Human
trafficking awareness
A
young girl serves drinks at a bar in the Philippians until she’s “rented” by a
customer to be exploited.
Six of the young girls at the bar in the Philippians were rescued. However, not
all victims are rescued.
Human
trafficking is the recruitment, transporting, and
harboring of people against their will by using force to make them modern day
slaves. According to the International Labour Organization, human trafficking
is the third largest crime bringing in about $150
billion and the fastest
growing in the world with 35.8 million men, women and children
trapped as labor slaves, unwilling organ donors, and sex slaves. Different
sources report numbers of slaves vary from 21 million to 35 million because of
its vastness.
The
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says that the most common form of
human trafficking is sex
trafficking,
the coercion or force of a commercial sex act such as prostitution,
pornography, mail-order brides, and much more. It brings in over $99 billion of
the $150 billion of the human trafficking profits, according to the International
Labour Organization.
The
following five articles explore the specifics of sex trafficking and what
people can do to end human trafficking.
####
The National Center for Missing and
Exploited children says that one in 6
children who have run away from
home are caught up in sex trafficking. Perhaps not all who are bullied end up
in prostitution, but a lot of the time people in prostitution are usually
bullied by their pimp, the person in control of them that sells them to buyers.
Why do people
become prostitutes?
One of the first questions
that many people ask about prostitution is, “Why would you want to be a
prostitute?” The answer to this varies because circumstances vary. The
statistics of sex trafficking seem to indicate that not many people enter
prostitution willingly. In many third world countries, destitute
women are often tricked into
prostitution by being offered a job and a better life. A lot of prostitution is
generational because if a child is born into that situation they often won’t be
able to escape to a better life.
The situation of poor
women or children born into that life makes sense. Then, the question is, “What
about those who choose prostitution?” Most likely, they have suffered from some
kind of abuse in their past.
“Research on severe
bullying notes that victims often suffer from low self-esteem, poor physical
and mental health, reduced abilities in forming relationships, and difficulties
gaining and/or keeping a job,” said Jane
Whitaker, psychology professor at University of the Cumberlands in
Williamsburg, Kentucky. “These conditions may make them more vulnerable to
becoming victims in other areas of life including prostitution.”
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| Photo from National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Infographic about child sex trafficking. |
“There doesn’t appear to
be any research on a direct relationship between bullying and the sex trade
industry,” said Whitaker. “However, there are some shared variables between
these two concerning situations. Victims of bullying who find themselves not
functioning well in other avenues of life, may turn to desperate means of
relief and income, including drugs and sex.”
Another study, “Rationalizing predictors of child sexual exploitation
and sex trading,” lists four
variables that have a significant impact: running away, poverty, drug and/or
alcohol abuse, and family involved in prostitution.
Instead of shaming those
who end up in prostitution, we need to listen to their stories to understand
them and their situation. Prostitutes need support and strength to overcome
their situation, as Whitaker said about bullied people needing support and
strength.
####
Awareness
turns into action with the End It movement
The End It movement is “shining a light on slavery” by working with partners to raise awareness about human trafficking, prevent it and rescue
and restore those involved in slavery.
February
27 (because of the 27 million slaves caught up in human trafficking) is the specific
day that End It has chosen to raise awareness on social media about modern day
slavery.
The coalition asks people to raise awareness on February 27 by drawing a red
“X” on their hand and posting pictures with the hashtag “EndItMovement.”
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| Photo provided by University of the Cumberlands Alisha Brown among other students at UC that gathered in Gatliff Chapel to raise awareness February 27, 2014. |
“I think a big thing to End It is to raise awareness because
a lot of people don’t realize that slavery is still out there,” said Alisha
Brown, a junior at University of the Cumberlands. “Drawing an “X” on our hands
might not seem like a lot, but it’s something.”
