Political Rights
Slavery
Child
“ Liaison for the Abolition of Sexual Trafficking”
at the Salvation Army‘s national headquarters in
Arlington, Virginia.
references.
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The Salvation Army Response to Trafficking U.S. Legislative Awareness
Now, more than a century later, The Salvation Army in
The Salvation Army has also taken a strong, leadership
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In 2003, The The primary steering body of this new movement is the Additionally, The Salvation Army National Direct Service Programs in the Since 2003, The In January 2005, the U.S. The NETS NETS utilizes the
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Facing and fighting
sex trafficking.
Q&A with Lisa Thompson by Kathryn Jean Lopez
January
26, 2006, 8:27 a.m.
Earlier this month, in preparation for a
syndicated column I was about to work on the worldwide sex-trade, I e-mailed
Lisa I. Thompson, “
Liaison for the Abolition of Sexual Trafficking” at the Salvation Army‘s
national headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, posing a few questions to her
about her work and the battle she’s fighting for innocent victims of our
modern-day slavery. She came back with detailed answers packed with information
about the Salvation Army including its 19th century fight against sex
trafficking and this modern-day fight. I had to share what she had to say;
my correspondence with Thompson follows. Kathryn Jean Lopez
Lopez:
Why is the Salvation Army in this fight against the sex trade?
Lisa I.
Thompson: To understand why the Salvation Army is so deeply committed to the
modern-day fight against sexual trafficking, it’s necessary to understand our
organization’s roots and early history. The Salvation Army was founded in
London, England, in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth, revolutionaries in
their time. They went against every Victorian convention and took their ministry
to the dirty and dangerous streets of London’s east side where they reached out
to the destitute and desperate.
To some people it will likely be
surprising to learn that in the late 1800s there was considerable sexual
trafficking of women and girls in the U.K. (as well as Europe). Under the
leadership of Josephine Butler, an evangelical Christian, a movement on behalf
of these women and girls took shape. Following on the heels of the successful
movement for the abolition of the African slave trade in the British empire,
Butler ignited another abolitionist campaign: This one for the repeal of the
Contagious Diseases Acts, legislation which had legalized prostitution in
several garrison towns of England in the 1860s. Her campaign to end the
commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls eventually spread throughout
Europe, where several countries had adopted various forms of regulated
prostitution, and where traffic in women and girls flourished.
Like the
Booth’s, Butler was also a revolutionary. She upset the social norms of her time
when she dared to speak publicly before men, which simply was not done in her
day, and then added insult to injury, when she spoke on the scandalous subject
of prostitution. It was 1886 before she saw the Contagious Disease Acts
repealed, and there were many more years of struggle ahead on behalf of women in
Europe and India.
It was during the 1880s that the Salvation Army joined
Butler in her movement to rescue and restore “fallen women” the
Victorian-era euphemism for women in prostitution (who were more often pushed
over the precipice of virtue rather than fallen!). The efforts began in 1881
with the opening of a home for women seeking to escape street life. A similar
home soon followed.
However, the Salvation Army’s efforts to help women
and girls in prostitution did not stop there. In one of the most fascinating
chapters its history, the Salvation Army participated in the execution of an
undercover investigation into the trafficking of young girls for prostitution
a detailed account of which was published in July 1885 by the Pall Mall
Gazette in a series of articles called, “The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon.”
At the heart of the series was the report of how W. T. Stead, Pall Mall
Gazette editor, arranged for the purchase of a young girl, Elizabeth
Armstrong, from her mother, with the mother’s knowledge that the girl would
ostensibly meet with an illicit and immoral fate. To say that the series created
a national sensation is an understatement. The circulation of the Pall Mall
Gazette rose from twelve thousand to over a million and there was near
rioting in the streets as people fought to obtain copies of the paper.
In
the months that followed, the fervor created by “The Maiden Tribute” series
helped foment public opinion in support of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, a
measure which when passed in August 1885, raised the age of consent from 13 to
16 (although reformers sought 18). The Salvation Army’s advocacy efforts were a
major catalyst in the bill’s passage. In addition, to speaking to large crowds
of people on the topic of protection of young girls, Catherine and William
Booth, wrote a petition to the House of Commons in support of the Criminal Law
Amendment Act, which in the course of 17 days received 393,000
signatures!
On the heels of this great victory, the crusaders received a
blow, when in September 1885, many of those involved in the “purchase” of
Elizabeth Armstrong, including W. T. Stead, Bramwell Booth (one of the Booth’s
adult children), and Rebecca Jarrett (a Salvation Army convert who procured the
girl), were pressed with criminal charges irrespective of their motives in the
case. William Booth expressed his consternation this way: “. . . it seems to me
more like complaining of the dogs that bark in order to show the enemy is there
rather than of the wolves that bite!” Bramwell was acquitted, while Stead
received a three month sentence and Jarrett a six month
term.
Nevertheless, the Salvation Army’s efforts on behalf of those
caught up in prostitution expanded. William Booth conceived of a “New National
Scheme for the Deliverance of Unprotected Girls and the Rescue of the Fallen.”
Of his scheme he held high hopes, saying, “If it can be matured and got into
operation on the scale here described, I believe it will constitute one of the
most effe
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