Children's Rights

TACOMA  “That’s interesting,” I thought to myself as I walked past a sales clerk in the grocery store who looked pregnant, “I thought she already had a baby.” Without realizing it at first, the idea that you have only one child, had sunk into me, never mind the fact I was now 5,000+ miles from China.

Back in February I penned a blog about human sex trafficking, a hidden crime that is affecting our local communities and countries at large, an ugly part of our world, that is now a multi-billion dollar industry and growing exponentially. My blog garnered a lot of hits and the response gave me the sense that the general public is very concerned about this crime. I mention this because I was saddened and shocked to hear that Craigslist is again in the news, cited as being a "haven for prostitution and sex trafficking."

Rape. It's something most of us are uncomfortable discussing and an ugly part of our world. I could use a less obtrusive term. like "sexual assault" or "sexual violence," but I wont. It's a powerful word that we need to keep discussing because it's an issue that faces millions of people worldwide.

It was a letter that was heard around the world. On Saturday March 20, Pope Benedict apologized on behalf of the Catholic Church for the mistreatment, physical and sexual abuse of children in Ireland. It stopped short of what victims and advocates had really hoped for, which was an acknowledgement that church policies and procedures protected pedophiles from prosecution and kept cases secret allowing more children to be victimized. Papal apologies have been few in the long history of the Vatican, but Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have been admitting more errors in the church in recent times. 

It's something we think only happens in far away places and developing countries. A booming black market industry, earning $32 billion dollars annually, more than the worth of Google, Starbucks and Nike combined. Human trafficking for the purposes of selling sexual acts, also known as sexual terrorism, is the use of illicit sex, violence and threats to intimidate or coerce to the state of fear and submission. It's a problem worldwide, but it is becoming more widespread in North America, especially in Canada.

Japan has been urged by the United States and 7 other countries to address its international child welfare provisions for family law cases involving custody disputes. Japan has also not signed on to a global treaty on child abduction. Ambassadors from the US, together with envoys from Australia, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and Spain, met with the Japanese Foreign Minister to discuss the issue.

It's a scene that can only be described as tragic and heartbreaking. A scared and frightened ten year old boy named Jean Paul Lacombe is captured on video pleading and begging with constables not to make him go with his father.

November is adoption awareness month and for many people around the globe this is a non event. If you happen to be adopted or you’re a first parent, it means increased media attention and public awareness and not all of it necessarily good. Since the 1980s domestic adoptions in North America have dropped significantly.