For those who can afford to do more
than just raise awareness, people can give money which goes to partners of End
It such as the
Salvation Army, Polaris and
International Justice Mission to name a few. Not only does End It just have donors give
money, but they get more people involved by having donors build teams of “Freedom Fighters” this encourages 27 of their friends to give $7. Team
leaders range from Christian writer, Bob Goff, to singer, Carrie
Underwood. Hayley Davis, senior at UC, decided to
start her own team of 27.
“It is imperative that we do
something about this attack on our own humanity,” said Hayley Davis, senior at
UC. “These people are living in hell on earth. The End It movement is an
organization that has thankfully come together to fight human trafficking and
sex slavery around the world. Once I found out about it, I had to do
something.”
All of the
publicity of the End It movement has gotten the attention of the government. According
to End It, the
End Slavery Initiative has started and “U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has created a crucial
piece of bipartisan legislation that will establish a $1.5 billion global fund
to fight slavery around the world, aim for a measurable 50% reduction in
slavery over 7-year period, create a non-profit foundation to award grants and
assist victims.”
“I've met women who have escaped
and survived,” said Davis. “I praise God that they've physically escaped,
though their mental escape hasn't yet come. My heart aches for the millions
that are still being held captive. The cycle of abuse, of maltreatment, of
trafficking can end if we decide ourselves, each one of us, to get in the way
and interrupt injustice.”
####
Sex trafficking in
the United States
Cities
that are highly populated, travel hubs and that host major events like concerts
or sporting events
attract a lot of people and are major places for sex trafficking to take place.
Commercial
front brothels, internet
ads (venues unknown), and hotels and motels are the top three places that
sex trafficking occurs according to Polaris
statistics.
“It’s more of a hidden and silent kind of
danger, but it’s prevalent,” said Gina Bowlin, the director of curriculum and
dual credit programs for the School of Lifelong Learning at University of the
Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky and assistant professor in the human
services department at UC. “It’s out there and I don’t think your average
person is aware of how much it’s going on out there.”
The stereotype of the sex industry is that
it happens in foreign countries, but it definitely happens in the United
States. A study done by the University of
Pennsylvania says that between 245,000 and 325,000 American youth are at
risk for sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Bowlin said that some of the
signs that a child is being controlled by a pimp is if they suddenly have
two cellphones or expensive gifts and if they’re extremely secretive.
“We in America walk
around oblivious to suffering,” said Bowlin. “We don’t like to look at things
that are uncomfortable for us.”
The fact is that the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that human trafficking is
unacceptable and should be put to a stop. Within the 30 articles of the
document, the first article
says, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.”
The third and fourth articles say, “Everyone
has the right to life, liberty and security of person,” and, “No one shall be
held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited
in all their forms.”
“If someone’s being trafficked, they
certainly don’t have security,” said Bowlin. “No one should be held in slavery
or servitude. Twenty-seven million
slave world-wide in a world where slavery is illegal. It’s still a huge
problem.”
####
“Bring Back Our
Girls” saying still necessary
Sex traffickers don’t
only prey on runaways; they also kidnap children to be sex slaves and child
brides. A recent example of a high profile case was the 270+ girls that were
kidnapped from a school in Nigeria.
According to the Bring Back Our
Girls website, “On April 14th,
270+ School girls were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by
Boko Haram Terrorists in Nigeria. Approximately 230 are still missing.”
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| Photo from The New Yorker by Haruna Umar/AP Four students walk in Chibok following their escape from Boko Haram. |
Bring Back Our Girls
focuses on raising awareness and activating governments to do something about
this kidnapping. Even though this was a high profile case, it seems that very
little has been heard on the news
since then. However, some of the girls’ stories are being told such as in “The New
Yorker” which shared an account of one of the escaped
girl’s stories.
“They were kidnapped
because they went to school and that was their crime,” said Dr. Ela MolinaMorelock, associate Spanish professor at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. “Most of the people on this planet
don’t have this privilege to be in school, be educated and live a nice life.
