Human trafficking is a human rights issue that has occurred for thousands of years. Human trafficking is defined as “the recruitment of a person for work or services through the use of fraud.” (Ford 71.) The transatlantic trade of African slaves to the Americas to be sold into slavery was the largest case of human trafficking in the world. The Portuguese began transporting people from Africa and using them as slaves. In the late 1500s the English joined and subsequently other countries became more involved. The most recent public case of human trafficking was the kidnapping of 234 Nigerian schoolgirls on April 15, 2014 to be sold as wives by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram. Today around 80% of victims of human trafficking are women and children and it is estimated that it is a multi-billion dollar business. The best known form of human trafficking is the sex industry, but despite popular opinion the majority of victims of human trafficking are used for work. The labor market is much bigger than the sex industry. “Thousands of victims of trafficking are destined for forced labor, domestic servitude, child begging or the harvesting of their organs” (UNODC.org) “A study conducted in 2005 concluded that approximately 9.5 million forced victims at work in Asia. Less than 10% were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation” (Feingold 26.). Asia and the Pacific region have the highest number of victims in the world. Further studies indicate that “trafficked East African girls were forced to perform oppressive domestic work and were raped and even beaten.” (Feingold 26.) Cambodian adolescents are often forced to become commercial deep-sea fishermen. They often stay at sea for 2 years and most fail to return due to... middle of paper...... I spread awareness about human trafficking by posting a flyer about human trafficking in every building academic on campus and posting the hotline number on all my social media. I also watched several movies with friends about human trafficking such as 12 Years a Slave, Taken, and Whores Glory. After the films we discussed how real human trafficking is and how much it impacts people's lives every day, both here in America and abroad. As Krishnan said in his Ted Talk, all it takes is talking to two people about the issue of human trafficking. You don't have to be a human rights activist or notable figure to make this issue more widely known among our colleagues. I texted my closest friends about human trafficking, gave them the number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, and told them to forward the message to another person.
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