Tag Archive for: Human Trafficking

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From Slaved To Saved: Wipe Every Tear

Wipe Every TearThere are currently over 12,000 women trafficked for sex in Angeles City, Philippines. Because of high levels of poverty, many cannot escape because they have no other means for paying off their debts. Other jobs are hard to obtain with anything less than a college degree. Wipe Every Tear is a Christian organization that is helping victims of sex trafficking in three ways: a way out, safe homes and education.

A Way Out

In the Bible, the Book of Revelations chapter twenty-one verse four reads, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or crying or mourning or pain.” The organization aims to take away the mourning and pain from women who have been trafficked in the sex trade. They are given a new way to live a life where they are surrounded by love and taught valuable skills to survive in the world.

The organization is fueled by women who are former sex slaves who want to help save others. They go back into bars in the red light district of Angeles City and invite women who are interested in getting out of sex trafficking back to their safe house in Manila. If the women are interested in escaping, Wipe Every Tear gives them a bed to sleep in, pays off their debts and enrolls them into school.

Safe Homes

Once any former sex slave has escaped, she is given any support needed to help her recover. This may include a weekly allowance and care for her children. Because many women are drawn into sex trafficking as a means to pay off debt or fuel a drug addiction, Wipe Every Tear aims to give them a safe home to gain back control of their life. Sexual exploitation is more common than it should be, with one in every four girls being the victim of abuse.

Wipe Every Tear provides a fully holistic approach to healing the women who come to safe homes. Women can receive medical and dental care. In addition, over 200 women and children have gone through its safe houses and received the opportunity at starting fresh.

Education

Many employers in the Philippines will not hire anyone with anything less than a bachelor’s degree. Wipe Every Tear provides tuition fees to women so they can pursue a college degree. If anyone needs transportation, Wipe Every Tear provides that too. The foundation began in 2008. By 2015, they celebrated their first college graduate. As of 2020, they have helped 30 women receive college degrees.

Wipe Every Tear also works with several other organizations to help provide education and jobs that teach business skills. Bella Goose Coffee is a fair trade coffee company that opened a shop in the red light district to give these women a better career opportunity. A proper career and education are fundamental in helping women stay out of sex slavery.

Wipe Every Tear continues to advocate within the global community to help women trapped in the sex trade. With community events, volunteer trips and business partners, it has established a successful method to help many women and their families. Wipe Every Tear is bringing light and happiness to many and ending their mourning and pain.

– Tawney Smith
Photo: Flickr

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How to Support Victims of Human Trafficking


From media and TV references to news stories, awareness of human trafficking has become the center of public attention, particularly in the past year. Undoubtedly, this is an issue that has touched every community across the world. According to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, human trafficking is the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.” The U.S. State Department currently estimates that there are approximately 24.9 million victims worldwide.

With human trafficking, or modern-day slavery, becoming more prevalent today, here are some things one should—and should not—do when advocating for victims of human trafficking.

How to Properly Support Victims of Human Trafficking

To properly support victims of human trafficking, one must familiarize themselves with the signs of human trafficking. Information and knowledge are essential tools in combating this profoundly complicated issue. The more one understands human trafficking schemes, the better one can identify trafficking acts and dispel many of the common myths surrounding human trafficking.

It is also important to advocate for policies that invest in local community building. Research suggests that the prevention of human trafficking is most successful when it focuses on creating cohesive communities and minimizing individuals’ vulnerability. Lack of access to essentials such as housing, food and emotional needs are significant indicators of vulnerability. The best way to prevent preemptive conditions for human trafficking is to support and advocate for policies that invest in the community through crime prevention, healthcare, urban development and improved education.

Moreover, reporting a tip to the proper authorities if one believes someone may be a victim of modern slavery is critical to stemming human trafficking schemes. It is better to be overly cautious than to fail to report active trafficking. If you are in the U.S. and suspect someone may be a victim, call the 24-hour National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or report an emergency to law enforcement by calling 911. You can also text HELP to BEFREE (233733), or email help@humantraffickinghotline.org.

