Jan. 11, 2022
By Mirka Cuadros
Editor
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which has been recognized annually on Jan. 11 since 2007, is meant to bring attention to a global phenomenon that impacts 24.9 million victims per year, according to the U.S. Department of State.
By taking up a well-known trafficking case, the American legal system has been used as a vehicle for fighting back against modern slavery.
New York City prosecution rested its case on Dec. 30 in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, a socialite and alleged accomplice of billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell was convicted of five of the six counts she faced for her alleged involvement in Epstein’s trafficking of underage girls.
Junior Dante Riccio said he believes the general population does not possess enough knowledge on human trafficking.
“A problem with informing the general public is that it is such a grim topic. We are talking about modern-day slavery. It isn’t the type of thing people want to hear about,” Riccio said.
He said people would rather avoid such a serious topic, especially when it does not affect them.
“Awareness is being raised and help is offered for victims and to end the cause. However, it is still a long way off from drastically going down,” Riccio said.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline, which is administered by the Polaris Project, reported that in 2019, there were 22,326 victims of sex trafficking in the United States, with 17 being the average age of abduction.
According to a report by the Central Intelligence Agency, between 40,000-50,000 women and children are trafficked to the United States for prostitution each year. Each year, about 10,000 of these people arrive from Latin America, where an estimated 40 million minors are lured into prostitution due to poor economic conditions.
History teacher Mr. Newman said that although human trafficking can happen to anyone, some are more vulnerable than others.
“Economic conditions in Latin America make all the causes and effects of human trafficking in the United States magnified due to the lack of economic opportunities there,” Newman said. “Opportunities for all are limited, let alone for females in these Latin American countries.”
Most Latin American female prostitutes are supplied by Brazil, Columbia, the Dominican Republic and Honduras, which similarly, has emerged as a major player in the human rights debate, with sex trafficking rife in the country.
According to a report by the Central Intelligence Agency, between 40,000-50,000 women and children are trafficked to the United States for prostitution each year.
In Honduras, human trafficking is most likely caused by unemployment, lack of economic opportunities and family problems, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. People become desperate for a steady income as a result of these challenges, which unfortunately makes them more vulnerable to human trafficking.
Iris Gonzales, who graduated LHS last year, said she thinks authorities do not prioritize the reduction of trafficking, and some governments even profit from illicit activities.
“Many of the people that are trafficked into the States happen to be foreigners rather than people that live in America because I think trafficking has been made much easier to do in Latin American countries,” Gonzales said.
Human trafficking has become one of the most serious crises of the 21st century, and while the circumstances that lead to modern-day slavery differ from those that led to slavery in the past, the end result is the same: human freedom is sacrificed for the sake of profit.
Those looking to learn more about the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking can review this fact sheet released last month by the White House.
