January being Human Trafficking Awareness Month, I thought I would advocate for the victims, who should be regarded with respect and compassion. Also, we should acknowledge that Human Trafficking is a complex phenomenon that involves a wide variety of people from many walks of life, participating in a wide variety of activities. Basically Human Trafficking occurs when any person is induced “to perform commercial sex or labor through force, fraud, or coercion.” People should realize that many participants in activities of a sexual nature (whether in a legal or illegal setting) are not doing so of their own free will or choice. Likewise, their traffickers may not conform to the “traditional pimp” stereotype figure. Sometimes even relatives may be the perpetrators. Also, these things can happen in America, to US citizens, not some distant land to foreigners.
In addition to activities of a sexual nature, human trafficking can occur in various manifestations in the labor world, to both blue and white-collar workers as well as domestics-from accountants, analysts, telemarketers, hospitality industry personnel, construction workers and people in various levels of manufacturers’ supply chains and more. Sometimes our government may inadvertently become involved. [Many sources describe how Human Trafficking was involved in the construction of the US Embassy in Iraq. This article offers more information.
People and companies can become more aware as consumers. Many organizations address Human Trafficking in supply chains.
As a primer, a point of departure to take action and/or to refer to other people explore: “Myths, Facts, and Statistics.”
Let’s work together to solve this problem.