One important topic that recently came to our own PAS classroom just last week was human trafficking. We had three representatives from a group that helps raise awareness about human trafficking both domestically and internationally come and talk to our class about the issue. Their group is called YES, which stands for Youth Ending Slavery. They helped to open our eyes about the issue of modern day slavery, and the fact that it's not just some far away, unsolvable issue.
To start off talking about this issue, it's important to understand what human trafficking actually is. Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery that exists in three different types: sex trafficking, forced labor, and child soldiers. Sex trafficking involves forced prostitution and any form of sex trade involving minors. Forced labor comes in many different forms. Some people are forced into labor by being tricked by fake job opportunities. Others have to work because of a system that insists they repay their family's debts - this often involves lower class children. During times of political strife in developing countries, children are often forced into joining the military or even kidnapped by rebel armies to become child soldiers, an issue seen in Uganda during Kony's rebellion. Because it exists in more than one form and spans the globe, the issue is unfortunately very prevalent and effects all types of people. People who are trafficked suffer psychological, physical, and emotional damage.
Many people may think about human trafficking as something that doesn't really effect all of us living in the Portland, Oregon bubble. Our reality, however, is quite the opposite. Portland is ranked number one in the nation for child human trafficking and number two for human trafficking overall. For this reason, there are groups all around Portland that are currently fighting to stop the spread of human trafficking, those which include Rehab's Sisters, Compassion First, and Janus Youth Programs. Human trafficking is not just an international issue, not nearly.
Human trafficking is a large problem that affects millions of people all around the world. It is a thirty-two billion dollar industry and is currently the second largest-committed crime worldwide. Almost twenty-seven million people worldwide are affected by it and the number continues to grow. This is an issue that certainly isn't easy to beat, but with more awareness and involvement in stopping trafficking, the amount of people sold into slavery can be greatly reduced.
The YES team that brought this issue up to our PAS class last week provided us with several chilling statistics about those who are forced into trafficking:
- 1 in 3 runaways is recruited by a pimp within 48 hours of leaving home. For this reason, there are pimps waiting on the Portland "hotspot" for human trafficking, 82nd avenue, looking for runaways to recruit.
- The average age for entry into prostitution is 13 years old.
- 95% of women that are involved in prostitution report that they were sexually abused as children.
- The average life span of a woman being sold in the sex trade is only 7 years.
For more information about trafficking and the slave trade, you can check out the YES team's website at www.youthendingslavery.org
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