The

BAKHITA

Initiative

I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Matthew 25: 35

SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA

This very special Initiative is named after Josephine Bakhita, who
was born in 1869 in Darfur, Sudan. When she was seven, she was
kidnapped by Arab slave traders. She was so traumatised by the
brutality of her captors, she could not remember her own name
- and was mockingly dubbed "bakita"- the fortunate one. At age
13 her cruellest torture left her permanently scarred. Her final
owner brought her to Italy and when the family had to go away
on business, they left Bakhita and their child in the care of the
Carossian Sisters in Venice. In 1890 she asked to be baptised and
received the name Josephine. When the family returned to
reclaim her, Josephine resisted the court upheld her freedom,
since slavery was not recognised in Italian law. In 1896 she took
her vows as a Carossian Sister and for the next fifty years lived a
quiet, prayerful life in one of their convents in northern Italy.
Josephine Bakhita died in 1947 and was the first Sudanese to be
proclaimed a saint in 2000.

The Bakhita Initiative | I was a stranger and you welcomed me

PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM

CARDINAL VINCENT NICHOLS
dedicated Catholics we should strive to play a leading role in the successful prevention of, and
the fight against all forms of trafficking occurring in the public or the private domain. But this
ambition will only happen on the scale necessary, through much closer working amongst all the agencies
involved in addressing the problem.

As

I would remind you that human trafficking is the slavery of our time. It is a gross violation and an
unspeakable exercise of mental and physical control over a defenceless individual. People may be surprised
to learn that much of this exploitation happens closer to their home than they may realise.
Typically we know of many people who come to our shores hoping that it will bring a positive change in their
life. After arriving at an unfamiliar town or city they are forced into exploitation. They do not have the means
to protect themselves or to escape, as they might have arrived illegally. They are now an object to be traded
and with no personal documents their identity and dignity have been stolen.
According to the United Nations, human trafficking is the second most lucrative criminal enterprise in the
world after arms dealing and drugs. This is partly due to weak enforcement of law and a fundamental lack
of understanding of the problem.
This rising issue demands our serious attention. The horrors of being exploited, abused and dehumanised
cannot and will not be tolerated. Some victims have managed to escape and tell us their stories, so now
we are building a picture of the problem which will help us to conquer it.
The Bakhita Initiative is the Churchs response to human trafficking. It will focus our efforts and act as a
catalyst for a number of interventions. I therefore ask that you consider our project plans and give serious
consideration to making a gift to this cause.

I was a stranger and you welcomed me | The Bakhita Initiative

INTRODUCTION
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS A HIGHLY LUCRATIVE
ACTIVITY WHERE CRIMINALS EXPLOIT PEOPLE AND
INFLICT MISERY. A response to human trafficking needs
to be unequivocal, determined and collaborative. Pope
Francis and Cardinal Vincent Nichols are giving leadership
on a global and national level to a collaboration which
works to;
meet the complex needs of those who have been
trafficked,
raise the profile of the problem,
confront the issues of prevention and education; and
maximise the opportunity for detection and
detention of traffickers.
It is now accepted that migration has a global character
simultaneously touching all regions and crossing all
boundaries. We also recognise that the motivations for
migration run along a continuum spanning political and
economic factors. The spectrum runs from immediate
threats to life and safety due to war or persecution,
through to situations where economic conditions or
environmental degradation make the prospect for life,
even mere survival, marginal or non-existent. With
economic and environmental conditions worsening in

many countries, the likelihood will be even more

migration, as people naturally and legitimately seek to
improve their lives, when they cannot do so in their
homeland - in the process many may seek the help of
smugglers or fall victim to traffickers.
Trafficking is a modern-day slavery. Traffickers use
violence, coercion and deception to take people away
from their homes and families and force them to work
against their will. Many of the victims are women and
children. According to the UN enforced prostitution is
one of the fastest growing, most lucrative and thoroughly
reprehensible of crimes. Alternatively, a smuggler will
facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on
arrival at the destination, the smuggled person is free and
usually does not see the smuggler again.
Traffickers face few risks and can earn enormous profits
by taking advantage of large numbers of poor and
vulnerable people. People are trafficked both between
countries and within countries. Those trafficked may be
forced to work as domestics, in prostitution, as farm and
factory workers etc. Trafficked persons are almost always
exploited, they are victims of crime and their treatment
is a violation of their human dignity.

