The New Age of Human Trafficking (i.e. Slavery)

While most people think that the era of slavery ended when the government abolished the practice with the passage of the 13^th Amendment in mid-1800s, this is far from the truth. Despite the Amendment, human trafficking continues as an underground movement – and one that threatens the health and freedoms of individuals worldwide. While most of the modern-day slavery exists in other countries, much of it does occur in the United States. According to a recent article in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, “people can be purchased for less than a pair of shoes.” The article contents that a human being can fetch between $30 and $1,000 for the seller, with many of the victims being children. A separate report in the Journal Gender Issues revealed that human trafficking proceeds from around the globe exceed $44 billion (in US dollars) annually.

One specific report in the Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development found that 27 million victims of human trafficking occur annually worldwide with about 20,000 of those being victims in the United States. While modern-day slavery may not look like the slavery written in our history books, it does follow a similar pattern. Human trafficking involves forcing individuals into labor without their consent. This includes prostitution, street beggars, sweat-shop laborers, and any other forced employment. Human trafficking/slavery also encompasses any threats of death or harm to the individual’s family if their employment is not upheld. Such control methods include physical and sexual abuse or rape as well as confinement.

Women and girls make up 56%, men and boys 44% of those victimized by human trafficking in the United States. Furthermore 40-50% of all victims of human trafficking are children. One such example cited in Gender Issues discusses the fact that people from Thailand were forced to come to the hurricane-ravaged areas in and around New Orleans to clean certain disaster sites under deplorable conditions. In another instance, the journal also reported that many women from Mexico traveled into the United States and had their formal papers confiscated. They were able to “earn” their papers back through prostitution over time. Some of these women were as young as age 14.

Such human abuse is deplorable, and should not occur in the 21^st Century. Yet, it does. Locally, we are not immune to such human trafficking issues. Some concerned citizens have connected with the Crawford Health Improvement Coalition to increase the awareness of such activity in the United States, but more specifically in Crawford County. According to their information, several businesses owned or operated by Asian or Indian personnel tend to be feeding grounds for human trafficking. Such places will bring in foreigners from their native countries and force them into labor with promises of freedom later.

According to Polaris Project, a national project which focuses on identifying and stopping human trafficking, very little has been done on the state level to identify and subsequently eliminate modern-day slavery. According to the project’s statistics (found at www.polarisproject.org), only Virginia, California, and Wisconsin are specifically tracking cases of human trafficking. To date, the Federal Bureau of Investigations has convicted 185 people of human trafficking; The FBI Crimes Against Children Unit has convicted 182; and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division/Criminal Section in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices convicted 302 people. Furthermore, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made 264 convictions of forced sexual or forced labor crimes. All four investigation departments above have more than 1,000 open cases of human trafficking combined.

So, if you think slavery is a thing of the past, think again. It’s very much alive and going strong – underground for the most part. Awareness is the first line of defense. Next, keep your eyes and ears open for suspicious activities. If you suspect any such human trafficking activities, there are two hotlines available to you. First, to report human trafficking, contact the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at their national hotline: toll-free 888-373-7888. To report forced labor and worker exploitation, contact the U.S. Department of Justice at their national hotline at toll-free 888-428-7581. Or, you could visit www.humantrafficking.org to learn more information on this serious, yet quiet, issue.

References:

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Human trafficking. Retrieved July 10, 2011 from http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/united_states_of_america/helplines.

Hepburn, S., & Simon, R. J. (2010). Hidden in plain sight: human trafficking in the United

States. Gender Issues, 27, 1-26.

Hu, H. (2011). The dark side of globalization. Diverse: Issues in High Education, 28(7), 10-11.

Project Polaris. (2011). Retrieved July 10, 2011 from http://www.dreamcenter.org/new/images/outreach/RescueProject/stats.pdf.

Stotts, E. L., & Ramey, L. (2009). Human trafficking: a call for counselor awareness and action. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development, 48, 36-47.