Human Trafficking exists?

 

      Daily, we hear about wars, violence, and disesase.  However, something that is rarely discussed is the topic of human trafficking.  Alot of our information is determined by the media.
     The media plays an indispensable role in educating people about the many manifestations of global human trafficking, presenting the problem in human terms and in all its painful detail.  Yet media coverage is weak in many parts of the world. Some news media outlets are not yet aware of the trafficking phenomenon, or confuse it with other issues such as illegal migration and alien smuggling.

Some facts:

1. Globally, the average cost of a slave is $90.

2. Trafficking primarily involves exploitation which comes in many forms, including: forcing victims into prostitution, subjecting victims to slavery or involuntary servitude and compelling victims to commit sex acts for the purpose of creating pornography.

3. According to some estimates, approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation, and 19% involves labor exploitation.

4. There are approximately 20 to 30 million slaves in the world today.

5. According to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year. More than 70% are female and half are children.

 

6. The average age a teen enters the sex trade in the U.S. is 12 to 14-year-old. Many victims are runaway girls who were sexually abused as children.

 

7. California harbors 3 of the FBI’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas on the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.

 

8. The National Human Trafficking Hotline receives more calls from Texas than any other state in the US. 15% of those calls are from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

 

9. Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. each year.

 

10. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry (behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking). It reportedly generates a profit of $32 billion every year. Of that number, $15.5 billion is made in industrialized countries.

 

11. The International Labour Organization estimates that women and girls represent the largest share of forced labor victims with 11.4 million trafficked victims (55%) compared to 9.5 million (45%) men.

 

There are many myths and misconceptions about human trafficking.  More information can be found at:  http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview/myths-and-misconceptions

 

The State of Alaska has laws concerning human trafficking:

 

11.41.360	Human trafficking in the first degree
11.41.365	Human trafficking in the second degree
11.41.370	Definitions
11.66.110	Sex trafficking in the first degree
11.66.120	Sex trafficking in the second degree
11.66.130	Sex trafficking in the third degree
11.66.135	Sex trafficking in the fourth degree
11.66.145	Asset Forefeiture
SB 210 (2012)	Human Trafficking Task Force

Local organizations and referrals:

Abused Women's Aid in Crisis (A.W.A.I.C)
http://www.awaic.org
Alaska Immigration Justice Project
http://www.akijp.org
Native American Rights Fund (NARF)http://www.narf.org
Salvation Army Anchorage
http://www.salvationarmy.org/alaska

 

Sources

• ¹ "Modern Slavery." Free the Slaves. Accessed February 25, 2014, https://www.freetheslaves.net/sslpage.aspx?pid=301.
• ² "UNODC on human trafficking and migrant smuggling". Unodc.org. 2011. Accessed February 25, 2014.
• ³ "Human Trafficking Facts." National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.ncadv.org/files/HumanTrafficking.pdf.
• ⁴ Bales, Kevin. "The Number." The CNN Freedom Project Ending Modern Day Slavery. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-facts/the-number/.
• ⁵ "TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT." United States Department. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/34158.pdf.
• ⁶ Clawson, Heather J., Nicole Dutch, Amy Solomon, and Lisa Goldblatt Grace. "Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the Literature." Study of HHS Programs Serving Human Trafficking Victims. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/humantrafficking/LitRev/.
• ⁷ California Against Slavery. "What is Human Trafficking?." Safer California Foundation. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.caseact.org/learn/humantrafficking/.
• ⁸ U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. "Human Trafficking in Texas." Texas Advisory Committee . Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/TX_HT_Report--ver%2050--FINAL.pdf.
• ⁹ Bales, Kevin. "The Number." The CNN Freedom Project Ending Modern Day Slavery. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-facts/the-number/.
• ¹⁰ "Slavery." Not For Sale: End Human Trafficking and Slavery. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about/slavery/.
• ¹¹ "WHAT IS FORCED LABOUR?." Anti-Slavery. Accessed February 25, 2014, http://www.antislavery.org/english/slavery_today/forced_labour.aspx.