You and I are involved with the global slave trade. Most of us don’t know it.
In 2013, I traveled to Thailand to meet a group of activists, religious leaders, consultants and NGOs from around the world to talk about the major social issues facing communities. The reason we gathered in Thailand is because that is the one country in the world with almost no visa restrictions. I am embarrassed to say that I had no idea why until I arrived.
{mosads}I was unprepared for what I experienced. As I travelled down “Walking Street” I saw hundreds of young girls – mere teenagers – dressed in seductive, tight dresses lining the streets waiting to be purchased for sex. They were girls just like me a few short years ago, though they had the unfortunate luck of being born into a country with few economic opportunities and into a world unwilling to confront this unconscionable assault on human rights. I found myself bearing witness to the worst kind of evil that I could imagine and overwhelmed by the utter scale of it. According to UNICEF, 1.2 million children are trafficked each year–often for purposes of sexual exploitation.
In a few days in the United States, we will gather with our friends and family to watch the great American tradition: the Super Bowl. While we have limited evidence suggesting that sex trafficking increases during these major sporting events, we do know pimps prep for these big events around the world, as they do 365 days a year, netting billions of dollars through exploitation.
Here’s what you need to know about human trafficking and it’s not a problem “over there.” Trafficking affects every continent and every country, including the U.S.:
Human trafficking is the sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, organ harvesting, street crime, cannabis cultivation and forced labor of men, women and children.
Human trafficking generates $9.5 billion yearly in the United States. (United Nations)
Approximately 300,000 children are at risk of being prostituted in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice) and the average age of entry into prostitution in the U.S. is 13-14 years old (U.S. Department of Justice). A pimp can make $150,000-$200,000 per child each year and the average pimp has 4 to 6 girls. (U.S. Justice Department, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
Human trafficking is the world’s fastest growing crime; it is believed that there are now more victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery than ever before.
We live in a world that buys and sells human beings in a massive global trade using banking systems, international corporations, transportation systems and police forces. But this business exists because demand exists and we are a part of that demand.
I am a mother, a pastor, a neighbor, a daughter, a sister, and a member of our human community. I write this as an appeal to you to consider how we all might become involved in stopping human trafficking of all kinds. Here is where we can start:
1. Push for stronger laws:
400,000 to 500,000 children work in many forms of U.S. agriculture. Outdated Fair Labor Standards Act provisions allow children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours on farms performing dangerous work.
Children as young as 7 are permitted to work in American tobacco fields, exposing them to acute nicotine poisoning. The Virginia state legislature just moved to prohibit children under 18 from working in direct contact with tobacco. If passed, HB1906 would be the first legislation of its kind in a state that harvests tobacco.
Because human traffickers use our global systems – our banks, our businesses, our transportation systems – we have a responsibility to ensure that laws are in place that prevent these systems from being abused.
2. Spend money responsibly: Certain industries are benefiting more from human trafficking and forced labor than others. When you are tempted to buy a shirt or pair of shoes that you know cost more money to produce than you are paying, find out about their supply chain. When you buy a chocolate bar, look for the “Certified to be Trafficked Free” label so that you are not supporting the labor camps of young boys harvesting cocoa beans on the Ivory Coast. The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a list of products produced by forced or indentured child labor. http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-products/
3. Support Anti-Human Trafficking Organizations: Ethical organizations like Stop the Traffik (www.stopthetraffik.org) are doing great work developing partnerships with governments, law enforcement, businesses and other NGOs to make a meaningful difference in trafficking. Support them with your time, talents and money.
In Luke’s gospel Jesus ministry began with him quoting the great prophet Isaiah declaring that, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” As we sit in front of our televisions to watch the Super Bowl this week, amidst allegations of deflated footballs and questionable coaching, let’s remember that a far greater scandal exists: 21 million men, women and children around the world are victims of some form of human trafficking and they are waiting to hear the good news that they are set free from their prisons of exploitation and trafficking. Together, we can help free them.
There’s even an app for that: http://stopchildlabor.org/?cat=594
Trimble is the CEO of the Center for Progressive Renewal, an organization designed to recruit, assess, train and coach innovative leaders for the mainline church.