Slavery in the New Century

DEVELOPMENTS    

Many people in the U.S. have still not heard of human trafficking, despite it being the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.  Those who are aware of it often still see it as a problem that happens only in far away Southeast Asian countries.  The reality is that human trafficking occurs in virtually every country in the world, including in the U.S.  In the Americas, like other parts of the world, the rich countries in the north (like the U.S.) act as “destination” countries that provide the demand for services provided by trafficking victims, while poorer countries to the south serve as “source” countries, which provide the victims.  Within the U.S., human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the majority of trafficking victims who are brought into the U.S. coming from Mexico.

Just this week, a New Jersey woman was convicted of human trafficking for tricking young women and girls from Africa into coming to the U.S. based on promises of work opportunities and then confiscating their visas and forcing them to work in hair braiding salons without pay.  Also recently, the FBI has been combating trafficking schemes along the east coast, including in Charlotte and D.C., in which teenage immigrants from Mexico are being forced into prostitution, including underage girls who have been forced to have sex with as many as 100 clients per week.

Unfortunately, while startling, these stories are not at all unique in the U.S.  An estimated 17,500 people are trafficked from other countries into the U.S. each year, according to the State Department’s recently released 2009 annual report on Trafficking in Persons.