Report to the Unitarian Women's Group
On the 2007 General Assembly
Most of you will have received feedback about the GA Annual Meetings from your congregational delegate so I will concentrate on describing the contribution of the Unitarian Women's Group and my experience as a 'new' Unitarian at my first Annual Meetings where I was warmed by the openness and friendliness of everyone I met.
At the Unitarian Women's Group (UWG) Annual Conference in February we decided at the AGM that UWG should sponsor a motion calling upon HM Government to immediately sign the European Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings in an attempt to stop this modern day slavery. As many of you will know the government signed the European Convention just three weeks before the Annual Meetings and so the UWG Motion for GA Annual Meetings 2007 was modified as shown below.
We also agreed to invite a speaker from CHASTE to speak at the UWG slot on the programme. It was not until the programme was printed that we learned that the Rev Dr Carrie Pemberton, CHASTE's Chief Executive Officer, would be our guest speaker.
The Reverend Dr Carrie Pemberton is an ordained Anglican priest and a trained pastoral counsellor, a member of the National Counter-Trafficking Victim Support Network. She has counselled trafficked women and has wide experience of working with asylum seekers and refugees. This first-hand knowledge has informed her research into the longer-term integration process for second generation black and minority ethnic communities including travellers.
The presentation started with a horrifying film made for UN troops before they leave for 'Rest and Recuperation' to make them aware that not all women selling sex are doing so willingly. The film tells the story of Anna, a law student from Eastern Europe, who was deceived into travelling to Holland to work and continue her law studies. Instead she found beatings, rape, death threats and imprisonment. She was forced to have sex with between six and twenty men a day. She received nothing but pocket money and was in severe debt bondage to her 'owner' to whom she may be worth up to £150,000 a year.
Carrie described how governments are concerned about the extent and nature of the sex trafficking industry where business is booming. The international trade nets the traffickers billions; the profits are astronomical, the risks few. The 'grey money' raised from the trade can be used to fund other illegal activities such as terrorism and drugs. She described the ways in which trafficking takes place, the countries of origin and destination, the factors affecting the ease with which vulnerable women are able to be trafficked, and the physical, emotional and mental effects on the victims. She told how the authorities have found it easier to see women picked up in police raids, with forged or no documentation, as illegal immigrants rather than victims of human rights abuse. Most have been deported within 48 hours and when this happens they cannot give evidence to enable their traffickers to be convicted. There has not been enough accommodation available to allow deeply traumatised women to have the time, medical support and security necessary for them to recover sufficiently before appearing in court. CHASTE, working with faith communities, is starting to provide 'secure houses' and is working to advise the authorities.
The programme slot was 45 minutes but the presentation took an hour. In that time the audience was totally engrossed in what Carrie had to say. No one stirred or looked at the clock. It was a privilege to have been present at such a moving and inspirational presentation.
The next day Margaret Hamer and I proposed and seconded the revised UWG motion.
That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches:
In proposing the motion very effectively Margaret described the trade, illustrated with harrowing individual stories, in which trafficked women are forced to work as prostitutes, Figures produced from recent police raids in our cities show that the proportion of foreign trafficked women in the sex industry here has escalated. They are caged up in brothels, never allowed out alone, denied medical attention, and so frequently moved around that their pimp is the only constant presence in their world. Meanwhile, lacking residency permits, passports, medical help, money, and access to any external support, their victims are trapped in the power of their pimps who regard them as 'walking cash machines' until they are worn out. After which, the insatiable marketplace sees them replaced by younger, fresher bodies.
I seconded the motion by describing how 'Pay-as-you-go' sex in the UK today has lost much of its social stigma. A recent survey in the British Medical Journal estimates that one British man in ten will pay for sex in 2007. Personal ads in newspapers and magazines, Internet sites and mobile phones make sex for money easily available. Police raids have found trafficked women in towns all over the country. Stag nights abroad often include sex as one of the attractions on offer. The profile of the typical client of a prostitute is a man of thirty, married, in full employment, with no criminal convictions.
The motion was passed unanimously. Margaret described CHASTE's proposal of 'Not for Sale Sunday' on May 20th as a positive step that congregations could take to increase public awareness of this brutal trade. Following this the UWG stall was besieged with enquiries and all of our leaflets on CHASTE and 'Not For Sale Sunday' were taken.
What else happened? "Head and Heart in Worship: Psychology of Worship" was a lecture which was very interesting from a scientific point of view. However it contributed little to my spiritual education in contrast to the wonderful variety of forms of worship, which were a regular part of the overall programme. These ranged from the serenity of the Peace Vespers to the lusty hymn singing and inspirational address of the Anniversary Service. The Essex Hall Lecture, 'Good to Great Governance in Church-based Communities' was a very fast-moving and entertaining look at every aspect of improving governance with so many good ideas it was difficult to take in everything at once and, for me, the speaker Tesse Akpeki came in to her own when she showed how to apply a few of the many ideas she had given us in response to questions from the floor. As a new Unitarian attending the GA for the first time I found the Business meetings fascinating. I now understand the changes that took place last year and have a much better picture of Unitarianism as an organic movement whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
I 'took greetings' from the UWG to the Women's League who, under the presidency of Marion Baker, have chosen CHASTE as their charity this year.
Thank you for sending me as your delegate. I felt privileged to have been part of the UWG's successful contribution to the GA Annual Meetings this year and grateful for the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the Unitarian movement as a whole.
Christine Thompson
UWG Delegate
