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Modern Day Slavery. The Unknown Tragedy of Human Trafficking. History of Slavery. What Do You Know?. What Does It Really Look Like?. Labor Slaves. Estimated 27million slaves in the world today—more than any other time in history.
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Modern Day Slavery The Unknown Tragedy of Human Trafficking
Labor Slaves Estimated 27million slaves in the world today—more than any other time in history. Children below the age of 18 represent between 40 and 50% of the total forced labor victims. Places of forced labor: rock quarries, rice mills, brick kilns, fisheries, garment factories and many other industries around the world. Victims of slavery are often deprived of the freedom of movement, unable to leave the place in which they work. Often victims of violent physical and sexual abuse
Child Soldiers • Most critical in Africa, where children as young as nine have been involved in armed conflicts. • Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East also force children into armed combat • Taken by armed political groups. • Government-backed paramilitary groups, militias and self-defense units operating in many conflict zones, including territorial or ethnic disputes
Sex Trade Second largest criminal industry in the world today. Worldwide, nearly 2 million children forced into sexual slavery…ten times the size of Portage County’s population or roughly the amount of children in Ohio currently. Nearly 23 million total sex slaves in the world…almost two and a half times the total population of Ohio. Today, the illicit sex trade totals over 32 million dollars in revenue yearly…more than the operating budget of most professional sports teams.
How Does it Happen? • Coercion • Forced into slavery due to basic survival needs, familial responsibility, social or monetary debt, etc. • Trickery • Given hope or promise of job in a different city, financial stability, protection, etc. and then sold into slavery • Force • Women and children especially are vulnerable to forced capture and exploitation in many parts of the world (particularly linked to AIDS epidemic)
In Our Own Backyard • More than 800,000 slaves are trafficked through the United States each year, primarily for sexual exploitation • Massage Parlors, Adult Clubs, and other legalized organizations front for illicit prostitution and sex slavery • Extremely pervasive on the West Coast as well as in major cities throughout the Midwest • The largest amount of sex slaves are trafficked annually through Ohio itself, Toledo being the sex trafficking capital of the Western Hemisphere.
Sex Trade in Nice • Influx of North African and Eastern European Girls • Offered jobs and stability in the tourism market in Nice • Trafficked and sold to pimps and brothels in the Airport District of Nice • Controlled by Russian Mafia, which has ties into every aspect of Nice: police, government, etc. • Looks like prostitution, which is legal, but girls are forced into sex labor and are often underage
What Can We Do? • Awareness • Largest criminal industry in the world today thrives due to secrecy and lack of interest from major world power • Advocacy • Write to, campaign for, and support legislators, government officials, and agencies that are actively supporting human rights and the end of modern day slavery • Advancement • Join the cause of an active society of modern day abolitionists through support, fundraising, and campaigning
Simple Ideas to Make an Impact • Post videos, posts, or images to your Facebook account • http://vimeo.com/10769438 • http://vimeo.com/10908340 • Host a Slavery Day at the High School • Wear shirts, hang posters, get the facts out • Chain yourselves to the flag pole outside as a students come to school to show them the reality of slavery today. • Use Class Projects as a means of raising awareness • Talk to your teachers about presentations, group projects, etc. • History, Language Arts, Foreign Languages, and many more subjects can directly relate to the human trafficking issue
For More Information • Not for Sale (Human Trafficking in general) • www.notforsalecampaign.org • Go to the student involvement section for great resources • International Justice Mission (Sex trade and forced labor) • www.ijm.org • Excellent source for resources and ways to get involved politically • Invisible Children (child soldiers) • www.invisiblechildren.org • Limited focus, but an excellent resource for understanding one facet of human trafficking