What to Avoid When Advocating for Victims of Human Trafficking

Do not be an uninformed consumer. Unfortunately, many of the products that you may use every day, from groceries to clothing, may have been produced from coerced labor. Check out these resources from the Office on Trafficking in Persons to calculate your “slavery footprint” and determine which goods are produced by slave labor.

Furthermore, awareness campaigns should be paced to avoid social media crazes. While it may seem like a good idea to utilize social media platforms to raise awareness and spread information, it may inspire fearmongering and misinformation. In July 2020, a major conspiracy theory swept over social media platforms, alleging that famous furniture company Wayfair was involved in human trafficking due to suspicious product names and unusually high prices. The sudden interest overwhelmed the national trafficking hotline and stretched their resources thin, without any particular evidence. Not only did this overwhelm the hotline, but it also prevented authorities from properly investigating the situation as social media attention often alerts traffickers to move their operations elsewhere.

It is important to remember that trafficking is a deeply integrated issue in societies that stems from various causes. Despite its complexity, prevention and reduction are very much in reach, especially if individuals become more aware of trafficking practices and how to combat them safely. For more information and resources, see the U.S. State Department’s website.

– Angie Bittar
Photo: Pixabay

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7 Facts About Child Labor in Argentina

Child Labor in ArgentinaMore than 125 million children are currently forced into child labor, primarily to help financially support their families. Argentina is one of the many countries that informally uses child labor in its factories and industries. Unfortunately, these children are often overworked and underpaid. As the cruelty and injustice of child labor become increasingly exposed, strides are being made to eliminate the inhumane practice worldwide. Here are seven facts about child labor in Argentina.

7 Facts About Child Labor in Argentina

  1. Cruel conditions and high poverty levels force many young Argentinians into child labor. More than 19% of children ages five to fifteen enter the labor system to provide for their families. This figure is typically higher in urban areas, with up to 43% of children working to supplement their families.

  2. Gender plays a defining role in economic prosperity. In Argentina, there is a large socioeconomic gender gap between men and women in wages and school enrollment. For children under fifteen, a 22% wage gap exists between boys and girls. The problem worsens with age: men are 40% more likely to receive higher wages than women in comparable fields. As such, men more commonly drop out of school and work full-time to provide for their families.

  3. Actions are being taken to reduce child labor. While child labor remains prevalent, many projects and programs have helped lessen the practice in Argentina. Extensive time and work obligations limit many of these children from attending school and flourishing in their education. Proniño, a philanthropy program in Buenos Aires, aims to rectify this problem by funding scholarships for families dependent on their children for income. With more than 1,590 beneficiaries, Proniño has provided hope to numerous students with only a 1.9% dropout rate.

  4. Human trafficking is an improving, yet rampant concern. In Argentina, more than 10,000 victims were rescued from human trafficking. Yet, many are still suffering: there are currently at least 4,000 human trafficking victims every year, most of whom are women and children. Human trafficking often entails coercing children into illicit activities like drug dealing or sexual exploitation. Large international organizations such as UNICEF are taking major steps to eradicate these actions and increase opportunities for disadvantaged children in Argentina. For example, the Ministry of Education and UNICEF enacted a two-year program to provide scholarships for students to attend school in areas protected from human trafficking.  Similarly, UNICEF has allocated an annual budget of $123 million to establish social programs for countries including Argentina. This funding also strengthens educational opportunities for children vulnerable to dangerous household situations and child labor.

  5. Child labor takes many forms. Although common forms of child labor, such as sweatshops, are technically banned in Argentina, the practice persists in other, less obvious forms. For example, many children in the countryside are coerced into prostitution or work on tobacco fields. Despite the historic popularity of these actions, drastic measures are emerging to mitigate their occurrence. Particularly, the Argentinian government is taking stronger stances against child labor laws and corrupt business practices, such as exploiting children to work on plantations. In fact, the government signed a 2018-2020 plan to end human trafficking, child prostitution and exploitation. Also, for the first time, the government sent out a nationwide survey through Argentina’s National Institute of Statistics to better understand child labor laws. The government is currently researching more measures to eliminate child labor.

