Human Trafficking Alexa Edwards

What is human trafficking? The United Nations defines human trafficking as “a modern-day form of slavery that consists of the illegal trade of human beings through force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor.”

There are many reasons that people are trafficked There are many reasons that people are trafficked. Some victims are sexually exploited through prostitution and pornography. Others become victims of servitude working in sweat shops or on farms.

The victims’ bodies are used until they cannot function anymore, similar to a machine.

Human trafficking takes place in every part of the world, including the United States.

Statistics Today, more than 20 million people are victims of human trafficking. 5.5 million are kids. 55% are women and girls. 98% of sex trafficking victims are females.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPCMNxiR3Gs

Works of Mercy Corporal: “Clothe the naked” Human trafficking strips an individual of his/ her dignity and identity. The individual is no longer treated as a human, but as a disposable object. In the act of trafficking, victims are physically stripped of their clothes. Men, women, and children are sexually exploited and their bodies are used until they can no longer function. At the point the victim is no longer “usable”, he/ she is replaced by the next victim. It is an endless cycle.

Works of Mercy Spiritual: “Counsel the doubtful” After being treated as an object, the victims may begin to question their worth. With the fear and mistreatment they face, it is ease to lose faith in God. There are many organizations formed to help victims recover from the trauma of trafficking. Through these organizations their faith is restored.

Pope Francis Integral Ecology Everything is connected Our in environment is affected by us and the animals living in it When considering nature, we must keep in mind that humans are at the heart of nature. We are living in and amongst it.

Pope Francis With Pope Francis’ focus on integral ecology, he speaks out against human trafficking. The abuse of other human beings is the abuse of nature. In relation to human trafficking, Pope Francis speaks out for the victims. He works to defend “the dignity and freedom of men and women today.” Pope Francis expresses his desire to “eradicate human trafficking and smuggling and the new forms of slavery such as forced labor, prostitution, organ trafficking, the drug trade and organized crime.”

Pope Francis His focus is on placing the victims back into society and providing them with the proper resources to recover. Victims must be “rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.” At the point they have been damaged and enslaved, the greatest good we can do for them is welcome them back into society. Pope Francis acknowledges these people as victims of “crimes against humanity.”

Pope Francis He also stresses the need for society to be aware that human trafficking, modern slavery, exists to such a great extent. It is a crime that is hidden because it is so inhumane. However, more than 2,000,000 people are affected by trafficking.

Through my eyes… Upon researching human trafficking, I began to realize there is so much cruelty in the world that we are completely unaware of. I knew modern slavery existed, however I never thought it would be the second highest profiting crime industry. The brutality of human trafficking is far more than I ever could have. Not only are the victims enslaved, they are beaten and sexually exploited. As a senior in high school, we are 5 years older than the average trafficking victim. I cannot fathom being torn from the life I know before I even entered high school. imagined

Through my eyes… Human trafficking is a tremendous issue in our world today, and yet so few of us are truly exposed to the reality of it. It is a cruelty far larger than any we have faced in our life time. Realistically, we cannot put an immediate end to human trafficking. But, we can spread awareness. The extent of cruelty the victims face will, without doubt, cause others to act against human trafficking. By supporting anti-trafficking organizations, we can expose the brutalities of the crime.

Sources http://www.americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/pope-francis-seek-healing-and-justice-victims-human-trafficking https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/faith-and-justice/integral-ecology-everything-connected http://www.usccb.org/about/migration-policy/upload/Human-Trafficking-Backgrounder.pdf