In the darkness of our current global reality, we long for peace. This longing for peace can be actualized by developing a spirituality of peace which is based on a plan of concrete actions to address today’s struggles.    

Marie Dennis, copresident of Pax Christi International encourages “active non-violence as a spirituality, a way of life, a positive and powerful force for social change and a means of building a more just, peaceful and sustainable global community.”

Non-violence is not just the absence of violence but a call for actions that lead to resolve interpersonal, social, and international conflicts.  It demands envisioning, challenging and ultimately transforming our world by protecting the vulnerable and those living in poverty. It challenges us to choose one issue, to create a road map for positive change and to act on behalf of justice and peace. 

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The following is one possible issue to address:   The number of trafficked, enslaved, and murdered women and girls is escalating in Canada and globally.   According to the 2023 Global Slavery Index, “an estimated 50 million people are trafficked globally, generating more than USD 236 billion in criminal profit each year.”

One concrete action would be to support our current law, Protection of Community and Exploited Persons (PCEPA) and advocate for its full enforcement in every province of Canada.  This law gives impunity to the victims of sexual exploitation while holding the abusers accountable for their harmful behavior.  Unfortunately, in Canada this law has not been given a fair chance as some provincial governments and law enforcement have not cooperated. As a result, convictions are extremely low.  One simple action would be to contact your local MP, provincial government and local law enforcement and advocate for strengthening PCEPA for greater justice for women and girls.   

PCEPA is in line with the UN Palermo Protocol, ratified by Canada in 2002, which calls for the discouragement of demand.  Marking the 25th anniversary of the Palermo Protocal, the Santa Marta Group and the Institute of Anthropology of the Pontifical Gregorian University convened a high-level conference in Rome.  Kevin Hyland, a member of Santa Maria Group, commented: “Last year, there were 2000 fewer victims recovered than the year before and that only represents less than .05 per cent of the 50 million victims.  There were 7000 convictions last year.  So, 99.8 per cent of the time, people are getting away with the crimes.”

Mama Fatima Singatch, UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children stated, “The Church has a very important role in supporting communities…raising awareness on the vulnerability of children and the dangers that exist.”  Young girls are being groomed and lured into sexual exploitation at alarming rates.

By enacting PCEPA in 2014, Canada became a world leader, ensuring gender equality and respect for women and girls.  Canada joined other countries such as Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Isreal, and France, which have all enforced the Nordic Model of law.  The Nordic Model holds buyers, pimps, and traffickers accountable while at the same time protects the prostituted person. For more information about the Nordic Model of Law, check out – What is the Nordic Model?  (https://nordicmodelnow.org)

Now is the moment to encourage other countries as well as our own to fully implement this law.    Germany, known as the Brothel of Europe with about 32,300 registered sex workers in 2024, legalized prostitution in 2012. It is now acknowledging that past attempts to regulate prostitution have failed to reduce the violence against women and girls. 

Acknowledging that sexual exploitation is out of control, Germany’s Health Minister Nina Warken is advocating for the adoption of the Nordic Model of Law.  Professor Dr. Julia Wage states: “The renewed discussion is a way to end or reduce the adverse effects of prostitution on mental and physical health.  It is not only about prohibition; its is also about prevention, exit programmes and prosecution.”

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Government officials in Japan, including the prime minister, have recently spoken out about the need to eradicate prostitution, as the country has become a popular sex tourism destination.  A few years ago, The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchz vowed to outlaw prostitution saying that it enslaved women. 

In May 2025, the Scottish Parliament introduced the Prostitution, Offences & Support Bill, known as Unbuyable Bill, which aligns with the Nordic Model. 

The European Parliament in September 2023, joined forces by adopting a resolution encouraging the EU countries to consider adopting an approach similar to the Nordic Model that would criminalize the purchase and provide support for exiting.  

Reem Alsalem, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, defines prostitution as a system of gendered violence and exploitation driven by male demand, poverty, and structural discrimination. She recommends the abolition/Nordic approach.

Kathy King, co-author with Andrea Heinz of the book, When Men Buy Sex:  Who Really Pays?  is a mother of a Missing and Murdered Woman who disappeared from the streets of Edmonton in 1997 after struggling with many challenges.  In a brief to the government committee studying PCEPA in Feb. 2022, Kathy said, “PCEPA provided a glimmer of hope that vulnerable women would no longer be blamed and criminalized for their own exploitation.” She supports the law that would provide “a better social net to ensure that all women have equal access to freedom and dignity within the greater good of society.”  

Pope Leo X1V in his latest encyclical Dilexi Te speaks to all Christians on love for the poor.  “We need to be increasingly committed to resolving the structural causes of poverty.  This is a pressing need that cannot be delayed, not only for the pragmatic reason of its urgency for the good order of society, but because society needs to be cured of a sickness which is weakening and frustrating it and which can only lead to new crises.  Welfare projects, which meet certain urgent needs, should be considered merely provisional responses. I can only state once more that inequality is the root of social ills.  Indeed, it frequently becomes clear that, in practice, human rights are not equal for all.”

So, choose an issue, develop a plan of action, and invite others to join you in advocating for change, equal rights for all, so peace will reign in our country.

Throughout his life, Jesus consistently practiced non-violence, always putting the power of love in action.  Think of the story of the adulteress woman in John’s Gospel chapter 8, where Jesus calls for truth and compassion, freeing the woman from the condemnation of the male crowd.   This story and many others both in Scripture and in real life remind us of the urgent need for a spirituality of peace that leads us to action on behalf of the oppressed in our country.

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Ponder the words of Gandhi: “When the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.”

(Sr. Nancy Brown is ombudsperson for Covenant House Vancouver.)