Many people know the phrase “modern day slavery” but don’t realize it’s happening in their hometowns. Florida state representative Rachel Burgin admits she was unaware of the problem’s severity until she attended a national conference in Washington, D.C. and sat next to a woman who started an international organization to stop human trafficking. “She told […]
sexual abuse
Make slavery a household word
I was nearly speechless last week when a friend asked, “What is modern day slavery?” “Women forced into prostitution,” I blurted. “Forced farm labor!” Is what I see and read about every day invisible to the average American? Twenty-seven million people–the population of Saudi Arabia–are enslaved today. Human trafficking is so lucrative drug dealers are […]
Putting sexual abusers on the map
Sexual harassment in Egypt has reached plague proportions. To combat the relentless attack on women’s rights—mainly the right to not be physically and emotionally molested—a group of creative women launched a new website last year called HarassMap.org, which encourages female victims of sexual assault to report the abuse via SMS, Twitter, e-mail or phone. The […]
Slaves weave Jersey hair braids
We don’t have auction blocks in center city anymore, but people are still being enslaved in America–often in plain sight. Consider the preteen girls from Togo and Ghana, whose families were tricked into thinking they were sending their daughters to the United States for an education and never knew their children were slaves in Newark, […]
Modern-day slavery alive among US domestic workers
Modern day slavery doesn’t occur only on the other side of the world or in poor countries. It’s common right in the United States. Social worker Tiffany Williams has aided a 24-year-old nanny forced to sleep on the basement floor in freezing temperatures and beg for food scraps from the family’s dinner table. Another client […]
Human trafficking: the new drug trafficking
Human trafficking is the world’s fastest growing unlawful industry. This year it is predicted to surpass the illegal drug trade, making it the world’s leading criminal activity. So say articles by Evens Sanon, Jonathan Katz and Megan McAdams in The Progress Report http://www.progress.org/2009/slavers.htm. The United Nations defines human trafficking as “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring […]
