Human Trafficking Prevention

Image found on Pinterest

I’ve heard January be referred to as Human TraffickingAwareness month.

As the beginning of research generally starts, I opened upGoogle and typed in ‘Human Trafficking Awareness Month.’ Upon skimming throughthe top few headlines one link in particular caught my eye. Posted by the White House, it was a letter that President Obama wrote announcing January 2014 to beNational Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Every part of me was filled with excitement.

This is exactly what we need.

Awareness is one thing, and a good thing, but prevention iswhere we should be focused after awareness has been reached. Once you areaware, there needs to be another step involved-- something practical andtangible and that, my friends, is Prevention.

I know, I know. You might be thinking ‘How can I preventslavery?’

You may not be actively involved in the sex trade, which iswhere most of the attention on human trafficking tends to go, so you don’tthink you are involved and actively growing the 2nd largest criminalindustry in the world. Think about it, if human trafficking and modern-day slavery wereonly about sex, would it be the fastest growing criminal industry in the world?While some may answer yes, I would guess probably not.

Human Trafficking and Slavery exists in every area of ourlives—from the clothes we wear, to the food we eat, to the electronics we use.What we use for entertainment and enjoyment, someone is paying the ultimateprice with their life for its creation—and often we don’t think about it.

If you read my blog, you’re probably already aware. I’vewritten numerous posts regarding human trafficking and modern day slavery; Idocumented my time in Thailand working in a Children’s Home with those who havebeen either exploited or at risk for exploitation, I’ve written about my lifechanging experience with Not For Sale, I’ve challenged you to end slavery inyour life by participating in ethical holidays and being a conscious consumer.Awareness is all around us—from activists to slacktivists, organizations likeIJM, Not For Sale, Love 146 and World Vision and even campaigns like MTV Exit and theA21 Campaign.

Time for prevention.

As I was reading Mr. Obama’s letter, I fell in love withthis paragraph that is a call to both action and duty.

“As we work to dismantle trafficking networks and helpsurvivors rebuild their lives, we must also address the underlying forces thatpush so many into bondage. We must develop economies that create legitimatejobs, build a global sense of justice that says no child should ever beexploited, and empower our daughters and sons with the same chances to pursuetheir dreams. This month, I call on every nation, every community, and everyindividual to fight human trafficking wherever it exists. Let us declare as onethat slavery has no place in our world, and let us finally restore to allpeople the most basic rights of freedom, dignity, and justice.”

That is prevention—changing the way we have lived our livesup until this point. Ethical business practices, a sense of world community,knowing the basic rights of freedom, dignity and justice are the foundation for aworld that can thrive.

Below are what I think of when I contemplate prevention andsteps we can take, as every day individuals who understand the value of thehuman life, to no longer see any more innocent victims to something thatis preventable.

1 – Make sure you know the facts

Awareness is the first step to prevention. Do you know whathuman trafficking is? When someone asks do you find yourself stumbling uponwhat the exact definition is? Spreading basic awareness is as simple as knowingthe definition and having some examples of what it is.

Image taken from Not For Sale

2 – Educate yourself on your personal contribution to thecontinuation of modern-day slavery.

Take just one hour out of your day and search outinformation on the companies of the clothing you happen to be wearing.Free2Work is a great place to learn about companies. Think of what you areplanning on eating for dinner—research what kind of slavery exists in thegrowing, harvesting and production of what you are planning to eat. Did youknow people work in factories peeling shrimp? There are documented cases ofexploitation (unfair wages and working conditions to name two of the issues) tothose workers peeling shrimp. Are you using a laptop to do your research? Laborissues around Apple have been documented and are easy to find upon doing agoogle search. And check out Slavery Footprint to see a rough estimate of howmany slaves are working for you.  This isn’t meant to make you feel bad—but to make you aware of your personalcontribution.

Screen Shot from the Slavery Footprint Questionnaire

There are 30 slaves working for me-- my personal Slavery Footprint results!

3 – Research alternatives to your current lifestylecontributions.

Instead of shopping at Forever 21, shop at H&M. Buysecond hand clothing where the money goes to a charity instead of the companywho originally made the garment. Instead of buying chocolate from Hershey orNestle, buy from Divine or AlterEco. Try to buy locally made products (even ifthey are a little more pricey). While it may be impossible to cut out slaveryfrom your entire life, your purchasing power says a lot and changing a fewbasic parts of your shopping habits can make a difference in the long run. Check out Free2Work.org for company ratings to see how your favourite brands compare to others.

4 – Be the change.

Ethical leaders are needed for real change to happen.Planning on starting a business? Do it right from the start. Be a person who iscommitted, in whatever they set out to do, to do it in such a way that doesn’tallow the exploitation of some for the your own personal gain. Find out you’resurprisingly passionate about the cause? Start a blog, share your story ofjustice-seeking, speak to others. Combine your current passions with a goal toend slavery.

David Batstone, founder of Not For Sale, posted a quote onhis Twitter feed that was retweeted by MTV Exit where I happened to stumbleupon it. It goes like this:

I encourage you, not only during Human Trafficking Awarenessand Prevention Month but also throughout the year, to do just that-- change yourview of slavery where your current life finds you and design creative ways tocome against it. Be pro-love  and be thechange that is needed to end modern-day slavery.

What are some creative ways you have found to raiseawareness or prevent human trafficking?