  6. Healthcare access and child labor are interconnected. Access to healthcare is a prolonged problem in Argentina that perpetuates children into forced labor. Many poor Argentinian families turn to child labor as one of the only ways to afford the medical attention they need. However, a law established in 2005 provides health services and medical supplies to underprivileged children, eliminating much of the financial pressure to engage in child labor for this purpose.

  7. International organizations are getting involved. The United Nations has established objectives to not only lower child labor, but also limit poverty in Argentina. By establishing the Millennial Development Goals, the United Nations hopes to free 760,000 children and families living in underdeveloped areas from child labor. This project focuses on three major hubs of child labor within the country: Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Santa Fe.

Although Argentina still uses child labor in many of its business practices, governments and international organizations are acting swiftly to reduce the amount of forced labor impressed upon young children. With these comprehensive plans in the making, there is promise for eradicating child labor in Argentina.

– Aishwarya Thiyagarajan
Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts about Homeless Children in Ethiopia

Homeless Children in Ethiopia Ethiopia, especially in its capital city of Addis Ababa, is experiencing a growing homelessness crisis. Young adults and children leave the countryside to try and find work and education in the country’s urban areas, but the cost of living and housing is often unaffordable. Here are seven facts about homeless children in Ethiopia.

7 Facts about Homeless Children in Ethiopia

  1. Forty-two percent of Addis Ababa’s homeless population is under the age of 18. An official survey in 2010 counted 12,000 homeless children in Addis Ababa alone but some NGOs have estimated that the number is much higher.
  2. Family problems are cited as one of the main reasons that children leave their homes and end up living on the streets. Approximately 46% of street children in Ethiopia live with people other than their birth parents because of death, divorce, or separation.
  3. Residential shelters exist for homeless children in Ethiopia, but they must pay their way into them and continue to make money in order to stay there. Shelters are small and fit fewer than 20 children at once. For about 20 birr (57 cents in USD) children can pay to have meals and a bed for a night. One particular shelter, Hold My Hand, has been serving at-risk homeless boys by providing them food at Addis’s largest school, Bole, or by reuniting them with lost family members. Though the shelter’s capacity is small, they have been able to reunite five families with their lost sons and continue to feed children through the Bole Project.
  4. Homeless children in Ethiopia are often exploited. Human trafficking networks have a large presence in the country’s crime rings, and often young girls that are experiencing homelessness in Ethiopia fall victim to these syndicates. Once in Addis Ababa, these girls are forced into slavery-like working conditions in domestic service. Close to 400,000 humans were trapped in slavery in 2016. Retrak Ethiopia helps businesses learn more about the people they employ and then tries to rescue homeless children in Ethiopia from human trafficking.
  5. Many homeless children experience addiction or substance abuse. Glue-sniffing is a popular form of drug abuse among homeless children in Ethiopia because the substance is inexpensive and easy to obtain on the street. Street children sniff glue in order to try and ease the pain of hunger and exposure to the elements.
  6. Ethiopia’s government does not offer any type of public funding for homeless children and has instead relied on a heavy police presence to try and contain the growing crisis in cities. One method used by the police is apprehending children and forcing them back to their hometowns, but this effort has been largely unsuccessful.
  7. Ethiopia’s newest prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has charted a new path for the way the country addresses its growing homeless youth population. His new stance is the “Children on the streets have a right to live” which is a far cry from mottos of the past like the one in 2017 that emphasized “Cleaning Addis Ababa’s streets of children.” Now, Ethiopia’s government involves more conversations with on-the-ground NGOs. Habitat for Humanity has opened an Ethiopian chapter to try and rebuild old housing units and provide new ones for the country’s homeless population. Sanitation services in Ethiopia are unavailable in 80% of urban areas, so Habitat focuses on creating communal points of access for water distribution and hygienic purposes in cities like Addis Ababa.

