Imagine working all day long, all week long, taking no breaks or short breaks that last only minutes. While working the rigorous hours, you may only have seen the insides of the place you work at, as there is nothing else for miles around. You do not ever get paid, you do not know any of the other workers. You have no idea who you are working for, and you do not even know why you are being forced to work. Yet, you continue to work, because you know for a fact that you might get some sort of punishment if you do not perform your work. The other workers you see are dreading their day and you realize that they too are confused. There is an extremely small chance that you can escape the situation you are in. This is reality for millions of people around the world. This is human trafficking.
Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry that profits off of commercial sex and forced labor that is steadily rising each year. This industry does not only focus on commercial sex and forced labor but also focuses on human organ removal/sales, and forced marriages. However, these are just a few examples.
Human trafficking is all about transporting victims to some sort of an exploitative situation, violating their human rights. There are around 40 million people that are victims of this industry and most do not escape this situation. The group Californians Against Sexual Exploitation admits that only .04 percent of survivors cases are identified, clearly implying that the majority of the cases are unidentified.
According to Olivia Wieseler’s "Human Trafficking: An Illegal Billion-Dollar Industry Hits Close to Home,” a trucking company out of Schaller, Iowa, employed a man in who was found in San Antonio, Texas to be hauling over 100 people in the back of a truck. When discovered, eight out of the 100 people were declared dead, two more victims were declared dead at the hospital, and others were in critical condition. There was only one hole for the victims to breathe out of in the truck, each person taking turns one after the other.
Human trafficking does not take place in one specific area. This industry takes place worldwide. However, there are countries that have more trafficked victims than others. Countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam are just some of the leading countries contributing to human trafficking. Some leading countries for the destinations of trafficked victims are America, Canada, and Australia.
The United Nations, an intergovernmental organization, is aware that this is a major problem, and to help raise awareness of this situation, they have created World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The US State Department investigates hundreds of countries for Trafficking in Persons, and has created a tiered system to classify the countries they investigate.
Human trafficking is an issue that still exists today and is increasing each year. If you, or someone you know has been a victim of trafficking, or if someone has attempted to force you into a trafficking situation, call the national reporting hotline at 1 (888) 373-7388.
Cover photo courtesy of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC.
About the writer:
Kristine Sanchez is a staff writer for The Lion's Roar. You can learn more information about her by clicking here.
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