry, and it rates your favourite brands on workers’ safety, wages and other conditions. Download the guide and Speak Out to brands you are pleased or disappointed by:
- Go to Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report site - click here.
- Scroll down to Find Your Favourite Brands. Insert the name of the brand you would like to investigate.
- Select that brand to find out their score in 2022 and send off the pre-written message to this brand asking them to lift their game.
- Speak Out! Use your consumer's voice
GET THE SLAVERY OUT OF EASTER CHOCOLATE
This Easter, educate yourself about what’s really going into the chocolate you buy for family and friends.
Be Slavery Free has produced a chocolate scorecard after surveying the world’s biggest chocolate companies to find out about their supply chains.
Click here to download the scorecard via their website and find out which chocolate brands are rising to the challenge and which ones continue to ignore consumer demand for chocolate that’s produced free of child labour.
WATCH ABC’S FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
For an insight into the impact of the powerful Cobalt mining industry click here to watch ABC's Foreign Correspondent – we are all using the end product.
SHARE IN YOUR NETWORK
Help to raise awareness by sharing all our resources for the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking in your networks.
WATCH THE ACRATH CONVERSATION SERIES TOWARDS A SLAVERY-FREE EASTER
This ACRATH conversation looked at the issue of slavery in the cocoa industry and how we can move towards a slavery-free Easter. Click here to hear Be Slavery Free Co-Directors Carolyn and Fuzz Kitto and Peter Millard, Supply Chain Manager Haigh’s Chocolates, shared their passion for a world free of slavery and how this can be possible -
TODAY, and every day, we ask you to reflect on
and act against human trafficking.