Thirteenth Amendment: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Today: With such an amendment implemented, there are still 15,000-17,500 individuals enslaved in the United States each year (Statistics provided by the Trafficking in Persons Report). It should be our inceptive for the elimination process of human trafficking here in the United States and fight it at a international level.

Globally: Every two minutes a child is sold. Each year, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders (some international and non-governmental organizations place the number far higher), and the trade is growing. (U.S. Department of State. 2004. Trafficking in Persons Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State.) The most recent Trafficking in Persons Report - 2010 - http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/

Of the 600,000-800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade. (Ibid.)

Each year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. (U.S. Department of Justice. 2004. Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Solution: With awareness, prevention, rescue and rehabilitation we will actualize the fight on human trafficking. Let’s bring the enslaved to the freedoms that they deserve.

• Noticing a victim: A victim of trafficking may look like many of the people you help every day. You can help victims of trafficking get the assistance they need by looking beneath the surface for the following clues:
  • *Evidence of being controlled
  • *Evidence of an inability to move or leave job
  • *Bruises or other signs of battering
  • *Fear or depression
  • *Non-English speaking
  • *Recently brought to this country from Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada, Africa or India
  • Lack of passport, immigration or identification documentation (Kevin Bales)