Saturday, July 30, 2022, is officially designated as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. In truth, every day should be rallied as World Days Against Human Trafficking. Nevertheless, we honor those who have survived and care for those still in captivity on this day especially. It is important to take time out of the workaday world and determine for yourself what you can do to help eliminate this travesty, this scourge of mankind – Human Trafficking.
This year’s theme is “Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery and Unity against Racism” The transatlantic slave trade is often studied and discussed at the macro level. It was a phenomenon characterized by unprecedented mass human trafficking, degrading economic transactions and unspeakable human rights violations. This day is especially important as it highlights the atrocities and places attention to what each of us as individuals can do. It is our hope that the world's societies, starting with our own here, wherever here is for our readers, can no longer tolerate people being bought and sold for forced labor or commercial sex.
This is incredibly significant because I fervently believe because of my “hands-on” experience, commercial sex is completely destructive to society and multiple generations of it. This is not just about the victim, which is in itself, barbaric. But also, can readily be seen that no civilized society can truly exist where sex is for sale. This is because there is a never-ending cycle of sex for sale that extends beyond the individual but also to future progeny. Numerous children are trafficked or born into trafficking due to their parents' being trafficked.
(Sidebar) I have often helped children who have the trafficker parent's parental rights severed. What does that mean for this child? How do we help them and how will being born into trafficking direct the long-term course of their life? I do not think we, as a society, are looking at this yet.
I hope on a day such as today, that the survivors know that we as a society care about them and that they are not alone.
Human Smuggling vs. Human Trafficking
Often in the news, I see stories that confuse human smuggling with human trafficking. Here's a breakdown of the differences between the two.
Human Smuggling is a business deal between a person often referred to as a coyote and someone who wishes to enter the country illegally. It is a short-term relationship for a fee. Once the illegal alien reaches the destination the relationship ends. The sole victim is the U.S. because its border and laws were violated.
Sometimes, smugglers get greedy and want more than the agreed upon price or cause harm by horrible conditions. These may turn into crimes of extortion, rape or manslaughter. A recent case in Texas caused the deaths of 53 migrants due to being locked in a trailer with no cooling.
According to the Department of Justice Press release the charge as of June 29, 2022, is alien smuggling resulting in death. So, there are barbaric crimes associated with smuggling that are not human trafficking.
One important thing to remember is that human trafficking does not require movement, even though the label suggests it does. A person can be trafficked in their own home. Domestic servitude forced marriages and compelled labor can be forced through family members. This type of trafficking/ exploitation is no less barbaric than other forms. No crossing of borders is required, however smuggling, or crossing borders may be how the trafficking begins. It does not matter what the victim agreed to, only what occurred after they are in the U.S., and they become enslaved.
Trafficking in persons or human trafficking involves holding someone in service of another through force fraud, or coercion for the purposes of compelled labor or commercial sex. If the victim is under age 18 and in commercial sex, then no force fraud or coercion need to exist.
Commercial Sex is any sex act where something if value is exchanged, this involves stripping, pornography, or prostitution. So, an example may be a parent, exchanging access to a child for drugs or rent is the same under the law as selling for money, the term anything if value captures many of the scheme’s predators use to operate in plain sight. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, coercion is any scheme, pattern or plan used to compel labor or service.
The key thing to remember about when smuggling can turn into trafficking is when labor or service enters the case, or when ANY minor is involved in commercial sex (stripping, pornography, or prostitution).
What can you do to properly represent this day?
Share our newsletter, get some friends to subscribe, hold a training or reach out to educate your community. Share our document 55Things that parents and grandparents need to know in the internet age for making informed decisions about raising children and young adults. Share our 55 Things Parents that parents and grandparents need to know in the internet age for making informed decisions about raising children and young adults.
If you ever wondered what you as an average individual would do to overcome the apparent insurmountable strength of traffickers (By the way, there is nothing average about you if you are reading this newsletter!). First of all stop allowing entertainment and language that glorifies it. This only makes society susceptible to the pandemic of trafficking and provides a tacet okay that this type of behavior is not only permissible but okay! Next point out that commercial sex is barbaric. I put the hashtag “#CommercialSexisbarbaric” in comments and shares of news stories that demonstrate this. Usually, stripping, pornography, and prostitution stories.
Think about famous songs like ZZTops' La Grange (
and understand what the song is about. Then complain and stop accepting this form of mass programming.
Make World Day Against Trafficking in Persons something significant not just for you and your friends but for the victims and survivors!
Much Love,
Dottie & Larry