Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is
Slavery
Trafficking in humans refers to all
acts related to recruitment,
transport, sale or purchase of
individuals through force, fraud or
other coercive means for the
purpose of exploitation.
(UN Protocol on Trafficking, 2000)

How many people are

enslaved?
27 million people are enslaved worldwide
(Dr. Kevin Bales, www.freetheslaves.net)

In the U.S.
U.S. State Department estimates that
approx. 700,000 persons are trafficked
across international borders each year.
(TIP, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Of these, the State Department reports
that 14,500 to 17,500 people are
trafficked into the U.S. each year.

Who is trafficked into

slavery?

Women and girls comprise 80% of

the persons trafficked across
international borders.
Approximately 70% of victims are
trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation.
(TIP Report 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Trafficking in persons is the fastestgrowing and second largest

criminal industry in the world today.
Trafficking is second only to drug
trafficking and fluctuates from 2nd to
3rd along with the illegal arms
industry.

Forms of
trafficking/slavery

Labor trafficking

Domestic
Servitude
Agriculture
Sweatshop labor

Janitorial services
Food service
industry
Begging

Forms of
trafficking/slavery

Sex trafficking

Street work
Brothels
Mail order brides

Dancers
Pornography
Massage parlors

Economics of Human
Trafficking
SUPPLY drives DEMAND

Supply factors

Poverty
Political instability/armed conflict
Real/perceived opportunity for a better life
Absence of a social safety net
Absence of employment opportunities
Status of violence against women &
children

Demand factors
Demand for prostitution and other aspects
of the sex industry is high throughout the
world
Demand for cheap labor; corporations seek
to produce products the lowest possible
cost.
Potential profits are very high trafficked
persons can be bought and sold many
times.

Methods of control
Finances debt bondage, financial
obligations
Control of victims money
Isolation from family members,
members of their ethnic/religious
communities
Isolation from the public/limited
contact/monitored contact

Methods of control
Confiscation of passports, visas and
other identification documents
Telling victims they will be imprisoned or
deported if they contact authorities
Use of threats of violence towards
victims and their family members

Living and working

conditions
Physically
demanding work
Under constant
watch or
supervision
Threats of
physical harm or
deportation

Isolation from the

public and other
victims
High risk for workrelated injuries
High risk for
sexuallytransmitted
diseases

Living and working

conditions
Physical and
psychological
abuse and/or
trauma
Long hours and
little or no
compensation

Little or no
medical attention
Malnourishment

Primary concerns
In countries of destination:
Increasing community awareness in
support of identifying victims
Organizing social services in support of
meeting victims needs (food, housing,
health care, legal assistance, ESL
classes, work training, etc.)
Protection/building support networks

Primary concerns
In countries of origin:
Focus on decreasing citizen vulnerability
Increasing ability to identify potential
traffickers

Theological Reflection
Resources

Human Trafficking

Whatever insults human dignity, such

as slavery, prostitution, the selling of
women and children all these things
are infamies indeed. They poison human
society they are supreme dishonor to
the Creator.
Gaudium et Spes, 1965

We publicly declare our determination to

address insistently at every level the
abuse and sexual exploitation of women
and children with particular attention to
the trafficking of women which has
become a lucrative, multinational
business.
Declaration of Women Religious Leaders UISG

May 13, 2001

The trade in human persons constitutes

a shocking offense against human
dignity and a grave violation of
fundamental human rights Such
situations are an affront to fundamental
values shared by all cultures and
peoples, values rooted in the very nature
of the human person.
John Paul II, 2002

Trafficking in persons in which men,

women and children from all over the
globe are transported to other countries
for the purposes of forced prostitution or
labor inherently rejects the dignity of
the human person and exploits
conditions of global poverty.
Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of
Hope
Joint US/Mexican Bishops Pastoral Letter,
November 2002

Human trafficking will never be truly

defeated without eliminating the
consumerism that feeds it and
prosecuting those actors in receiving
countries, including our own, that benefit
because of the exploitation of vulnerable
human beings.
On Human Trafficking,
U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2007

Learn more about

trafficking
Talitha Kum International Network of
Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in
Persons (and national member
networks)
Unanima International
UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially
Women and Children

Learn more about

trafficking
U.S. State Department Trafficking in
Persons Report 2010
Many more resources on your CD

Resources
The Project to End Human Trafficking
(Mary Burke Ph.D)
A Matter of Spirit Newsletter from the
Intercommunity Peace and Justice
Center, Seattle, Washington.
U.S. Department of State Trafficking in
Persons Report, 2010.
www.freetheslaves.net