Adam MacKenzie and Steph Twigg, students at Nipissing University, supervise the donation table for Alpha Phi Sigma's human trafficking awareness project. PHOTO BY CHRISTINE ROY
According to Free the Girls, “Currently 20-37 million men, women and children are being held as slaves around the world—more today than in any other time in history. The majority of those slaves are women and girls–many of whom are victims of sex trafficking.”
At Nipissing University, a poster on the wall states that, “Every 30 seconds another person becomes a victim of human trafficking.”
The members of Alpha Phi Sigma, the National Criminal Justice honor Society at Nipissing University, have organized a solution to bring awareness and assistance to those women rebuilding their lives after becoming victims.
Basically, all you have to do is donate your old bras.
Sgt. Shelley Tarnoeski, OPP Provincial Coordinator of Abuse Issues, visited the Nipissing campus for a presentation on human trafficking. This began the inspiration towards the bra collection campaign.
Steph Twigg is a third year student of criminal justice in the criminology stream and a member of Alpha Phi Sigma.
“Every month, [Alpha Phi Sigma] does an awareness program and this month is human trafficking. Shelley Tarnoeski did a talk several weeks ago on human trafficking. I don’t remember who suggested it but someone suggested we collect the bras,” Twigg stated.
The bra collection will last throughout the month of March and so far, they’ve collected over 50 bras.
The bras collected will be sent to Free the Girls, a campaign devoted to helping human trafficking survivors establish themselves once they are set free from slavery.
The women rescued are given a donation to help in starting their up a second-hand clothing store in order to sell the bras to support themselves and their families. They learn how to run their own small business and earn an income.
Kindra Houle McMillan, Criminal Justice Advisor and Placement Officer with Nipissing’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, assisted Alpha Phi Sigma with deciding what they could do for human trafficking. When the bras came up, it seemed to be the perfect technique.
“We thought it would bring awareness because it’s catchy…people want to talk about it,” McMillan said.
Their advertising reflects just that, with posters stating, "When you donate a bra, you give a former slave a job."
“Monetary donations just wouldn’t have the same effect,” McMillan said.
Every Wednesday in March, anyone can stop by Alpha Phi Sigma’s drop-off table just around the corner from the campus bookstore.
Should anyone be interested in arranging for a donation of collected bras any other time, they may contact Kindra Houle McMillan at [email protected].
For more information, visit www.freethegirls.com.
Nipissing University’s chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi is the only one located in Canada. There are over 300 chapters in the United States.
