Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2011

Even amongst abolitionists, Moldova is unheard of, which is unfortunate considering that this small country, the poorest in the EU, is a major source country for Human Trafficking.

Poverty puts people in desperate situations susceptible to taking risky chances in search of better life opportunities. Most people who are lured into a trafficking situation are already interested in emigrating to find better live opportunities.

Today's federal government and most state regimes have largely failed to prevent the abuses and mistreatment of household employees and agricultural laborers.

Trafficking has become synonymous with “trafficking into sex work,” though this is not the predominant form of human trafficking, which includes a range of racial, economic, and sexual violence and slavery and not just against women. 

We need to explicitly recognize the connections between trafficking, poverty, migration, gender, racism and racial discrimination to adequately battle and destroy human trafficking in the U.S.

Trafficking in persons is often referred to as "modern-day slavery." Historical grounding confirms that the reference to slavery, while not exactly on point, is relevant.

It seems that stories of young girls victimized by prostitution, are selected to overcome an enormous barrier - that we are not disposed to believe or care for people who engage in sex work, so editing to find the "perfect victim" is necessary.