The Bakhita Initiative | I was a stranger and you welcomed me

CURRENT SITUATION
HUMAN TRAFFICKING NOW RANKS AS THE SECOND
MOST PROFITABLE WORLDWIDE CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE
AFTER THE ILLEGAL ARMS TRADE. The International
Labour Organisation estimates that 2.4 million people are
trafficked globally and that annual profits from trafficking
in human beings are as high as $32 billion.
The most recent report from the United Nation Office of
Drugs and Crime has revealed that millions of people are
trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labour. The
report claims that victims originate from at least 136
different nationalities, have been detected in 118
countries, and the majority are women, though the
percentage of children is increasing. Those exploited can
be found in the world's restaurants, fisheries, brothels,
farms and homes, among other places.
Trafficking for sexual exploitation accounts for well over
half of all trafficking cases detected globally. Other illegal
purposes detected in 2010 include begging, forced
marriage, black market adoption, participating in armed
combat and committing crimes. However, of all the 132
countries covered in the report, 16 percent did not record
a single conviction for human trafficking between 2007
and 2010. Bribery and corruption are the likely reasons.
The report It Happens Here published by the Centre for
Social Justice (CSJ) in March 2013 established that more
than 1,000 trafficking victims were found in the previous
year, including a significant number of British children.
While these estimated figures appear shocking as they
are, they represent only a small proportion due to a
shambolic identification system.

"Numerous victims of modern slavery, the report states,

are prosecuted for offences they have committed as a
result of being trafficked. This may include immigration
offences or, in cases where Vietnamese people, often
minors, are trafficked into the UK to work in one of the
thousands of cannabis farms, drugs offences."
Despite these abuse levels widespread ignorance exists
among police, social workers and immigration officers

According to the most recent Strategic Assessment of

the Nature and Scale of Human Trafficking published in
2014 by the National Crime Agency found:
that 2,744, people (including 602 children) were
potential victims of trafficking for exploitation in 2013
- an increase of 22 per cent on 2012;
that Romania was the most common country of
origin for victims and Poland was the most likely
nation for labour trafficking; and
that increasingly online dating, social media sites and
advertising of jobs on the internet were used to
recruit victims.
With all-party support, the Modern Slavery Bill is one of the
first of its kind in the world. It will give extra powers to
police and other agencies to prevent and detect suspected
trafficking and appoint a new Anti-Slavery Commissioner to
co-ordinate cross departmental Government working so
they can focus their response and facilitate mandatory
reporting of trafficking cases to a central point.
It will also give extra protection to alleged victims and make it
far easier for them to give evidence. Convicted perpetrators
of slavery offences will be subject to stiffer penalties,
including life sentences and the confiscation of assets from
which they can be made to give reparation to victims.
One of the Bills most important measures will end the
terrible dilemma faced by many victims of modern slavery
of being obliged to convict them-selves in order to
incriminate their slave-masters by granting them immunity.
350
Unknown Exploitation Type

Number of Potential Victims

The CSJ investigation discovered a litany of cases where

adults and children are trafficked into and within the UK
and subjected to forced labour, sexual exploitation
(British girls trafficked for this made up nearly one half of
all UK slavery victims in 2011), domestic servitude and
forced criminality (which includes benefit fraud, forced
begging or pick-pocketing and drug cultivation).

about the scale and nature of human trafficking. The CSJ

calls for far more rigorous training of professionals.

300

Sexual Exploitation
Other

250

Multiple Exploitation Type

labour Exploitation

Organ Harvesting

Domestic Servitude
Criminal Exploitation

200
150
100
50
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I was a stranger and you welcomed me | The Bakhita Initiative

PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
THE BAKHITA INITIATIVE EMBODIES THE UNION of the
Catholic Church in its local, national and universal
dimensions in communion with Pope Francis and
expresses the Churchs commitment to support those
who have experienced human trafficking.
In the UK there are strengthening partnerships between
law enforcement agencies and those involved in working

with those who have been trafficked. In particular, the

Metropolitan Police is working with the Catholic Bishops
Conference of England and Wales, Congregations of
Religious, and other support agencies. This unique
collaboration aspires to become the most innovative and
influential international anti-trafficking hub.
There are four main elements to the Bakhita Initiative:

BAKHITA FOUNDATION
THE BAKHITA INITIATIVE WILL BE OVERSEEN BY the
Bakhita Foundation, which will co-ordinate all the work
of the Initiative. By virtue of their offices the President
of the CBCEW is the President of the Bakhita Foundation
and the Bishop heading the CBCEW Office of Migration
is its Chair. The key stakeholders of the Bakhita
Foundation are the CBCEW, Caritas Westminster, and the
Metropolitan Police. The partners of the Bakhita
Foundation are the Congregation of Adorers - Handmaids
of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity (the
Adoratrices), St. Marys University and a London parish.
.

