Over the past two decades, “Human Trafficking” has become a well-known, household topic – finally! Awareness helps deter any crime, especially that of selling human beings and children into labor and sex slavery. The trafficking of humans has been an illicit tradition for centuries but up until recent times, many countries and cultures had been accepting these practices. It has been no mystery that the building of ancient monuments by Egyptian kings, sex trafficking by ancient Romans and Asian countries, along with the exploitation of forced labor of Africans and the Chinese in America, were all forms of human trafficking.
The recognition of these practices has resulted in human trafficking becoming illegal in America and many other countries around the world, but this does not mean the trafficking of humans has ended. Human trafficking is defined as engaging an individual into labor or sex by use of force, fraud or coercion; volunteered involvement is not included in these statistics. Today, it is estimated that 27-40 million individuals are victims of human trafficking on any given day, and this is a multi-billion dollar industry. Despite all of the efforts around the globe to deter this illicit industry, it shows little signs of slowing. A sad fact for Americans is that our country is one of the world’s leaders in the trafficking of human beings!
Some may ask, “what are our governments doing to attack this problem?” The answer is “a lot,” but deterrence and rescue endeavors go way beyond the efforts of governmental agencies. As with many humanity issues, our Non-Government Organizations, also known as NGOs, have come to the rescue. A majority of these organizations are better known as nonprofits, which are usually independent of government influence. Some of our better-known NGOs are the Red Cross and YMCA, along with many hospitals around our country. These entities can apply for and receive government monies due to the needs of individuals going way beyond the capacity of government capabilities. Simply put, NGOs make the world go around!
NGOs have different functions and serve a multitude of purposes when it comes to human trafficking. Some make safe places available for victims to come for food, shelter, health needs and clothing. Others may offer transportation away from their captors, along with drug and alcohol rehabilitation due to so many victims being addicts. Also, organizations exist that help foreign governments to seek out victims and traffickers in their countries. Now, let’s take a look at a few of these NGOs.
One of the most common names of human trafficking-related NGOs is the YMCA (the Y). Most of us recognize the Y as a place for sporting activities, along with offering many youth-related activities. The Y was founded in London, England in 1844, and was established in North America in 1851. Now, their world headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. The YMCA established its Human Trafficking Outreach program for America in Texas in 2003, which is now being utilized throughout the country. They work in conjunction with law enforcement and other rescue organizations to supply transitional and support services, along with housing and emotional stability, to those who have been enslaved by the industry.
The Polaris Project, which was founded in 2007, is another key organization relating to combating human trafficking. A few of their main objectives are to provide comfort and support services to human trafficking survivors. The National Human Trafficking Hotline is operated by Polaris; working in conjunction with law enforcement to bring offenders to justice. They have also built the largest database in America relating to human trafficking offenders and victims.
Another such group is Rescue and Defend, which takes to the streets of America and many other countries to seek out victims and traffickers. The manager, Steve Dunlap, has over a decade of experience working these operations and has had a monumental impact on the human trafficking industry. The list is long and continuous of churches, social and educational organizations, along with nonprofits, who band together to have a deterring effect on the human trafficking industry. What was previously a hidden social issue has now become a front-page headline, with many NGOs banding together to deter this injustice against humanity.