The Center for Mediated Divorce Help Victims of Human Trafficking

IRVINE, Calif. - Jan. 13, 2015 - PRLog -- IRVINE, Calif. – In December, The Center for Mediated Divorce hosted a full-day open house to benefit the Starfish-Project in Beijing, China – a socially responsible jewelry business established to provide female victims of human trafficking with vocational training, language acquisition, educational opportunities, housing in their women’s shelter, and access to quality health care.

A dynamic young woman the Center knows well has been living in China for the past for years, getting acquainted with local young women and helping them escape a life of human trafficking. Most of the young women were sold into slavery by their parents, most of whom believed that they were sending their daughters to Beijing to learn a new trade in a hair and nail salon.

Once they arrived in Beijing, knowing no one and with no money, they learned that the salon was not a hair and nail salon, but a massage parlor.

The Center’s young friend learned Mandarin so she could speak to these young women who soon realize that she wants to help them escape the life they are living. They are given the opportunity to live in a safe place and learn new skills. The young women learn to make hand-made jewelry, which is sold around the world through the Starfish-Project.

According to the United States Embassy in Beijing, Chinese women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking within the country, and are often recruited from rural areas and transported to urban centers, using a combination of fraudulent job offers and threats of physical or financial harm.

According to the FBI, people are being bought, sold, and smuggled as modern-day slaves. Often trapped in lives of misery – victims are often starved, beaten, and forced into working as prostitutes or take grueling jobs with little or no pay.

At the Center’s open house, they raised enough money through the jewelry sales to house ten young women for a full month, which was such an enormous privilege! Anyone interested in helping or learning more can visit their website at Starfish-Project.com. (http://site.starfish-project.com/)

At The Center for Mediated Divorce, located in Irvine, California, they take the same approach in their care and concern for divorcées. For over 20 years, their divorce mediation attorney has helped many couples avoid the emotional stress of a contentious court process so they could smoothly transition into the next chapter of their lives.

Since how a couple goes about settling divorce matters will impact their relationship with their ex-spouse for years to come, any alternative divorce method which fosters civility and respect can make all the difference in a client’s emotional well-being, especially when there are children involved.

The Center for Mediated Divorce facilitates fair and impartial divorce settlements in Irvine and throughout Orange County, California. To contact their office directly and schedule a free phone consultation, call (888) 614-0171, or visit their website at http://www.mediator-divorce.com.