The function of the Bakhita Foundation will be to:

agree and develop policy and practice;
regularly monitor its timely, successful and efficient
implementation;
support and coordinate fundraising for the
Foundations activities;
publicise and promote the different strands of the
Foundation;
agree shared roles and responsibilities with partner
organisations.

BAKHITA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH INTO HUMAN SLAVERY

IT WILL FOCUS ON PRACTICAL INTERNATIONAL
NETWORKING between the Church and police/law
enforcement agencies. While it has a number of strands,
the focus will be on prevention, through the delivery of
an awareness raising campaign and a customised training
programme. These will be rolled out at parish and
community levels for those at the forefront of
combating this trade. A train-the-trainers element will
also be included so that a greater sensitivity to the needs
of this marginalised group is spread in a sustainable and
cost-effective way.
Training will also be provided to frontline staff and
individuals, who may come into contact with potential
victims of trafficking and/or exploited and vulnerable
individuals and communities, especially from Eastern
Europe and West Africa.
Awareness-raising will take place in target countries, given
the reality of migration to Europe. As a significant amount
of trafficking is conducted through deception, e.g. the

promise of a well-paid job in an international hotel chain

or a major construction site in London, there is considerable scope for well-planned prevention campaigns.
In summary the project will include:
co-ordinating the voluntary safe return of those who
have been trafficked;
sharing information about patterns of trafficking;
provision of materials for education, prevention and
awareness raising including advertising;
promotion of the feast of St Josephine Bakhita;
media work;
training programmes conducted in the UK and
internationally; and
sharing of best practice for supporting those who
have experienced human trafficking particularly as
developed through Caritas Bakhita House
(see opposite).

The Bakhita Initiative | I was a stranger and you welcomed me

Offices for the Hub will initially be located in Caritas

Bakhita House and will be run by the International Affairs
Department within the Secretariat of CBCEW. Over the
medium term, approximately three years, the Hub will be
an institute based at St Mary's University.

CARITAS BAKHITA HOUSE

OWNED BY THE ARCHDIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER
AND MANAGED BY CARITAS WESTMINSTER it will
become an essential part of the Bakhita Initiative. The
local Catholic Parish is already committed to supporting
its work. This facility will provide assistance to the most
vulnerable and traumatised individuals who have
experienced human trafficking, particularly those who
fall outside the existing structures of support. It will be a
triage centre for the emergency placement of women
escaping human trafficking and its function will be to
support the beginnings of the restorative process. It will
have a pan-London role and will also be a national
resource, since it will take victim referrals from anywhere
in the UK on the basis of need.

St Josephine Bakhitas suffering is a reminder of

the enduring tragedy of human slavery: her
courage and sanctity a reminder of the
enduring power of the human spirit and indeed
of Gods grace.
Bishop Patrick Lynch SS.CC,
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales

I was a stranger and you welcomed me | The Bakhita Initiative

Caritas Bakhita House will provide accommodation for up

to fourteen women guests over the age of seventeen. It
will provide care and rehabilitation for guests and for
others who have been trafficked but are not resident at
Bakhita House through:

pastoral worker(s) including the Adoratrice Sisters, as

the specific charism of their Congregation shows
dedication to nurturing, supporting and restoring the
human spirit and material lives of those who have
experienced human trafficking.

emergency support;

There will be a strong team approach to the development

and management of the services provided at Caritas
Bakhita House. Working with the Services Manager as
an integral part of the team, the role of the Adoratrice
Sisters will primarily be to provide pastoral support
to guests.

psychosexual therapy;
legal and financial assistance;
mentoring and help with accessing accommodation;
Education and employment will increasingly be provided
by St Marys University through foundation/degree
courses and employment within the university.
Caritas Bakhita House will have the following values and
principles of action:
Love - Expressed in compassionate support and long
term commitment
Respect - for the gift and dignity of each individual
Community - a welcome which creates friendship and
belonging
Spirituality - nurtured by that Joy in creative activity
which lifts the spirit
Subject to a staffing needs assessment, it is anticipated
that Caritas Bakhita House will have the following staff:
a Services Manager will have responsibility for the
quality of services provided and for the safety of
guests, staff and volunteers working there. S/he will
report to the Director of Caritas Westminster.
a House Manager;
three Support Workers to include a Resettlement
Worker;

Caritas Bakhita House staff will aim to:

Establish a strong ethos of restoration and care
Establish initial trust and rapport with guests
Accompany guests to interviews and meetings as
required
Provide mentoring and support to volunteers
Facilitate health, legal and social support for guests
and other clients
Work closely with other team members, sharing
knowledge and expertise
Work closely with the resettlement support worker
to support guests and other clients through their
restorative journey
Assist with life planning for guests and clients
The establishment and future development of services
provided by the House Team will emerge as the project
takes shape over the coming 12 months.
Caritas Bakhita House shall follow all the Safeguarding
guidelines and policies of the Archdiocese of
Westminster.

