THE first women to come forward and expose Peter Nygard’s alleged international sex trafficking ring are being celebrated for “their incredible bravery in the face of unimaginable odds,” becoming the inaugural recipients of Rotary International’s Action Group Against Slavery Hero Award for Outstanding Courage.

The award will be officially presented to the women – from The Bahamas and America – by the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS) in an online ceremony on Wednesday at 3pm.

The group’s board of directors, representing the US, UK, Australia, South America, Africa and Asia, “voted unanimously to honour the strength and resolve displayed by these survivors, which inspired so many more to come forward,” a press release noted.

“Speaking out as a victim of sex trafficking is always incredibly difficult,” said RAGAS global chairman Dave McCleary. “That these survivors found the resolve to do so having been (allegedly) mercilessly victimised in a jurisdiction where the perpetrator held considerable social and political sway, and where many of them continue to be stigmatised and targeted for their honesty, is beyond amazing.

“In our view, they represent a shining example of outstanding bravery in the face of unimaginable odds; an example which inspired many more survivors across the globe to come forward and which, ultimately, toppled one of the largest and most sophisticated sex trafficking rings ever exposed to date. The Anti-Slavery Group, and Rotary as a whole, want to recognise, celebrate and offer our full support to these and other survivors of the (alleged) Nygard sex trafficking operation.”

According to an indictment filed by the Southern District of New York last December, Nygard allegedly participated in a “decades-long pattern of criminal conduct involving at least dozens of victims in the United States, The Bahamas and Canada, among other locations.”

He has been charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, three counts of sex trafficking of a minor and by force, fraud or coercion, one count of transportation of a minor for purpose of prostitution, two counts of transportation for purpose of prostitution and one count of transportation for purpose of prostitution and illegal sexual activity.

The indictment said Nygard “and others known and unknown, including employees of the Nygard Group, used company funds, employees, resources, and influence to recruit, entice, transport, harbour and maintain adult and minor-aged female victims for Nygard’s sexual gratification and, on occasion, the gratification of Nygard’s personal friends and business associates by, among other things, sex trafficking, interstate and international transport for purposes of engaging in prostitution and other illegal sexual activities, and related offences.”

The assertions in the indictment largely mirror the allegations in a class-action lawsuit filed against Nygard in New York earlier in 2020.

Formed in 2013, RAGAS provides information about, and promotes ways for Rotarians around the world to engage and support anti-slavery and human trafficking projects, programmes and campaigns; supports and publicises the work of anti-slavery and anti-human trafficking organisations and supports campaigns that highlight illegal activity and seek to bring justice for those offended.

The group has attracted support from Rotarians in some 65 countries.