Combating Human Trafficking: Responses and Strategies

Presented by: LaMarco Cable Program Associate for Advocacy and Education

Human Trafficking: What Is It?

Form of modern-day slavery Victims of trafficking are exploited for commercial sex or labor purposes Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to achieve exploitation After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and it is the fastest growing

Compared to Drugs or Arms Sales

Is more profitable Produce continuous profits Involves less risk

Human Trafficking: What Is It?

Sex Trafficking Labor Trafficking

Who Are Victims of Human Trafficking? 500,000 to 2 million people trafficked worldwide annually 800,000 to 900,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders worldwide More than half of victims trafficked into United States are children; Victims can be trafficked into the U.S. from anywhere in the world. Approximately 27 million people held in slavery worldwide 9 billion dollar business

Supply of Victims Is Seemingly Endless

There is a constant source of victims Exploited persons are dispensable commodities They are typically recruited Promises of a better life can make victims vulnerable to traffickers

Difficult to Stop
Fueled by economically desperate victims and by market demands for cheap labor Flourishes when end users can purchase slave labor without fear of legal consequences Effective intervention/prevention requires proactive cooperation between law enforcement and communities

Impact of Human Trafficking on the Society

Fuels organized crime Deprives countries of human capital Promotes social breakdown Undermines public heal Subverts government authority Imposes enormous economic cost

Impact of Human Trafficking on Victims

Loss of support from family and community Loss of proper education Obstacles in physical development Psychological Traumas

Facts
The present rate of trafficking in children is already 10 times higher than the transAtlantic slave trade at its peak There is a victim of trafficking in the world every sixty seconds Human trafficking will surpass drug dealing and arms trading Every 10 minutes, a woman or child is trafficked into the United States Nearly every country is involved in the web of trafficking activities Sexual exploitation is the predominate form of trafficking 80% of the victims are female

Where is our voice in the midst of this?

Reasons we dont speak

Believe we dont know enough Sex-industry is well-funded to get out its message Sounds like a prude Denial Not ready for what might happen

What if we dont speak?

System will continue to provide the language, attitude, belief, and justification for its existence and self-perpetuation Miss an opportunity to proclaim a message of redemption and transformation People will suffer in silence, not understanding the oppression that has gripped them Lives of our most vulnerable will continue to be shaped by a culture of exploitation

Stated Theologically
We are called to stand in the grace of God, believing that it is a missional priority to proclaim release to the captives of the system of exploitation.

What can we do?

Advocate policies Support research Promote social awareness and educate the public Provide services to victims

Department of State Report

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 2 Watch List Tier 3 Special Case

Bringing hurt to public expression is an important first step in the dismantling criticism that permits a new reality, theological and social, to emerge.
Walter Brueggeman The Prophetic Imagination

The task of prophetic imagination and ministry is to bring to public expression those very hopes and yearnings that have been denied so long and suppressed so deeply that we no longer know they are there. Hope is the refusal to accept the reading of reality which is the majority opinion; and one does that only at great political risk.
Walter Brueggeman The Prophetic Imagination