-Grace May
Photo: Flickr

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Top 5 Ted Talks About Human Trafficking

Five Ted Talks About Human TraffickingTED talks about human trafficking help to shine a spotlight on the issues from how to spot examples of trafficking to how to end it. These talks can be a powerful educational tool not only for individuals but also in settings like the classroom and the workplace. Here are five TED Talks about human trafficking.

5 TED Talks about Human Trafficking

  1. “Human Trafficking is All Around You. This is How it Works.” In this talk, Noy Thrupkaew discusses the behind-the-scenes world of human trafficking and its prevalence in ordinary places of business such as nail salons. She shows the human faces behind the exploited labor that feeds global consumerism and breaks down how human trafficking works all around the world.
  2. “Escaping the Pain of Human Trafficking.” Markie Dell is a human trafficking survivor who shares her experience as well as her road to recovery. Dell also talks about the unusual advice from a friend that helped her to heal and reclaim her life.
  3. “Three Ways Businesses Can Fight Sex Trafficking.” Attorney Nikki Clifton points out three ways businesses can fight sex trafficking. She reveals to the audience how sex trafficking happens in the open more than people think. It can occur online, in the middle of the workday or while using company equipment and resources. As she says, this puts companies in a powerful position to mobilize employees and educate them to stop sex trafficking. Hiring sex trafficking survivors and setting clear policies are just some of the ways she says businesses can stop sex trafficking.
  4. “The Fight Against Sex Slavery.” Sunitha Krishnan spends her time leading powerful discussions surrounding the multi-million dollar global sex slavery industry. A longtime ally of sex traffickers, she tells the stories of children of slaves and advocates for a more humane reform to helping survivors rebuild their lives.
  5. “I Was Human Trafficked for 10 Years. We Can Do More to Stop It.” Barbara Amaya courageously tells her story of being human trafficked when she was 12 years old. After running away from home to escape her abusive family, Amaya was “rescued” by a family that locked her into human trafficking for 10 years. Since escaping in 2012, she has raised awareness about the sexual exploitation of children and domestic sex trafficking. Amaya is an anti-trafficking advocate, speaker, trainer, author and survivor leader in the movement to end sex and human trafficking.

By taking just a few minutes to watch these TED talks about human trafficking, people can do something today to prevent human trafficking. Sharing their talks on social media is also a great way to continue the movement of ending human trafficking through education.

– Emily Joy Oomen
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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10 Facts About Human Trafficking in El Salvador

Human Trafficking in El Salvador
El Salvador is the most densely populated nation in Central America, with a population of 6.375 million people and the size of 21,041 kilometers squared. Citizens of El Salvador are impacted by daily petty crimes such as thieft and pickpocketing, as well as more intense gang violence. El Salvador has the fifth-highest murder rate in the world, mainly caused by gang violence. Many gangs also partake in human trafficking, exploiting victims both domestically and abroad. These 10 facts about human trafficking in El Salvador aim to shed light on the main perpetrators, as well as steps taken to combat these abuses.

10 Facts About Human Trafficking in El Salvador

  1. Women, children, and LGBTQ people are at a higher risk of exploitation than men. Traffickers will often exploit El Salvadorans, as well as citizens from neighboring countries such as Nicaragua and Guatemala, who fall into those demographics. Transgender people are particularly at risk for sex trafficking as they are often dehumanized and fetishized in Latin America and other parts of the world.

  2. According to the United States Department of State, El Salvador does not currently meet the bare minimum standards for combating human trafficking. The government has made some small efforts, such as investigating an allegedly complicit government official and providing psychiatric services to female victims. These small efforts demonstrate a willingness to be on the right track, which makes El Salvador a strong candidate for potential growth in combating human trafficking.

  3. Gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha, more commonly known as MS-13, lure women into trafficking by offering them jobs. Women from poor backgrounds are baited and then forced into sex slavery. Experts are weary to pinpoint gangs as the main source for trafficking, as there is evidence of government officials and other people in power who also partake in trafficking whether for sexual or labor purposes.

