The US Federal government defines human trafficking as:
“(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age ; or (B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude , peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.” [U.S.C. §7102(8)]
In other words, human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Hard to believe that in the 21st century slavery still exists, but not only does it, it’s worse than you can imagine.
Here are 5 things you probably didn’t know about modern day slavery:
1. There are an estimated 27 million people enslaved around the world. That’s twice the number of Africans enslaved during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
2. It’s estimated that 1.2 million children are trafficked annually around the world, mostly for the purposes of prostitution, pornography and sexual exploitation.
3. Human trafficking isn’t only a problem for third world countries. Cases of human trafficking have been reported in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.
4. It’s believed between 40,000 and 50,000 persons are trafficked into the U.S. each year from Asia, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe, 15,000 of them children.
5. The profits from human trafficking worldwide are estimated at $32 billion annually, making it the second most profitable crime after drug trafficking.
For more information about human trafficking and what you can do about it, visit these websites:
* Love146
* International Justice Mission
* Not For Sale Campaign
* HumanTrafficking.Org
* US Department of Education
* US Department of Justice
source: http://www.examiner.com/x-12513-Rochester-Christian-Living-Examiner~y2009m8d27-5-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-modern-day-slavery
