Slavery is an ancient institution that has grown to be the second-largest crime trade in the world. Today, we call it Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking. Like an epidemic, it is spreading throughout the world without boundaries, reaching all nations, cultures, children, men, and women. According to statistics every, ten-minute a woman or a child is trafficked into the United States. In this land, the land of freedom, right under our nose, our children fall victim to human trafficking. Women and men forced to work long hours in factories, fields, homes, forced into prostitution, without any hope of escape. The ones who managed to escape do not want to speak about it, for various reasons, fear, shame, cultural issues, etc.
After the Civil War, when slavery became illegal, traffickers found many ways to trap innocent people and continue this crime without being detected. So today, when we talk about slavery, we are not talking about the chattel slavery that existed before the civil war. Slaves today are not sold in public auctions but are kidnapped, forced, tricked and coerced to enslavement. The most common types of Human Trafficking are sex trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage.
If you ask, who is at risk, the answer is anyone, of any age, any sex, and any ethnicity can be a victim. Most vulnerable are the runaways, children who have no social or family support, those who lack financial support, gang-related youth, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and immigrants.
Where are the victims? They are among us at the workplace, hospitals, schools, restaurants, hotels, nail salons, massage parlors, and in private homes. If we pay attention to what’s going on around us, in our community, in our neighborhood, we might recognize some of these victims and be able to help rescue them.
So, let us educate ourselves and our children about the dangers of Human trafficking to prevent falling victim to traffickers. Trafficking in-person report 2019, and Polaris Project, gives in-depth information on this subject, along with real case studies. I urge you to read it, educate others about what you learn. Be safe and be aware.
Sex Trafficking: lured under false pretenses, women, and children are forced into prostitution
Forced Labor: attracted by promises of good jobs, people find themselves working without pay and suffering physical abuse
Debt Bondage: Become a victim of forced labor as collateral for a loan
According to the International Labor Organization, human trafficking is a $150 billion industry. There are 40.3 million trafficked victims throughout the globe., with 81% of them trapped in forced labor, and 25% of them are children, and 75% are women and girls.