Human Trafficking

          In ancient history, slavery was common around the world. Many people were used as slaves, for labor and sexual use. Slavery was publicly shown, but now in the modern world, slavery would be outrageous. Although slavery in the modern day aren't shown, they are hidden in the dark shadows of the underground world. It is called Human Trafficking. Human Trafficking can be called modern slavery, and the victims of this movement are mostly women and children. The victims are used for forced labor, sexual slavery, and prostitution.

There are 20.9 million victims, 13 millions are children that are victims of human trafficking. 80% of these people are used as sexual slaves. The human trafficking industry makes $150 billion dollars, worldwide. 

The origins of these victims are mostly from countries that are developing. The traffickers lure the victims into believing that there are jobs in other countries without any risks. They also use threats, physical violence, or kidnap the victims then sell them to buyers. These traffickers have a common background and know how to exploit weaknesses of their own people. They are usually pimps, family members, gangs, mobs, etc.

The victims are forced into brothels, become sex slaves, or work in factories. The conditions that they endure are cruel and against any human rights. They are rarely fed, not paid, physically abused, no medication, and harsh living environments.

The victims can sometimes be saved by the officials, but then when they come back home, they are not accepted in the family. The victims are disgusted by their own families, pushed away by the societies. They are supposed to gain support, but instead rebuked by the socially biased views. They did not wanted such a terrible event to happen to them. Who would want to be sold to someone and used a sex slave? They never asked for it, and family is expected to give the most encouragement.

There are ways to help people that are victims of human trafficking, and there are ways to prevent this from happening. First is the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). It is made to ensure protection for people that are victims of human trafficking. Second, there are organizations that help victims and prevent this from happening. One of the international organizations is National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) that is under Polaris. They provide information about human trafficking, centers for victims, and preparations to help someone that are involved.

The population needs to know more about modern slavery, and we need to further our efforts in preventing human trafficking. People need to know how fallacious this industry is, and how to avoid it. We can educate people, raise awareness, and be attentive to what's happening around us and the people that we know.