Important Things to Know About Human Trafficking

How would you like to wake up every morning in terror for your life? The crime of human trafficking victimizes people day in and day out for years. It isn’t just their wallet that’s stolen, it’s their entire lives. Wrested away from family and friends, cut off from the outside world, under the absolute control of cruel people who terrorize them, intimidate them, abuse them physically and mentally, and shamelessly exploit them, they lead lives of unrelenting misery and degradation.

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We humans are better than that! We land rockets on Mars and explore the depths of the sea. We write grand symphonies and soaring works of literature, make incredible athletic achievements, and are valiantly fighting to end poverty and horrible diseases. Yet, all around us are slaves, even in the 21st Century.

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• Human trafficking is the slave trade

Yes, it’s been outlawed everywhere, but at no time in human history have there been more slaves. Experts estimate that between 25 and 30 million people are held against their will and forced to work without pay. Whether it’s farm workers in California or domestic servants in the wealthy oil states, it is still slavery.

• It’s happening right under our noses
  

Right here in the U.S. We like to think of the issue as one created by extreme poverty in third world countries, where parents have been so desperate that they have been known to sell their own children. That is true – but it’s only a tiny fraction of the problem. Usually, the motivation is simply greed, which knows no boundaries. Wherever you live, whether in a large city or a small town, your life has been touched by this problem.

• If it’s against the law, how does it still happen?
  

Victims of human trafficking are controlled physically, psychologically, emotionally, and financially by their captors. They are unable to walk away and usually live in terror of their captors. And sometimes, authority figures such as school counselors, religious leaders, or law enforcement personnel are actually part of the slave trade!

• Who are likely victims?
  

The majority of victims are females under the age of 18, but human trafficking has claimed college graduates, children from “good” families, as well as men and boys. Runaways are at especially high risk. Human traffickers are not nice people. They prey on the vulnerable, the weak – or simply the unlucky.

• What do the slaves do? 
  

We immediately think of the sex industry, and indeed, many slaves are forced to work in brothels. However, many more are making consumer goods that we use every day or harvesting food that finds its way to our tables. Slaves have been found in nail salons, massage parlors, rice paddies, strawberry fields, flower farms, gold mines, athletic equipment factories, the garment industry – on and on.

• What can ordinary people do to stop this horrible practice?

First, be conscious that, chances are, it’s taking place right in your community. If you know a girl who’s planning to run away from home, help her find another solution! Join anti-trafficking groups on LinkedIn, and other like-minded citizens on Change.org. Working together, we can eradicate this crime!