It’s sad but true: here in this country, people are being bought, sold, and smuggled like modern-day slaves. They are trapped in lives of misery—often beaten, starved, and forced to work as prostitutes or to take grueling jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers with little or no pay. (FBI; Human Trafficking Prevention, 1/10/12.)
 |
A visual from CalVCP's Tumblr blog,
"Human Trafficking is about Exploitation".
January marks the observance of National Slavery
and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. |
As we enter a new year, I cannot think of any story more horrific than the trafficking of children and adults who are sold over and over again throughout this country and around the world. Now, with the growth and popularity of social networks and Internet chat rooms, the technology has inadvertently helped traffickers expand their reach by luring vulnerable boys, girls, men and women from their homes with promises of a better life, only to exploit them and turn them into modern-day slaves.
As we have become more aware of this heinous crime, we are beginning to see just how widespread with now epidemic proportions this has become. These victims are everywhere: in factories, restaurants, elder care facilities, hotels, housekeeping, child-rearing, agriculture, construction or landscaping, food processing, meat-packing, cleaning services and the commercial sex industry.
From mid-2010 to mid-2012, California's human trafficking task forces identified 1,277 victims. However, that number is believed to be only a small fraction of those actually affected.
Human trafficking generates billions of dollars of profit each year, making it one of the world’s fastest growing criminal activities. Human trafficking activities exist and cross over into other criminal areas as well, including organized crime, crimes against children and gangs. Human trafficking can affect the quality of life for all of us.
While the majority of human trafficking victims are from other countries and may speak little or no English, approximately one-third of victims are Americans. According to the recent report, “The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012," released by the Attorney General’s office, California is one of the nation's top four destination states for human trafficking, believed to be a $32 billion a year global industry. From mid-2010 to mid-2012, California's human trafficking task forces identified 1,277 victims. However, that number is believed to be only a small fraction of those actually affected.
While we hope that victims of human trafficking will come forward and seek the assistance so many desperately need, yet we realize that often, many victims are too scared to come forward out of fear of retaliation or from embarrassment. This is why outreach and education are so important, so that as a community we can recognize the warning signs and help these victims. Many times, victims of trafficking display warning signs such as acting fearful, tense, depressed, submissive, or paranoid, avoiding eye contact and may appear malnourished and defer to another person to speak for them. They also tend to show signs or physical and/or sexual abuse, confinement or torture, and work excessively long and unusual hours, often with a pimp/manager.
We must, as concerned citizens of California and of the United States, do our part to help the thousands of victims that are all around us. By becoming more aware of people that surround us in our every-day activities, we may be able to help curtail this growing problem and save victims of this horrendous 21st century crime.
To report suspected trafficking or connect with anti-trafficking services in your area, call the
National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-3737-888.
Julie Nauman is the Executive Officer for the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (VCGCB). VCGCB provides compensation for victims of violent crime and helps to resolve claims against the State.
