Originally posted on http://www.focusonthefamily.com
Former US Congresswoman Linda Smith discusses the alarming prevalence of modern-day human trafficking, what is being done domestically to protect victims, and how parents and youth leaders can teach the warning signs to their children. (Part 2 of 2)
Get Web-exclusives, resources, guest bios and more for Exposing the Dark World of Human Trafficking (Part 2).
Originally posted on http://www.focusonthefamily.com
Former US Congresswoman Linda Smith discusses the alarming prevalence of modern-day human trafficking, what is being done domestically to protect victims, and how parents and youth leaders can teach the warning signs to their children. (Part 1 of 2)
Get Web-exclusives, resources, guest bios and more for Exposing the Dark World of Human Trafficking (Part 1).
The abolition of slavery in 1865 was one of the most momentous and celebrated occasions in the history of the United States of America. Although slavery officially became illegal in the U.S. almost one and a half centuries ago, it is still very much alive and well today, with an estimated 2 million slaves across the fifty states. These victims of human trafficking harvest fruits and vegetables, work as domestic servants, clean hotels, cook and serve in restaurants, sell magazines door to door, and are sexually exploited on city streets, online, at truck stops, and in massage parlors. Trafficking takes many forms but lies in plain sight in every state in the union.
Experts estimate that there are 27 million people around the world living as slaves today. That number is overwhelming, so here is a comparison. Let’s look at New York City, the most populous city in the U.S., with 8,244,910 inhabitants. That number means there are 3.72 New York Cities worth of slaves around the world. These people are forced by their traffickers to work, most in inhumane circumstances, for little to no compensation. Victims of trafficking harvest our cotton and produce, make our clothing in sweatshops, mine our precious metals and minerals, work as domestic servants, serve as forced prostitutes, and the list goes on. While slavery is legal nowhere, it happens everywhere. Although 27,000,000 is a staggering number, it is comprised of individuals, each with his or her personal stories, pains, dreams, and hopes.
“Business is in itself a power.” – Garet Garrett
Most everything in our world is a matter of business: the process of making money. The same is true of Human Trafficking – it’s all about the dollar signs. Human Trafficking is a market-based economy that exists on principles of supply and demand. It thrives due to conditions that allow for high profits to be generated at low risk (cit. Polaris Project). The business of buying, selling, and abusing human beings just happens to be extremely profitable, bringing in $32 billion annually, more than Nike, Google, and Starbucks. That makes it the second most profitable criminal industry in the world.
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