Order a child to abuse faster than a pizza.
In todays western world everyone seems to have a diversity, a demand, an injustice to fight for. It is broadcasted to us over social media, news channels and even from the decisions from both side of the political spectrum. And yet, when a man goes online, and with a click of a button buys a child, average age 9, for the night to do with as he pleases, there is not a beep about it anywhere. Just a few of us hear that little girls pleads or screams. Since I decided to dedicated my life to anti-trafficking, I hear those screams daily. I think about them, and I feel them as sharp pains in my stomach. And the lack of outrage, and action on a wider socio-political level confuses me. Human trafficking, modern slavery, is here, its everywhere, hidden in plain sight, and the society has closed its eyes.
So how can that be? How come we hear about the constant debate about whether Dylan Mulvany should talk at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, or biological males should be allowed to compete against women athletes or pee in the same bathroom, or about reparations for slavery that ended centuries ago, shouldn’t there be a hint of outrage and worry for the millions of children enslaved all over the world now. Forced into prostitution, right here in the United States. The problem here is that there is nothing to debate. Ideally everyone understands that enslaving and selling humans, especially children, is a no no. There is nothing to fight about for the opposing political parties, no agendas to push for their benefit. It’s just an awful, awful thing, that nobody wants to deal with.
I am not bidding one agenda against another. Seeing who’s issue takes precedent, who suffers more and why. All I am asking for is perspective. Chances are that if you were born, or live, in a first world country, you will have a pretty good chance to make something of your life, no matter of individual backgrounds, or personal issues. However, if you were to end up in slavery, chances are that you will be abused, raped and eventually die within seven years of being trafficked. Even if you manage to survive and escape, you will probably never be the same again.
That’s why, for me, the main goal is to raise awareness, and prevent future children, or adults, from being trafficked in the first place. One of the main reasons, I started this platform was to do just that! As of now there are incredible NGO’s all over the world, and right here in the United States (link to one here), who advocate for, rescue and try to protect survivors of trafficking. The problem is that trying to make a dent in the criminal business that enslaves approximately 30 million people worldwide, make $150 billion in illicit profits, and that has its claws into all parts of the society, it is almost impossible without the help of partisan action on the grass roots level.
I want to help bring this issue into our every day dialog on social media, news channels and into political decision making. I want to show teenagers the hidden dangers in their everyday lives, and how to avoid them. Because, yes, human trafficking can happened to anyone, but some people are more vulnerable than others. Runaway, or homeless youth, people with mental health issues, and people from abusive homes are seeked out by traffickers to exploit their situations. Often children get trafficked by their own family members. However, even a teenager, who is on their way to an Ivy league school, eats dinner with their family every night in a nice neighborhood, might fall into the trap of en exciting stranger they met online, or in a shopping mall etc, who promises them the fairytale love story, gifts or admirations, they are secretly yearning for. Next thing you know they might be sold for prostitution out of the back of a van, or a motel room fifty times a night, before they are driven back to their family to have meatloaf for dinner.
Human Trafficking is a very complex issue, but for me the most important one to figure out, and fight against. If a man can buy a child with a click of a button, we can do the same to learn how to protect ourselves, and how to come together as a society to protect each other, and harshly punish those who buy other humans in the 21st Century, like it is nothing. It is everything! Even one child, or adult, on the streets, or online, waiting to be sold over and over again, is one too many!