The Bakhita Initiative | I was a stranger and you welcomed me

THE SANTA MARTA GROUP

THIS IS AN ALLIANCE OF INTERNATIONAL POLICE
CHIEFS AND BISHOPS from around the world working
together with civil society in a process endorsed by Pope
Francis who called it an open wound on the body of
contemporary society, to eradicate human trafficking and
modern day slavery.
The Group is led by Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe,
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and His
Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of
Westminster. It was named after the Papal residence
where the participants from the Vatican Conference
stayed in April 2014 and resulted in a signed Declaration of
Commitment by all the Chiefs of Police present to work
together on the international stage to develop strategies
in prevention, pastoral care and the re-integration.
The objective of the Group is to combine the resources of
the Church with those of Law Enforcement Agencies to
prevent trafficking and modern day slavery, provide
pastoral care to victims and assist them with re-integration
in the hoste community for safe return.

In April 2014 at the Vatican conference

we brought together twenty-four heads
of national and international police and
law enforcement agencies including UK
National Crime Agency, Interpol,
Europol, US Homeland Security, the
Argentine Federal Police, Ghanaian,
Indian, Thai, Australian, Irish and many European Police
Forces to look at how they and the Church could work
together to help victims at a conference entitled
Combating Human Trafficking: Church and Law
Enforcement in Partnership.

The key issue for me is how we convince

all victims that we are here to help, and
that we can make a difference to their
lives, no matter how desperate their
situation may seem. When you are living in
the grip of fear, how do you know who
you can trust?
Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe
London Metropolitan Police

I was a stranger and you welcomed me | The Bakhita Initiative

WHY IS THE BAKHITA INITIATIVE DIFFERENT?

THIS LOCAL AND GLOBAL INITIATIVE has a number of
defining features, which make it stand out from other
responses to this phenomenon. For example:
it sees the synthesis of policy and practice;
It promotes a very special partnership between HM
Government, the Bishops Conferences, the
Metropolitan Police, NGOs, volunteers and women
religious communities;

It presents new opportunities to Catholics to engage

and act positively on this matter, especially through
parish training and volunteering;
It establishes a model of intervention which creates
high levels of synergy and that could be replicated
elsewhere in the world;
It complements the work of other Catholic charities
in London, such as the Passage, the Cardinal Hume
Centre and Anchor House.

OUR OV ERALL AIMS

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, through the witness of many
organisations and individuals, especially women religious,
plays a significant role in helping those afflicted by this
invisible and iniquitous trade. There is now a clear need
for resources to sustain a coordinated response based
around the following objectives:
to offer direct assistance and protection to victims via
the pastoral care available through the parish network;
to seek rigorous enforcement by the criminal justice
system for those who are the main perpetrators of
this illegal trade;

closer working practices eg agree signposting and

victim referral protocols;
to work towards prevention via a sound and
sympathetic migration policy;
to provide specialist training and make awarenessraising available to law enforcement agencies, local
authority professionals, frontline volunteers in the
parishes, teachers and schoolchildren; and
To maintain a venue serving England and Wales and
with services accessible to all police forces and law
enforcement agencies.

to encourage greater international solidarity and

OUR CALL TO ACTION

THERE IS A COMPELLING AND BASIC HUMAN NEED
THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED AND THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH IS WELL PLACED TO HELP, as it can often
work effectively on many levels. Indeed, the
Metropolitan Police have credited the Church for its
awareness raising activities both here and across the rest
of Europe. The Church now aims to play a leading role in
the prevention of, and the fight against all forms of
trafficking occurring in the public or the private domain,
but this will only happen through closer working amongst
all the agencies involved.

Orders, immigrant chaplaincies and committed

individuals involved with trafficked persons. However this
valuable work remains somewhat fragmented and
isolated. The Bakhita Initiative will tackle this
shortcoming.
As Catholics we care for all who are compelled by severe
political, economic and social conditions to leave their
homes and their cultures regardless of the labels they
are given. This way we can help our parishes to rediscover
their identity, their integrity and their vocation as the
Church of the Stranger.

To successfully fight trafficking there must be both a

national and international response with local
interventions in the countries of source, transit and
demand. There are several Catholic religious and their

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