Posted 11:12 pm Saturday, February 04, 2012
Politics Shouldn’t Prevent Ending Modern Slavery
You don’t have to be in physical chains to be a slave.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today after drug dealing, and is the fastest growing.
“Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery,” the website reads. “Victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud or coercion, for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Victims are young children, teenagers, men and women.”
More than 600,000, a conservative number, are trafficked every year in the United States. This includes American girls who are under 18 and get lured into a world of forced prostitution, who don’t know what’s happening until it’s too late.
In his book, “God in a Brothel,” undercover police officer Daniel Walker talks about the traffickers he meets and their evil tactics.
“After exchanging pleasantries, we got straight down to business,” he writes about his interaction with a trafficker in Atlanta, Georgia, whose name is Michael.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today after drug dealing, and is the fastest growing.
“Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery,” the website reads. “Victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud or coercion, for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Victims are young children, teenagers, men and women.”
More than 600,000, a conservative number, are trafficked every year in the United States. This includes American girls who are under 18 and get lured into a world of forced prostitution, who don’t know what’s happening until it’s too late.
In his book, “God in a Brothel,” undercover police officer Daniel Walker talks about the traffickers he meets and their evil tactics.
“After exchanging pleasantries, we got straight down to business,” he writes about his interaction with a trafficker in Atlanta, Georgia, whose name is Michael.
“He confidently assured me he could access as many girls as I required from whatever race and ethnic background I desired. When I expressed amazement and stroked his ego accordingly, Michael said he routinely recruited girls from the shopping malls, high schools, universities and college campuses in and around Atlanta. He boasted that he could spot a girl a mile away who was down on herself. When I asked how he actually recruited the girls, he replied with a large smile, ‘I sell dreams.’”
Story after story has been published from victims who had their spirits and bodies broken when they were held against their will and forced or obligated to do things many of us can’t imagine. I know it seems unbelievable, but it does happen.
This week I learned about the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011. The bill renews the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which created the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office), authorized the annual Trafficking in Persons report and established a global minimum standard for confronting trafficking and slavery. The 2000 legislation and the other reauthorization bills that came after it made major progress in the fight to end this heinous crime worldwide. Other countries have followed suit in the crackdown.
Story after story has been published from victims who had their spirits and bodies broken when they were held against their will and forced or obligated to do things many of us can’t imagine. I know it seems unbelievable, but it does happen.
This week I learned about the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011. The bill renews the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which created the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office), authorized the annual Trafficking in Persons report and established a global minimum standard for confronting trafficking and slavery. The 2000 legislation and the other reauthorization bills that came after it made major progress in the fight to end this heinous crime worldwide. Other countries have followed suit in the crackdown.
Historically, these bills have had overwhelming bipartisan support. Unfortunately, this time it’s political.
In the fall, the Department of Health and Human Services passed over the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops campaign against human trafficking when this year’s grants were being awarded, because of the Catholic stance on contraception and abortion, according to an article in the National Catholic Register.
That made House republicans so angry they created a new version of the reauthorization bill that includes a conscience clause.
Both the House and the Senate versions of the new reauthorization bill have wonderful, necessary improvements, improvements that correct loopholes and affect the lives of 27 million modern-day slaves worldwide.
We must find a compromise, for their sakes.
“We understand that members from both parties and chambers have vowed not to pass any of the competing bills,” reads the letter to Congress from the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking. “This situation jeopardizes Congress’ legacy of collaboration on the critical effort to end modern-day slavery.”
Hope for the either bill looks dim, said Cory Smith, senior policy advisor for the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking.
“It won’t keep the government from still prosecuting traffickers, but ideally we want to have the bill reauthorized to make more progress,” he said. “Historically we’ve had this wonderful tradition of republicans and democrats working together on this issue.”
Congress needs to hear an outcry from us to get one of these bills passed. Whichever one you support is up to you, but the issue is too important to keep a solution from being reached.
The International Justice Mission and the Polaris Project have great petitions that still need signatures.
If you support the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, call Congress and let them know.
In the fall, the Department of Health and Human Services passed over the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops campaign against human trafficking when this year’s grants were being awarded, because of the Catholic stance on contraception and abortion, according to an article in the National Catholic Register.
That made House republicans so angry they created a new version of the reauthorization bill that includes a conscience clause.
Both the House and the Senate versions of the new reauthorization bill have wonderful, necessary improvements, improvements that correct loopholes and affect the lives of 27 million modern-day slaves worldwide.
We must find a compromise, for their sakes.
“We understand that members from both parties and chambers have vowed not to pass any of the competing bills,” reads the letter to Congress from the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking. “This situation jeopardizes Congress’ legacy of collaboration on the critical effort to end modern-day slavery.”
Hope for the either bill looks dim, said Cory Smith, senior policy advisor for the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking.
“It won’t keep the government from still prosecuting traffickers, but ideally we want to have the bill reauthorized to make more progress,” he said. “Historically we’ve had this wonderful tradition of republicans and democrats working together on this issue.”
Congress needs to hear an outcry from us to get one of these bills passed. Whichever one you support is up to you, but the issue is too important to keep a solution from being reached.
The International Justice Mission and the Polaris Project have great petitions that still need signatures.
If you support the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, call Congress and let them know.
