For Ma. Paloma B. Papa, one source of optimism was the news that the US has removed the Philippines from its watch list of countries deemed havens for those profiting in the trafficking of women. Papa is one of many women members of a group of optimistic and hard-serving professionals called Soroptimists, a conjugation of the Latin words soror and optima, which means sisterhood and best.

What’s best for women, according to Papa, region governor of the Soroptimist International of the Philippines Region (SIPR), is their total human development. And trafficking, she says, is the worst that can happen to women.

The US State Department described in its report two cases of the inhuman condition these women are subjected to. One is Maria who, according to the report, was fed with chicken feet and innards after paying to fly to the US on the illusory promise of gainful employment. Another case is that of Mylee, a young single mother who was raped repeatedly by her employer, an officer in the Saudi Royal Navy.

Papa said there are similarly harrowing cases suffered by women even within the borders of the country.

In the villages they’ve adopted as beneficiary, Papa says they have found victims as young as five years old who were taken away from their parents and raised as sex slaves.

Tales of terror have been documented in hundreds of pages inside folders at the Soroptimist’s office in Pasig City.

Papa cites the case of a seven-year-old who was raped by relatives and by a neighbor. There were also cases of children in the Malate area in Manila who were abused by Australian tourists and brought to brothels near the church.

Papa admits sex trafficking is a juggernaut of a challenge.

Based on her group’s data, it’s a $32-billion industry where some 800,000 every year are victimized worldwide.

“It’s just like facing a big wall, but we would like to at least make a dent through our 80 clubs today in pursuing specifically the education and advocacy aspects of our assistance program,” she says.

Still, she says there are countries worse than the Philippines.

Mind matters

Essentially, the trafficking in women boils down to the trade in body parts: from the face to the legs, where each part is a commodity attached with a price.

Soroptimists believe that by enhancing their intellectual ability, women can have a broader view of their lots and loves.

“We believe that truncating ignorance and enhancing the intellect of women can arm them against the evils of trafficking,” said Papa, a longtime teacher by profession.

One of the group’s strategies is working with government agencies like the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Papa says the Soroptimists distribute POEA’s educational materials via their 80 clubs nationwide.

“We explain to women their rights, especially those going abroad and seeking employment through club seminars and workshops so they would be better equipped when they go out of the country,” Papa explains. “We help equip them with skills so they can be able to detect potential sex traffickers at their own level of understanding.”

Papa says their brand of education emphasizes cultural differences of societies “so that the learning is more enlightening to the level of women.”

And if the women are lured because of financial needs, she says the club intervenes “to the extent our resources can afford.”

Papa says the group offers scholarships, especially to single mothers or breadwinners of families, so they can continue their academic pursuits.

One of these is Miftah Evangelio of the Aeta tribe who was given a 10-minute standing ovation in Taiwan after a speech for receiving the Women Opportunity Award.

Evangelio’s determination to learn was recognized by the Soroptimists, as well as her tribe where she now teaches. Her story left everyone in tears after the curly-haired and dark-skinned Evangelio, in a yellow terno, narrated how she fought all forms of stereotypes and discouragement in her pursuit to learn new things outside the tribe.

Papa reports that Evangelio is now studying architecture and continues to receive a monthly stipend from the Soroptimist’s club of Kalibo, Aklan.

Another is Lorna Silverio of Bulacan, whom Papa says didn’t know how to read or write but is skilled in vegetable farming. Silverio now teaches other women and leads them in a cooperative selling vegetables, mainly tomatoes, in the local market.

“These interventions put them out of poverty and may be considered a small step but we hope create ripples in the lives of the women in their community,” Papa says.

Exit portals

SOROPTIMISTS didn’t pop the champagne bottles yet when it was announced last month that the Philippines was removed from the US State Department’s trafficking in persons watch list.

There’s still more to be done whatever our status is, Papa says, warning that as long as many prey on the inherent need of a family or a girl for a better life, there will be cases of sex trafficking.

The group notes that a typical strategy used by traffickers is the use of good-looking young men wearing designer clothes who befriend and court the target. These men show photos of large houses and flashy cars.

Sometimes, the parents willingly give in to a similarly spruced pimp, unknowingly offering their daughter/s for a life of misery, she says.

Another case that Papa mentions was that of a teenager who was drugged and repeatedly raped until the woman’s will to fight was broken.

This happens in an Internet age, especially in far-flung areas in the country.

It is not only poverty that entangles women in the web of trafficking; it’s the belief that it’s an easy and fast way to the life they’ve dreamed about.

“They don’t see that working hard to develop the mind and its many potentials could be more abundant and free in the long term,” Papa says.

Papa stresses that the Soroptimists will continue to have “Stop Trafficking” as a major thrust worldwide.

Antisex trafficking public awareness campaigns will continue to be mounted, alongside lobby with legislators and the media and hands-on interventions that directly benefit victims of sex trafficking.

Maybe it’s in the blood of every member—100,000 of them worldwide; 2,700 in the Philippines—that keeps Papa continue with their service and advocacy.

“I think we’re just passionate in the things we do. At this stage in our lives, we go into things that have value and meaning,” Papa says, adding that it has “never been boring.”

“I do go all over the country and visit every club. And every member I meet, I see the enthusiasm of going into that mission of helping women and girls live their dreams by giving them the resources to create positive change, for themselves, their families, their community, and, hopefully, the world,” she explains.

Thankfully for women, there’s the Soroptimists.