Trafficking, Forced Labor, and Domestic Servitude: What You Need To Know
Happy New Year!
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, so I decided to start the year with an unlikely perspective on health and wellness.
Just before Thanksgiving last year, I experienced a chilling situation that was unnerving and led me to think about human trafficking. I felt like I was being set up as a potential victim. You have probably heard of human trafficking, forcing a person into service against their will, but when was the last time you heard or read about modern slavery?
Human trafficking and modern slavery are linked. In both situations, one person controls another by “exploiting their vulnerability.” Traffickers might use force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act, and it is a violation of human rights.
Sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude are all forms of human trafficking. In sex trafficking, victims are forced to engage in a sex act in exchange for money. Unsuspected victims may be deceived by friendship, drugs, threats of violence to lure their victims.
Victims of forced labor perform work under the threat of a penalty such as violence or harm to the family. Common places of employment are factories, farms, construction work, or something else, and work for little or no pay.
Domestic servitude occurs when victims are forced to live and work in homes in the United States. Their identification and travel documents are often taken from the workers. Victims work as domestic workers, nannies, or maids.
A snapshot of why you should care:
“There are 40.3 million people in forced labor, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced marriage worldwide”.
“$150 billion made each year from forced labor; that’s over $4,750 a second.”
“Babies younger than one-year-old and adults as old as 63 have been rescued.”
According to The Department of Homeland Security, Blue Campaign, convenience retailer employees, the transportation industry (trains, bus, airplanes, ships), and the hospitality industry (hotels, motels, gaming halls) are well-positioned to recognize human trafficking due to being located where human trafficking occurs, the anonymity offered by the nature of the service product or their 24/7 operations. To learn more about industry toolkits for you or your employees, follow this link.
Are you wondering what you can do to help?
Recognizing key indicators of human trafficking is the first step in identifying victims and saving a life.
Take action and increase your awareness of human trafficking and learn how your organization or educational institution can educate your employees. The more people know about human trafficking, the better. The topic came up in one of the courses I teach, and I was surprised by the number of students who never heard of human trafficking. When it comes to HT, ignorance is dangerous.
You should also talk to your children about it, supervise and limit their online access. Predators are savvy and can easily access and lure unsuspecting victims. Once, when I worked at a high school, a student was deceived by a classmate. The teenager assumed her classmate was her friend. Her “friend” invited her to visit her home over the weekend. The older sibling was waiting for her at the home and held her student captive. The plan was to force her to perform sex for money. She was fortunate and eventually got away. Many do not. We must do our part.
California, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, and New York have the highest human trafficking incidence rates. Do you live in one of these states? What do you know about your community? Another shocking fact is the Super Bowl is the single largest human trafficking incident in the country.
To learn more about human trafficking, visit the Blue Campaign website.
To report suspected human trafficking to Federal law enforcement: 1-866-347-2423
To get help from the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733)
Be well!
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