  4. The Human trafficking network in El Salvador involves a lot of different members from the private sector, including transportation, tourism, media, entertainment and legal industries. Bus drivers, taxi drivers and truck drivers all take part in transporting victims. The media industry is also used to recruit victims by advertising fake jobs in newspapers and on the radio. These advertising methods are usually aimed at the aforementioned demographics, as they are often the most vulnerable in communities.

  5. The public sector is also very much involved in trafficking networks. Often, immigrants, police and other civil servants aid traffickers. Public officials provide false birth certificates and other legal documents. Border enforcement patrols are easily bribed into allowing victims to be trafficked to other countries. Suspects in human trafficking cases are often protected by public officials.

  6. The average age of trafficked victims ranges from between 9 to 15 years old. Teenagers and children are often recruited at school or within their own communities. Traffickers are able to brainwash children because of their young age, making them more malleable. Children are trained to murder, sell drugs or sell their bodies. Girls, in particular, are harassed and forced into relationships with gang members. Children are physically harassed, assaulted, threatened until they have no choice but to join a gang.

  7. Florida is the top destination for trafficked victims from El Salvador. Florida has high demands for human slaves, including both sex and labor slaves. Victims from El Salvador are forced into the commercial sex industry with the demand to make a profit for their traffickers. Victims are threatened to the point that they have no other choice but to comply.

  8. The root of human trafficking is the demand for victims. People are trafficked not because of the needs of human traffickers, but because of the demand of people who will pay for human services. In El Salvador, this manifests itself through a demand for prostitution and stripping. The growth of gang networks and the tourism industry has led to sec trafficking in El Salvador to become a multinational scheme.

  9. Many organizations are working to combat sex trafficking in El Salvador. The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) started a campaign in 2013 called Tu Voz, which acmes to educate, alert, and support young people who are vulnerable to trafficking. The PADF worked with many other organizations to create the campaign, including MTV Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank and its youth network (BID Juventud) and the Cinepolis Foundation (largest movie complex franchise in Latin America).

  10. The campaign has been incredibly successful so far, with over 150,000 people reached across 200 awareness events. Also, MTV produced and screened an anti-human trafficking documentary called “Invisible Slaves,” which had a successful impact across youth in danger of trafficking. The campaign also strengthened vulnerable youth to become activists against human trafficking. The success of the campaign demonstrates how empowering awareness and education campaigns can be, in combating some of the biggest villains in El Salvador.

Overall, minorities and women are the most vulnerable to be trafficked. There are many factors involved such as demand and poverty that contribute towards the human trafficking market. These 10 facts about human trafficking in El Salvador aimed to cover some of the reasons for the prominence of human trafficking in the region, as well as steps being taken to combat human trafficking. There has been an increase in effort from the international community, as well as the government of El Salvador to put an end to human trafficking. Education, advocacy and activism can all help to put an end to the atrocities of human trafficking in El Salvador.

– Laura Phillips-Alvarez
Photo: Flickr

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Global Infancia: The Blueprint for a Successful NGO

Global Infancia

Global Infancia is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that specializes in protecting children from abuse in Paraguay. It was founded in 1995, “Global Infancia works towards creating a culture which respects the rights of children and adolescents in Paraguay.”

It has attempted to promote the human rights of children in a myriad of ways, ranging from creating a branch of the government tasked with protecting children to founding a news agency focusing on children’s rights. Global Infancia represents the blueprint for a successful NGO because of its ability to form partnerships with governments, influence local communities, and follow through with its goals.

Partnerships with Governments

Studies have estimated that roughly 60 percent of children in Paraguay have been victims of violence. Faced with this fact, Global Infancia worked with the National Secretariat for Childhood and Adolescence along with the Paraguayan Government to pass a law stating “all children and adolescents have the right to be treated properly and with respect for their physical, psychological and emotional well-being. This includes protections for their image, identity, autonomy, ideas, emotions, dignity and individual values”.

Additionally, Global Infancia spearheaded the forming of Municipal Councils for the Rights of Children and Adolescence who have become instrumental in protecting children’s rights throughout Paraguay. Global Infancia’s work is proof of how a successful NGO can form fruitful partnerships with local governments.

