Welcome to a new week, with new opportunities to change the world! Around Super Bowl time, we touched on the topic of human trafficking here on the blog, but with Shine A Light On Slavery Day almost upon us, it is as good a time as any to take a closer look at this important issue.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:15 NIV)
This February 27th, join us and other Freedom Fighters from around the world as we shine a light on slavery. Use your influence any way you can to help us carry the message of FREEDOM so even more people know. Let’s make this SHINE A LIGHT ON SLAVERY DAY even brighter than ever. Let’s be the generation to stand up for the 27 million men, women and children trapped in slavery around the world today. In brothels. In factories. In mines. On street corners. In homes. In the shadows, hidden. Yet out in broad daylight, in plain sight here in America. Stand with us. Raise your voice. Use your influence.
NY Times on Child Human Trafficking
Slavery occurs when one person completely controls another person, using violence or the threat of violence to maintain that control, exploits them economically, pays, pays them nothing and they cannot walk away. When you think about slavery, if you think about slavery, you probably associate it with the sex trade. And for good reason. 8 of 10 human trafficking cases worldwide involve the sex industry in one way or another. The others involve labor trafficking, people being made to work in sub-human conditions in factories and farms and shadow businesses worldwide.
From: End It Movement
Trafficking involves transporting people away from the communities in which they live and forcing them to work against their will using violence, deception or coercion. (antislavery.org)
Human trafficking is tied with illegal arms industry as the second largest international criminal industry in the world and it is the fastest growing. (US Department of Health and Human Services)
Between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked internationally every year. (NUR Freedom Center)
As many as 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually. (NUR Freedom Center)
Atlanta is a major hub of human trafficking and ranked amongst the top 14 cities in the United States for the highest incidence of children used in prostitution. (Governor’s Office for Children and Families)
The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age. (UN.GIFT)
Sexual exploitation is the most commonly identified factor driving human trafficking (79%), followed by forced labor, (18%).
(United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
It is estimated that human trafficking alone generates annual profits of around $32 billion. (ILO)
43% of trafficking victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98 per cent are women and girls. (UN.GIFT)
An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. (UNICEF)
Every minute, two children are sold into slavery. (INNOCENCE ATLANTA)
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- all the National Human Trafficking Resource Center to get help or report a tip
- Learn to Recognize the Signs of human trafficking in your community
- Call the hotline at 1-888-373-7888 if you suspect human trafficking
- Send a text to BeFree (233733) if you need help
- Contact your legislators
- Ask Congress to support the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Human Trafficking Act
- Ask Congress to support efforts to prevent labor trafficking
Here’s what it comes down to friends: We can fight feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of this issue by arming ourselves with knowledge. This is a case where knowledge really is power. If you’re up for building even more knowledge ; ) Here’s another great resource: Today’s Christian Woman offers five simple, practical steps you can take in a brand new article here.
I’ve just started reading 12 Years a Slave and think how important it is to highlight this issue and continue to fight the evil behind it.
Thanks for linking up at Essential Fridays.
Blessings
Mel from Essential Thing Devotions