18 April 2007 – Recently a rather curious news item appeared in the “La Stampaâ€, (a Turin newspaper): Some civil servants from Scotland Yard Police Force, London came to Turin to interview Sr Angela Pozzoli, a Daughter of the Charity, who for the past ten years has been involved in social work helping victims of prostitution.
Sr Angela along with co-workers from the G.V.V. (Vincentian Volunteers) takes care of these young women who want to leave prostitution, denounce their “protectors†and obtain a resident’s permit (according to Article 18 of Italian Immigration Law). Both in the city and on the outskirts of Turin they have set up “safe houses†which offer these women who have experienced all kinds of violence, – including even being sold several times, – the chance to find their own dignity thanks to honest work and a life reintegrated into the social fabric of the city. From 1996 until today: 287 women have been helped, of whom 258 have resisted the temptation to return to “the streetsâ€. Among the latter, some have acquired university diplomas; others are now financially independent; whilst others have made good marriages: All have found peace and serenity.
The visit from Scotland Yard is another step forward in collaboration between the English police force and the Italian police force, between the Vincentian Volunteers of Turin and those of the United Kingdom, to save these young women caught up in the “slavery†of prostitution and helping, as our Founder, St Vincent of Paul taught us, to restore to them the dignity which is their right.
Source – Daughters of Charity International website Visit this site for other stories of the Daughters around the world.
Tags: Slavery