Integration into the Local Community

Since the end of authoritarian rule in Paraguay, it has been working to integrate itself into local communities and promote the recognition of children’s rights. In the town of Remansito, Global Infancia is providing supplementary nutrition and school support to over 1,000 children. Approximately 22 percent of Paraguayans live below the poverty line. The child labor force of participation with a rate of 25 percent, shows that the conditions for many children in Paraguay are not ideal.

However, Global Infancia recognized these problems and has created national media campaigns to raise awareness for children’s rights and used training forums around the country to educate the public that violence against children will no longer be tolerated. Finally, Global Infancia has harnessed the power of local communities by “installing an alert system which reduces the demand for childhood labor”. These actions illustrate how a successful NGO employs the power of the communities they are working in.

Accomplishing Goals

At its inception, it was primarily focused on fighting the trafficking of babies and children. Today it has evolved into a children’s rights organization with a bevy of goals. Whether it be their success at establishing legal rights for children in Paraguay or the founding of CODENIS bodies which protect children throughout the country today, Global Infancia has had a considerable impact on Paraguayan society. In a 2017 report by the United States Department of Labor, experts found significant advancement in Paraguay’s fight to end child labor.

However, the current situation still puts many children in danger, requiring more resources to fully end child labor. With the help of Global Infancia and the multitude of other successful NGO’s, there are no doubts that Paraguay will continue to see improvements to children’s rights.

Overall, Global Infancia is a perfect example of how a successful NGO operates. From its crucial government and community partnerships to their impressive track record of accomplishing its goals.

– Myles McBride Roach

Photo: Flickr

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Technology Can Help Reduce Human Trafficking

Reduce Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a criminal activity that reaches every country. Today, trafficking affects over 40 million people. The regions that suffer the most from this inhumane transgression are those poorest in the world. People in impoverished countries have limited access to education and well-paying jobs, making them naive and desperate. The demand for cheap labor around the world creates profitable markets for criminals who then target and trick the vulnerable with false promises of better lives. Those victims become lost in the complex networks of human trafficking, and many times people never hear from them from again. One nonprofit is making it its mission to reduce human trafficking.

Traffickers Have Expanded Their Arsenal

In this age of rapidly expanding technology, many perpetrators use technology to enhance their modern slavery rings. Examples of this include controlling those already captured through mobile phones and webcam surveillance. Also, human traffickers recruit potential victims via online grooming scams.

Since criminals have begun to incorporate technology in how they traffic victims, it has become imperative for others to use technology to reduce human trafficking. Each incident of trafficking can be unique, but each case happens within the same three steps; acquisition, transportation and then forced labor. Technology can help disrupt each of these phases and save victims.

Using Technology to Advantage Instead

Specific technological solutions that people use today include directly connecting workers with safe employers in order to eliminate an intermediary who could exploit the worker. A great example of this application is the site, Contratados. As more resolutions like this develop, the ability for traffickers to obtain victims significantly diminishes.

Global imaging has enhanced the capability of identifying human trafficking routes. The company DigitalGlobe produces high-quality images of the earth to expose slave ships in the seas. Applying its powerful satellites in this way allows law enforcement to police seas like never before. DigitalGlobe also combats against child labor by investigating brick kilns in Inda and fisheries in Ghana.

Technology can also provide a way out for those already trapped in forced labor situations. Carrying a mobile phone has given people the ability to call for help after they went to prison wrongfully. That is if migrants have access to the funds for a mobile phone. It is uncommon for migrants to carry such devices if they are from impoverished countries where human trafficking is most rapid.

Technology has many solutions that can reduce human trafficking, but the most significant obstacle is its availability. Migrants of impoverished regions are not the only ones suffering isolation from helpful technology, their governments are too. Without the resources to combat this intricate crime, little improvements happen. Nevertheless, there is still good news for these nations.

How BSR is Doing its Part

In recent years, big tech companies have banded together in order to address this worldwide crisis and reduce human trafficking. Because of the nonprofit Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the big players in this initiative have formed a group called Tech Against Trafficking. These companies include Amazon, AT&T, BT, Microsoft Corporation, Nokia, Salesforce.org and Vodafone.

The mission of this collaboration is to work “with global experts to help eradicate human trafficking using technology.” BSR wants all possible parties to become involved. Everyone from survivors and academia to law enforcement and technologists. With all these forces combined, BSR hopes to advance technology in order to reduce, disrupt and even completely prevent human trafficking. Of course, it also plans to provide resources for survivors.

The first action Tech Against Trafficking took in its mission consisted of mapping out the landscape that currently exists. After the initial review, the group identified over 200 different technologies to use as tools to reduce human trafficking. However, the gaps in the effectiveness of the tech implemented were evident. Specifically, in the Southern hemisphere, there is massive room for improvement in technological applications. Tech Against Trafficking’s next step is to work with those on the ground in these regions to better serve them with tech aid.

The U.S. government is also using cutting edge technology in its fight against global trafficking through the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This agency uses a sophisticated data analytics program called Memex. The agency uses it to search the dark web for potential leads on trafficking rings, both domestic and internationally.

How to Keep Yourself and Others Safe

While big tech companies and government agencies do a large part to be at the forefront of fighting trafficking with technology, consumers can do the same. Using applications such as GoodGuide can help people be conscientious about the impacts of how their money is spent. Spreading awareness is the greatest ally to reduce human trafficking. Communicating via apps and social media is a simple call to action for this humanitarian cause that can easily disrupt human trafficking and save many lives.

– Ariana Kiessling
Photo: Flickr

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Factors That Lead to Human Trafficking

Factors That Lead to Human Trafficking

There are many factors that lead to human trafficking, a form of modern-day slavery that exists in the 21st century. Today, an estimated 24.9 million people worldwide are still forced into a world of captivity. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), factors that lead to human trafficking consist of three core elements: action, means and purpose. Action refers to how victims are recruited and transported. The means of trafficking includes deception, coercion and the use of or threat of force. The purpose of trafficking is always exploitation, including sexual services and forced labor.

Human trafficking is a global problem. Any nation in the world can be a country of origin, transit or destination for trafficked individuals. However, most trafficking occurs in developing countries where potential victims are vulnerable due to poverty or conflict. The problem is as widespread as it is complex and the factors that lead to human trafficking differ by country.

Factors That Lead to Vulnerability

Human trafficking is a complex issue, dependent on the social, economic and cultural spheres in origin, transit and destination countries. However, there is one commonality in every case of trafficking—traffickers seek to exploit their potential victim’s desire to move toward better opportunities. They use coercive measures to gain control and cooperation from the victim.

Victims of human trafficking often come from dangerous situations in their origin country and are falsely promised outcomes that will improve their quality of life. These factors of human trafficking are called push and pull factors. They either push people out of their origin or pull them toward their destination.

Push factors that provoke travel are often poverty, the lack of social or economic opportunity and human rights infringements. Other factors like political instability, internal armed conflict and natural disaster are also common. War creates major displacements of people, leaving women and children vulnerable to trafficking.

The pull factor is the need for slave labor, which is obtained by exploiting those in more vulnerable positions. When the origin country is devastated by war and destination countries are free of similar conflict, potential victims will be pulled toward stability. Those that desire to improve their quality of life by leaving their home countries can be deceived when trafficking offenders coerce and capture them. In the presence of conflict, the remaining vulnerable population can be exploited by offenders that deceivingly offer a better life.

Combating Root Causes

The UNODC operates on an international level and provides legislative assistance to address the root causes of human trafficking. This includes the review of domestic legislation concerning the protection of victims and the training of criminal justice practitioners to effectively prosecute offenders. Additionally, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2000. This legal instrument aims to combat and prevent trafficking, protect victims and seek international cooperation to meet these goals.

