When people ask me about school, the conversation often goes something like this:
“What are you studying in school?”
“I’m studying psychology.”
“So, you want to be a therapist.”
“Not necessarily. I just want to work with victims of sex trafficking.”
“Oh…that’s…so cool?”
At least in my experience, talking about slavery is almost always a conversation killer. Why? Most people don’t want to acknowledge the truth that it still exists. We don’t want to know the facts because the facts make us uncomfortable.
Truthfully, most people do not realize that modern-day slavery exists, and it exists everywhere — in one form or another. We like to believe that slavery is a thing of the past, an injustice we do not have to think about anymore because it was abolished, right?
In 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms” (International Organization for Migration, 2014).
But the truth is, slavery does still exist, and I believe it needs to be ended.
The end will not come quickly nor easily, but through the persistent hard work of many, I believe that change will come. The first step to any change is awareness. Allow me to enlighten you on a few facts about modern-day slavery.
According to the Global Slavery Index, as of 2014 there was an estimate of 38.5 billion people in slavery globally, which is an increase from 20.9 million in 2012 (International Organization for Migration, 2014).
Slavery is often referred to as “modern-day slavery” or “human trafficking,” and it can take many different forms. Regardless, they all mean the same thing — “victims are forced to work involuntarily or are unable to leave once they have started” (National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 2014).
There are generally five categories of slavery that occur today: forced labor, domestic servitude, bonded labor, sex trafficking and child slavery (End Slavery Now, 2015). All five categories of slavery are under the umbrella of forced labor.
According to the Forced Labour Convention, forced or compulsory labor is all work or service exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty. Since the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily, they are considered as slaves and treated as property, an easy way for their traffickers to profit without losing anything.
Domestic servitude is most commonly masked as domestic help by nannies, maids, cooks, other kinds of help, or forced marriage.
Domestic servitude occurs when the employee is no longer free to come and go of their own free will.
Bonded labor is another form of domestic servitude.
There are many cases when immigrants are promised a job in a different country for a small fee.
When the immigrant arrives in the new country, they are given a job that can include domestic servitude, a civil service job such as work in a nail salon or a massage parlor, or sexually exploitation. The worker is told that they must work this job until their debt is paid.
It is estimated that there are 4.5 million men, woman, and children enslaved in sex trafficking worldwide (End Slavery Now, 2015).
Most international victims become enslaved in sex trafficking through bonded labor. Traffickers lie to their victims, promising them a mainstream job, but instead, they sell them into sex slavery.
Most domestic cases begin with pimps preying on vulnerable minors with a broken home life. In particular, pimps prey on homeless and runaway youths.
Child labor is the exploitation of minors under the age of 18 (United States department of labor, n.d.).
According to the United States Department of Labor, exploitation includes all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Exploitation involves the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, offering of a child for prostitution, the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and work likely harmful to children's health, safety or morals.
The inhumane treatment of adults and children happens worldwide. While many find it hard to believe that slavery exists in the United States and many first world countries, it does. Child labour and the sexual exploitation of minors is rampant in the United States.
What do we do with this information?
First off, we pray. Personally, I do not believe this war can be won by human power alone; it requires the help of Higher Power.
Secondly, I encourage you to engage others in the conversation of modern-day slavery. Just as you are now informed, inform others. Change cannot occur unless the need of change is known.
Thirdly, I encourage you to explore the links below to find more resources.
“You may choose to
look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.” - William Wilberforce
To find out more, follow the links below:
