The Global Pulse Journal Blog

This is a guest post by Daniel Rhee, AMSA Global’s Health and Human Rights coordinator.  It was originally posted on the Global listserv in honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11, 2010.

“To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world. In fact, it occurs in every country, including the United States, and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do. ” - Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton (full article here)

Good afternoon, Global!

Today is National Global Human Trafficking Awareness day, and for those who are unfamiliar, human trafficking is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” (UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons)

It is one of several forms of slavery that exist today (click here to learn about modern slavery), and as our Secretary of State stated so clearly, it is not just an international issue, but a domestic one as well.

Here are some quick facts from freetheslaves.net and the US DOJ:

• there are more slaves now than ever before in human history – approximately 27 million around the world
• the cost of a slave has decreased from $40,000 in 1850, to $90 in 2008
• it would cost $40 per family to buy all bonded laborers in the world – Americans spend this much on chocolate each Valentine’s Day
• 17,500 slaves are brought into the United States every year
• sexual exploitation of minors is lawfully considered human trafficking – approximately 325,000 children in the United States are subjected to sexual exploitation every year
• the average age of entry into the commercial sex industry within the United States is 11-12 years old

So for those of you who want to learn/do more, here are a few things for today:

statement in the Global Pulse by our Hana Akselrod:
http://www.globalpulsejournal.com/blog/index.php/2009/10/27/human-trafficking-part-i-introduction/

some local events:
http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/national_human_trafficking_awareness_day_events_near_you

a poster to share:
http://www.bridgetofreedomfoundation.org/NGHTAD_Letter-1.pdf

a Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=209640181028&ref=mf

powerful article regarding chocolate slavery in the ivory coast: http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/atasteofslavery.html

Department of State 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report:
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/index.htm

an article on modern slavery:
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2009-08-21-voa49-68706537.html

an organization working to end slavery:
http://www.freetheslaves.net

a great list of links/resources:
http://traffickfree.org/educate.html