There are many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that address issues on a local level. Challenging Heights is an NGO based in Ghana that focuses on fighting child trafficking to Lake Volta, where an estimated 21,000 children are forced to work in the fishing industry. The organization regularly conducts rescue missions for trafficked children in the region. Recovered children are brought to Hovde House, a transitional shelter. At that point, the rehabilitation process begins, which includes education as well as medical, psychological and emotional care. Once children are ready to reintegrate into their communities, Challenging Heights continues to monitor their progress and provides services like health care.

NGOs like Challenging Heights that address regional needs distill international legal instruments like the UNODC into local efforts. By addressing the root causes of trafficking like poverty, these organizations hope to stop the cycle of and factors that lead to human trafficking.

– Andrew Yang
Photo: Pixabay

The Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019

Combating Global Corruption
Cosponsored by six congressmen, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) re-introduced the Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019 on May 2, 2019. The bill requires the Department of State to rank countries into three tiers by how the country complies with the anti-corruption standards established in section four of the bill. This bill previously died in the 115th Congress. However, the 2019 re-introduction has already proven to be more successful. In mid-July 2019, the Senate placed the Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019 on its legislative calendar.

Cosponsor Sen. Young says, “I am proud of this bipartisan effort to combat corruption around the world by standing with the world’s most vulnerable and holding those in power responsible for their actions.” Global corruption is a direct threat to democracy, economic growth, national and international security. It increases global poverty, violates human rights and threatens peace and security.

Corruption and Global Poverty

Bribery negatively impacts literacy rates and access to adequate health and sanitation services. Eight times more women die during childbirth in places where over 60 percent of the population report paying bribes compared to countries with rates below 30 percent. Bribery significantly increases the costs of services like education and health care while decreasing a family’s disposable income. For example, in Mexico, the average poor family spends one-third of its income on bribes. Some families must use the income meant for school or dinner to pay a bribe to local law enforcement.

Corruption and Human Rights

Article six of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states: “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”

However, UNICEF reports that every five seconds, a child under the age of 15 dies of generally preventable causes. Over five million of these deaths occur before the age of five due to lack of water, sanitation, proper nutrition and basic health services. Impoverished families living in corrupt communities often do not have access to these services. Therefore, they suffer from higher rates of child mortality. Children are 84 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday in Angola, the sixth most corrupt country in the world, than Luxembourg, the 10th least corrupt country. Corruption denies children their right to life.

Peace and Security

Transparency International’s report “Corruption as a Threat to Stability and Peace” found that corruption fuels conflict and instability. Consequently, more than half of the 20 most corrupt countries have experienced violent conflict. Iraq and Venezuela have violent death rates above 40 per 100,000 individuals.

Further, one of the most profitable forms of corruption is human trafficking. UNICEF estimates that human traffickers generate $32 billion by smuggling approximately 21 million victims each year. Human trafficking occurs in unstable environments where corrupt officials allow criminal activity to persist. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that addressing human trafficking and combating global corruption together will generate better results.

Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019

The Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019 will establish a three-tiered system of countries by their level of corruption and efforts to combat injustices.

  1. Tier one includes countries complying with the minimum standards stated in section four of the bill.
  2. Tier two includes countries attempting to comply with the minimum standards in section four but are not succeeding at the level of a tier-one country.
  3. Tier three includes countries to which the government is making little, to no effort to comply with the minimum standards in section four.

The minimum standards set expectations about national legislation and punishments to deter and eventually eliminate, the corruption inside a country’s borders. The second part of the Combating Global Corruption Act sets forth a procedure to conduct risk assessments, create mitigation strategies and investigate allegations of misappropriated foreign assistance funds to increase the transparency and accountability for how the U.S. provides foreign assistance to tier-three countries.

Sen. Cardin has four points of focus:

  1. Fighting corruption must become a national security priority.
  2. The U.S. government must coordinate efforts across agencies.
  3. The U.S. must improve oversight of its own foreign assistance and promote transparency.
  4. The U.S. can increase financial support for anti-corruption work by using seized resources and assets.

According to Sen. Cardin, the Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019 “recognizes the importance of combating corruption as a hurdle to achieving peace, prosperity and human rights around the world.”

– Haley Myers
Photo: Flickr