Ruth Evon Benson-Idahosa, founder of Pathfinders Justice Initiative (PJI) and Hub of Economic Resources for Survivors Africa (HERS Africa), was at the weekend honoured along with others as the ‘2023 TIP Report Heroes’ for their efforts to fight human trafficking.

The event was during a ceremony to unveil the 2023 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report by the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken in Washington D.C.

Evon Benson-Idahosa, speaking on behalf of other honourees, said: “Each of these heroes – Pureza Lopes Loyola from Brazil; Mech Dara from Cambodia; Iman Al-Sailawi and Basim Jebur from Iraq; Zaheer Ahmed from Pakistan; Paola Hittscher from Peru and Eumelis Moya Goitte from Venezuela – exemplify courage in the moment in history where more than 27 million people are victimised by the evil that is human trafficking.

“I also stand before you on behalf of millions of African women whose bodies have been legislated upon, weaponised, but especially on behalf of Faith, a young Nigerian woman whose last words to me in September of 2016 were, “Auntie, I’m dying.”

“Those three words still echo in my mind and serve as the impetus for why we at Pathfinders, the NGO I founded to protect survivors and prevent the sex trafficking of Nigerian women at home and abroad, continue to do this work.

“Faith was trafficked from our hometown in Benin City to Libya, and then to Europe, where she involuntarily serviced the underbelly of the European sex industry until her body was literally consumed to death. No one should ever be utilised as a product for consumption.’’

“Faith’s story represents the reality of thousands of victims annually who are waiting for those of us with access and power and privilege to muster the social and economic courage to do for others what we do for ourselves. As visionaries who see the world as it should be, not as it is, the new face of our response requires a fundamental shift in consciousness that prioritizes reconciliation and promotes an integrated, intersectional, and interdependent methodology,” she said.

She expressed her dismay over the high rate of trafficking of persons from Nigeria, where over a million Nigerians have been used as slaves, the reason why the nation is reportedly placed 32nd in a trafficking survey of 188 countries.

To stem this tide, she said her organisation has assisted in rehabilitating 2,700 women survivors of trafficking even as the organisation last year launched a new initiative, HERS Africa.

According to Benson-Idahosa, HERS Africa is the first and only digital ‘one stop’ resource hub in Africa to address the unique and complete needs of survivors of trafficking as they navigate a path towards self-sustainability and economic independence.