On Dec. 10, 1948 the UN passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Under this declaration, a variety of human rights were officially established as laws. In Article 4, it is simply stated: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,” and, like that, slavery was proclaimed illegal worldwide. But, just because it was made illegal did not mean that the industry of slavery was eradicated. Due to the complexity of the crime it is difficult to prosecute traffickers, however, it does happen.
In 2014, in the heart of the Midwest, a case against a trafficker was brought to court; this case involved the trafficking of many women, but notably a juvenile named Emily. Emily's story began after she had been stood up by her friend and was stranded at a hotel. She asked to use a woman’s phone to call her mom. After placing a call to her mother, the woman then introduced Emily to a man, who would later become her pimp. Over the course of the evening Emily agreed to become an escort; her pimp provided her with a phone and explained all the ins and outs of prostitution. Little did Emily know this phone would eventually serve as an excuse for her pimp to make her the victim of debt bondage. To make matters worse, Emily was only 15, and unable to provide consent, at the time of the crime. Over the course of her time as an escort, she eventually became unwilling to participate. Not only did she not want to be involved with her pimp, but she also stopped receiving pay for her work. Emily went from a willing participant to a victim of forced sex trafficking and debt bondage. Emily, unlike so many people, was lucky in that her trafficker was intercepted and charged with his crimes.
According to Free The Slaves, a transnational advocacy network, human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world with an estimated generated revenue of $32 billion annually. Within the United States, sex trafficking is the most common form of slavery, with experts estimating nearly 100,000 American children alone are prostituted each year. Although sex slavery is the most common form of slavery in the United States, internationally this is not the case; 78 percent of the nearly 36 million people in slavery are engaging in a form of forced labor. Furthermore, of these 36 million it is estimated that 26 percent of these are children.
It is well-known that slavery is still a very real issue domestically and internationally. There are transnational advocacy networks devoted to the eradication of slavery, and domestically there are organizations devoted dealing with modern day slavery. Additionally, the bill H.R.350 - "Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act of 2015" was passed in the House of Representative in January of 2015. This bill’s purpose is to direct the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, to identify strategies to prevent children from becoming victims of trafficking, to review trafficking prevention efforts, and to protect and assist in the recovery of victims of trafficking. This bill is currently sitting in the Senate, it has not been voted on, nor has anyone taken the time to advocate for it to be passed. However, this bill serves as a promising step forward towards the eradication of modern slavery within the United States.
If you are interested in promoting this bill contact your senator and tell them about your support for the bill or sign a petition in support of the bill here.
Not everyone is as fortunate as Emily, some people still deal with the harsh, unforgiving realities of slavery, and until we decide as a society to confront the issue millions of people will continue to suffer as a result.
*Because the article draws on information from a witness statement that serves as evidence in an ongoing legal dispute, key information has been changed in order to protect the witness and preserve the integrity of the case