All of these things that we take for granted. We need to give back a little
bit.”
Bring Back Our Girls
website states that only 5% of
Nigerian girls make it past secondary school. The girls that were kidnapped
were ready to become lawyers and doctors. The
Malala Fund states that, “Every
three seconds a girl becomes a child bride. Four out of five victims of human
trafficking are girls.” Bring Back Our Girls
quotes the Malala Fund which says, “There are 600 million adolescent girls in
the developing world. They are an undeniable force for social and economic
impact. But only if given the opportunity. Around the world, girls are denied a
formal education because of social, economic, legal and political factors. And
in being denied an education, society loses one of its greatest and most
powerful resources. Education empowers girls to raise their voices, to unlock
their potential, and to demand change.”
On April 14, 2015, during the first
anniversary of the kidnapping of the girls, Amnesty
International published an article about the 270+ girls that were kidnapped
among more than 2,000 women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.
In Abuja, the capital of
Nigeria, a march was
held on April 14, 2015, to remember the girls that are still missing and to
raise awareness to “Bring Back Our Girls.”
“I believe incidents like
this one (the abduction of these young girls) rank right up there with 9/11 and
other terrible incidents of terrorism,” said Dr. Fred Cummings, assistant professor of religion at UC. “I think we as a nation
should expend the same kind of energy and resources to end this terrible
practice. We should unilaterally take whatever action is necessary to bring
these girls home and see that incidents like these never occur on planet
earth.”
####
Refuge for Women
helps women get out of unsafe situations
Refuge for Women in Lexington, Kentucky, is a faith-based, one year
program to help women get out of the sex industry or abusive pasts.
“Their mission is
important because it is very hard to deal with everything that these women go
through,” said Sarah Beth Hunt, sophomore human services major at University of
the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, who’s volunteered at Refuge for
Women. “Getting them on the right track is important. [Refuge for Women] stresses
the importance that women are worth something and worth so much more than to be
in this kind of industry.”
Refuge
for Women has three different phases that the women have to go through during the year
long program.
The first phase lasts for
four months and is about helping the women heal from their past. They have
counseling sessions, classes, and a safe house to live in. The second phase
lasts for three months and is about job training. During this phase, they
practice interviewing, write resumes, and are given appropriate clothes for
interviews. The third phase lasts for five months and is about them starting
the new life that they’ve been preparing for. They live in a transition house
which is mostly on their own, but they still have a curfew and classes to
attend as they get used to their new job, life and freedom.
People can get
involved to help the women along the
three phases. They have people who talk to women involved in prostitution to
tell them about a way out through Refuge for Women. Churches are also involved
to refer women to the refuge.
The Refuge for women
website states,
“We believe that every woman matters – that each woman should have the means
and the resources to pursue the dreams they’ve had since they were little
girls. We believe that these women need honest hope and honest love to be
restored and redeemed. We believe that each woman deserves to walk without
their past defining their future. We believe that women can walk free, stepping
out of the chains that have bound them for so long. We believe in women.”
The need for women to
escape from sex trafficking is evident in the statistics
of the sex industry in the United States. About 4,000 reported cases of sex trafficking happened in the United States in
2014.
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| Photo provided by Kayla Smith UC's Baptist Campus Ministries spring break mission trip team that ministered to women at Refuge for Women. Top to bottom and left to right: Tanner Williams, Dayna Grant, Kendra Carr, Shantel Buchner, Hayley Davis, Sarah Beth Hunt, Kayla Smith, Bernice Uwase, and Magan Atwood. |
“I used to think that sex
trafficking only happened in other countries, but I was so wrong,” said Hunt. “I
went to this place over spring break and realized the truth [that it happens in
America too]. It is so important to get involved so you can see what is really
going on and to encourage these women that the Lord loves them and he has much
bigger plans for them in the future. It’s also important to make relationships
with these women so that they know that they are loved and cared for and that
they always have someone they can go to.”
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