Curated by Kristin Kownacky
If you could try and fathom the horrors of human-trafficking, would you then believe it exists right in our own backyard? All across the United States, both children and adults are sexually exploited or forced into labor. Human trafficking is its own sort of slavery. Yet President Obama has declared January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month, and the End Trafficking project is raising awareness as well as taking action to end it.
In San Antonio, a 5-year-old boy is molested by his stepfather. By the time he is 14, he has been abused and exploited by a child-sex trafficking ring for most of his life. In Denver, a 13-year-old girl and her best friend are pimped out to gang members by her drug addicted mother. Across the country in New York, an aunt receives a desperate call from her 16-year-old niece and 18-year-old nephew, who tell her that they want to leave their jobs in a traveling sales crew but fear retaliation from crew leaders if they leave. They explain that if they don’t meet their quota, they are punished with physical violence, deprived of basic necessities like food and water, or abandoned on the side of the road. All of these children are U.S. citizens. All of these children are victims of human trafficking…Continue Reading on GOOD
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Kristin Kownacky is a junior at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, where she is currently working towards a BA in journalism and international studies. It is her dream to travel the world, discovering hidden treasures and writing about each experience. Read her articles on her personal blog, Depart We Now.
Photo by: flickr/ira gelb
