Contrary to popular belief, slavery in America did not end when it was formally abolished in 1865. It now has a new form called human trafficking. Although human trafficking is not legal like the slave trade once was, being illegal does not stop the trafficking of millions of people every year in the US and worldwide.
But what is human trafficking exactly? According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking has three parts: the act, the means, and the purpose. The act is the crime that is committed, such as recruiting, transporting, and harboring victims of trafficking. The means are the ways in which these crimes are committed, such as using force and threats, or abducting, deceiving, or buying a victim of trafficking. Finally, the purpose is the reason why these people are exploited. Some of the forms of exploitation include the prostitution of others or other sexual exploitation, forced labor, the harvesting of organs, and the use of child soldiers.
While we can agree that human trafficking is a terrible problem, many think that this issue doesn’t really affect our everyday lives. After all, many of us do not have a direct connection to traffickers or their victims. However, this is far from the truth. Many of the victims of modern-day slavery have made some of our daily necessities, such as our clothes, our electronics, and our food. And even if we don’t participate in other forms of trafficking, like sex trafficking and organ harvesting, our inaction leaves millions of victims silenced and oppressed.
Considering how many victims of human trafficking there are, and how we are all in some way affected by and even perpetuate the problem, it’s easy to think that it’s a hopeless problem. Thankfully, this is not the case. In 2007 the US Senate decided to set time aside annually to raise awareness about human trafficking.
The entire month of January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and January 11th is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. On these days, we are all encouraged to spread information about human trafficking, such as this article, so that more people can see why we should care. However, on these days we can do more than just educate people; we can also equip others to take action.
One effective way of taking action is calling the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline (1-888-373-7888) to receive help and resources, and to report suspicious activities related to trafficking. While calling this hotline may help prevent cases of trafficking, there are also ways we can support those who have already been affected by it.
Organizations like the Starfish Project help victims escape trafficking by providing shelter and care. During their time in the shelter, the survivors learn job skills and produce fair-trade jewelry, which is how they earn their income. Other organizations, like Rights4Girls, support victims and survivors by bringing about legal change. Supporting organizations like these gives us many ways to help prevent and end the worldwide problem of human trafficking.
January 11th is the perfect day to display your fair-trade items and encourage others to do the same; it’s also the perfect day to raise awareness about human trafficking in general. While January is specifically dedicated to raising awareness, it is important to remember that human trafficking is an ongoing problem. But if we continue fighting on behalf of the people who often cannot do it themselves, then we can really put an end to slavery for good.