January 11th is National Sex Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States. While people are aware of the issue, not everyone knows how to make a change. There are three ways to help end abolish human trafficking in our world and they are:
Get Educated
While this sounds useless, I promise it will help. Being educated on the reality of trafficking for men, women, and children can continue to make a change. Having that knowledge will allow you to share with others and will help make a change. There are plenty of sources to get information about trafficking. The 2018 NCVRW human trafficking fact sheet is one of them. You can find this here. I encourage each and every one of you to check out that site and find your own. In the case you would like some quick facts now, I have included a few that will break your heart.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) 2014 report, sex trafficking was a $99 billion business. $9.8 billion of this is from the United States alone.
The ILO 2017 report states that 3.5 million (74%) victims that were sexually exploited were living outside of their country of residence. Does this mean they were moved there after being captured? Were they taken from their families/friends on a vacation? This is insane to me.
There are an estimated 27 million adults and 13 million children that are victims of human trafficking worldwide. While human trafficking is broad and can include other things like forced labor and organ harvesting, 80% of trafficking is sexual exploitation. This means the number of adults and children being trafficked for sex is very high.
Raise Awareness
There are plenty of ways to raise awareness about human trafficking. After compounding knowledge from your research, you will be able to share with others what you have learned which can create a chain reaction. If it touches your heart, it can touch another person, then another and so on. Word of mouth is crucial to helping abolish trafficking.
Another different way to volunteer is through an organization called Destiny Rescue. While I am sure other organizations do things similar this is one I am familiar with. Destiny Rescue rescues children and rehabilitates them in other countries like Thailand and Cambodia. Through them, you can host a jewelry party where they will send you the jewelry that the girls made and you can sell them to raise some money for them to continue to rescue other children. This is a great way to raise money, as well as raise awareness about the cause.
You can create events at your office or campus to spread awareness about the issue at hand. Create an event and give a presentation about the realities of trafficking as well as try to collect donations for a certain organization. It is a great way to share the truth of the matter.
Donate
There are three main ways to donate: time, money and things.
You can help out different organizations and volunteer for them. In Phoenix, there are several organizations you can volunteer through. Streetlight USA is one of them. They rescue and rehabilitate young girls while providing a safe house for them. Phoenix Dream Center is another popular organization in the Phoenix area that I am sure will never turn down volunteers. Or find an organization from where you are from and see if you can donate your time.
You can also find an organization of your choice and see if they need supplies. It can cost a lot to run a non-profit organization, so do not underestimate the power of giving supplies. They need clothes without holes sometimes, warm blankets, books, etc. You do not even need to buy anything, just repurpose your old things! Or go out and buy cans of 50 cent beans to help them with their nutrition.
You can also donate money if you have some to spare. It does not have to be a lot, any little bit helps. You will also feel better about yourself after. If you do not have a favorite organization already, I will include a link to their website for a few of mine in case you feel like doing what you can to abolish trafficking.
I challenge you to find an organization. I mean research it, take your time picking a favorite or two, then try to figure out how you can help them. People will see your efforts in trying to abolish sex trafficking and will feel empowered to do something to! It will cause another chain reaction. People are so influenced by what others are doing around them.
In honor of National Sex Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11th, get out there and make a change. There are three things you can do to help. If you feel like making a change, go out there and do it. There are more ways to help than just this so share your ideas with others and continue to abolish this modern day slavery in our world.
