Nuns Pose As Prostitutes To Rescue Sex Slaves From Brothels

A network of religious sisters who fake as prostitutes in order to liberate victims of human trafficking is spreading to 140 countries, it has been announced.

The network, called Talitha Kum, was set up in 2004 and is made up of 1,100 religious sisters. It currently operates in about 80 countries.

The religious sisters go to ‘all lengths’ to rescue women, and have dressed up as prostitutes in order to get into brothels

The group’s chairman, John Studzinski, said the demand for combating trafficking has risen dramatically.

It is believed that around 73 million people are trafficked in some form, which is about one per cent of the world population. Seventy per cent of those are women and half are under the age of 16.

John Studzinski is chairman of Talitha Kum (Picture: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

Speaking to the Trust Women Conference on women’s rights and trafficking, Studzinski said: ‘I’m not trying to be sensational but I’m trying to underscore the fact this is a world that has lost innocence … where dark forces are active.

‘These are problems caused by poverty and equality but it goes well beyond that.’

He highlighted the horrific treatment some victims have faced, using the example of one woman, who was locked up for a week without food when she didn’t meet her target of having sex with at least 12 clients a day.

Studzinski, who is vice chairman at The Blackstone Group, said the religious sisters would go to ‘all lengths’ to rescue women, and have dressed up as prostitutes in order to get into brothels.

The group is made up of 1,100 religious sisters and operates in about 80 countries (Picture: Michaela Begsteiger/imageBRO/REX)

He said: ‘These sisters do not trust anyone. They do not trust governments, they do not trust corporations, and they don’t trust the local police. In some cases they cannot trust male clergy.’

The sisters also helped to save a number of children being sold into slavery by their parents, offering shelters in Africa, Philippines, Brazil and India.

He told the conference organised by Thomson Reuters Foundation: ‘This is a new network of houses for children around the world who would otherwise be sold into slavery. It is shocking but it is real.’