LatinaLista.net — January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Yesterday, January 11, was Human Trafficking Awareness Day. It’s reported that 27 million people worldwide are enslaved today.
Whether it’s prostituting children and women or forcing people to do domestic chores or provide cheap factory labor, enslaving people still lives on as an underworld business for the corrupt of the 21st Century.
According to the Dept. of Homeland Security’s (DHS) initiative to combat human trafficking called the Blue Campaign, trafficking victims are more likely to enter the country legally and with the proper visas.
Yet, DHS has identified several vulnerable populations who are not getting the message of being careful about predators. They’re groups like: unaccompanied children at the border, students traveling to the United States on student visas, the LGBTQ community, and teenage runaways.
But while it’s disheartening that in this day and age there are people who still prey on others, it’s also a blessing because we now have social media and the internet. Both are tools that can heighten awareness about any issue, event or situation within minutes.
One such example is the global campaign underway to combat human trafficking known as Not for Sale.
Not For Sale is a Campaign of students, artists, entrepreneurs, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, politicians, social workers, skilled professionals, and all justice seekers united to fight the global slave trade and end human trafficking.
The Campaign aims to recruit, educate, and mobilize an international grassroots social movement that effectively combats human trafficking and slavery through “Smart Activism”. It deploys innovative solutions for every individual to re-abolish slavery — in their own backyards and across the globe.
Utilizing today’s technology, the Not for Sale campaign created an app that lets consumers see company backgrounds regarding the products they make and sell. The Free2Work app lets consumers check the labor practices of companies before they make a purchase.
Other cool features of the campaign is a U.S. nationwide series of “underground” meetings where participants are given a 3-day crash course on the modern-day Abolitionist Movement; coordinated global advocacy days; suggestions and resources on how professionals from all walks of life can help stop human trafficking and a “Stop Paying for Slavery” national tour that educates both consumers and corporations about the labor practices that exist in developing nations.
One country where Not For Sale is supporting ongoing projects is Peru. Working with local activists, the campaign helps to raise money for initiatives that help the young victims of human trafficking and gives them an opportunity to have a future.
