I must say that the topic of human trafficking, specifically awareness part of it, has made leaps and bounds in the past 10 years. It has come from bunch of people trying to define & clarify what it is, to something that you see (if you are paying attention) on daily basis on the Internet news. The progress of it reminds me of the advancement on the front of domestic violence... the term was introduced in 1977 and now everybody knows, and most importantly agree, that it is something not justifiable.
One thing that concerns me, however, is that majority of the people who have heard of human trafficking, including law enforcement personnel, equate human trafficking as prostitution cases..... well.... it's not true. There are girls and boys who are traded for sex, but also there are people who are traded for agricultural work, factory work... picking tomatoes, cotton... just as the days of slave trade in the US. Unfortunately most of the people in the US believes that "That type" of slavery is only in foreign countries.
A friend of mine forwarded me the following article from The Columbus Dispatch, which talks about an Ohio nail salon owner who was arrested in human trafficking case.... yes, people are trafficked to work at nail salons as well.... [Article]
People ask me frequently on how they can help when it comes to the crime of human trafficking... and I say the same thing over and over (which usually I get an uninterested response)..."Get to know your neighbor, your office mates, your waiters from the restaurant that you frequent... your sphere of influence, and care for them as they are your friends"... there is a reason why this crime is called the invisible crime, and if you want to help, that is the only way that you will identify the victims... and to eventually, set them free.
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