Blog#3 Modern Day Slavery

Human Trafficking is a global social problem that can be reduced with enforced laws to protect the victims and prosecute violators. According to The Christian Science Monitor, the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was on a political trip in Calcutta, India when she visited a shelter established to support victims of the international crime of human trafficking. She considers human trafficking as one of the largest and urgent human rights concerns. Clinton has teamed up with prominent international people in an attempt to bring awareness to human trafficking that consist of forced labor ranging from mining to prostitution.  Celebrities have even advocated movements to support anti-trafficking. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have an anti-trafficking foundation that can be viewed at demiandashton.org.

Human Trafficking is not just an international problem. Human Trafficking is a social problem much closer to home than Americans want to realize. You must first start by educating the community to bring awareness to the real live issues that are happening.

 According to the article, human trafficking is reality on the streets from San Francisco to New York. The federal government has estimated ten and thousands of victims subjected to human trafficking annually. American girls and few boys are targets of this inhumane act.   The article touched basis on the efforts of The Department of Justice in prosecuting cases, however the two human trafficking cases from 1998 to 120 in 2011 seems hardly an improvement when considering the population of the United States. Globalization is a contributing factor to the illegal trade of people and our government needs to push for more research to identify the extent of the social issue and to unveil trafficking activities.  

Public awareness is key and avoiding the issue solely because of beliefs that issues involving sex should not be discussed in schools or publicly on some television is not going to resolve or contribute to the reduction of trafficking.  Prevention is the answer and supporting the victims of human trafficking through providing assistance in escaping that lifestyle while prosecuting the violators that commit these crimes against people.  "Traffickers prey on the hopes and dreams of those seeking a better life, and our goal should be to put those hopes and dreams back within reach”, said Clinton.

Hanes, Stephanie. Human trafficking: a misunderstood global scourge . N.p., 9 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. Path: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2012/0909/Human-trafficking-a-misunderstood-global-scourge.