Battling the Human Trafficking Fight - Part 1

Human sex and labor trafficking has become one of the most revenue producing avenues generating billions of dollars a year with profits going to different criminal and terrorist organizations world wide. These organizations however, are not the only ones benefiting from this vast revenue stream, it is family friends, relatives, co-workers, church and scout youth leaders and even child care professionals. This issue has been around for many many years yet only over the past couple of years has it made it to the mainstream and now advocacy groups and victim rescue groups are popping up in almost every state. This is great news for the victims and survivors as it has brought to the forefront, the severity and scope of the issue and more and more average citizens are starting to get involved in rescuing victims and aiding survivors so that they may get back some sense of a normal life but the road to healing is long and difficult.
 

Contrary to popular belief, it is not always what you see in the movies with regards to how victims are chosen, taken and by whom, it is much more complicated than that. While criminal organizations and terrorists benefit greatly, financially by trafficking in people, they are not the only guilty parties. Often times the trafficker is known to the victim in some form such as parents with drug addictions are willing to sell their children just to get high, it is other family members, significant others, all with similar goals. Another fact is that the traffickers are in positions of power such as business professionals, church youth leaders, scout leaders and yes, even law enforcement among many others. These predators look for vulnerabilities in their victim's lives whether it be depression, poor family life, bullying, loneliness and the list is virtually endless. They exploit these vulnerabilities in order to groom their victims and entice them into a life of slavery and despair which is sold to them in the form of a better life, love, respect, money and nice things.
 

What feeds the desire to traffic humans for sex or labor is greed, the money, the power, the ability to control another individual. What feeds the desire to “purchase” another human being is similar to the traffickers in that they crave the control of someone. The desire is also to feed their for depravity, addiction, and desire to be pleasured sexually by unwilling victims. The need for the supply is driven by the demand of the buyers which come in many forms as mentioned in the above paragraph. These acts effect entire populations in an indirect way and families in a direct way and unfortunately some victims never make it home to their loved ones and some survivors never escape the nightmares of their experiences and sadly end their own lives.
 

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that has lasting impacts on every society and the economic landscape as the funds derived from these acts of pure evil produce some level of economic stability (for a select few) which makes it easy for some to look the other way as government officials receive kickbacks from some of the organizations operating human trafficking rings. The money is used to line the pockets of government officials and others in order to fund their own desires which in turn allows the traffickers freedom of movement and the ability to operate essentially in the open with little risk of consequences, luckily, that is not the case so much here in the United States. In third world countries where this occurs, it is easy for trafficking rings to draw in victims due to poverty, low quality of life, a struggling economy and the lack of a substantial job market. These organizations use threats to families to lock their victims into the life for the fear of reprisals are grave to their loved ones, they are also promised money for their families which they never see, they are promised a better life which comes in the form of slavery, torture, sexual abuse and appalling living conditions.
 

We, as a global society can and have been making an impact in the war on human trafficking but it is a very long and difficult battle that truly takes a team effort in order to investigate, find, track, apprehend and prosecute the traffickers appropriately. Our society especially has a problem with recognizing signs and indicators of potentially trafficked persons and educating them is a daunting task all on its own but another key factor is the denial that it happens in every corner of the country, in every city both big and small and every state. The only way we are going to make the impact needed to fight and put an end to this evil is to work together as law abiding citizens and that can only be accomplished by our society waking up to the unfortunate realization that it happens and what they can do to help in this fight and they must be willing to take the right path and report potential incidents. This can only be done through constant awareness, education and training on recognizing the signs and indicators and providing them with the many resources available to them to report possible acts of trafficking.
 

In closing, the victims deserve to be free of the chains that bind them, the survivors and their loved ones need and deserve a significant path to healing. We are doing well but we can and need to do better, they deserve our help, they deserve to live a good life, we owe it to them to help in any way we can. Please, find the strength and love within your hearts to get involved, you too can make a difference. It doesn't take a special skill to do the right thing and get involved, it takes a kind and open heart, it takes caring for your fellow human being as no one should be held against their will and forced to perform such despicable acts, they deserve a prosperous life free of fear.

Author: Tim Easton
First Published: Dec 22, 2019

Republication with author's permission from this original article on LinkedIn