September 25, 2008

Salvation Army Event for Victims of Sex Trafficking (Sept. 26 through 28)
 

Salvation Army Event for Victims of Sex Trafficking

September 26 through 28, 2008

The Salvation Army and the Initiative Against Sexual Trafficking will be observing the 3rd annual International Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for Victims of Sexual Trafficking this weekend. Groups and individuals around the globe are organizing workplace and faith-based events on behalf of those exploited and trafficked into the commercial sex industry. Visit The Salvation Army to find out more about their efforts to learn more about joining their efforts to fight this epidemic.

Human Trafficking Explained
(Reprinted with Permission from the Salvation Army)

A trade in human beings commonly referred to as "human trafficking" is thriving in our modern world. Human trafficking (also referred to as trafficking in persons or TIP) is an umbrella term used to describe the process by which millions of people become enslaved each year. This process includes the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring and receiving of persons, typically by various methods of coercion, deception, abduction, and threats of and use of force, so that they can be exploited for the profit of others in various industries. Each year traffickers supply millions of human beings for labor exploitation in settings such as brick kilns, sweatshops, chicken farms, cocoa plantations, mines, fisheries, rock quarries, or for compulsory participation in public works or military service, as well as a variety of other settings. Countless others, predominately women and female children, but also boys, are trafficked into the commercial sex industry where they are used in forms of commercial sexual exploitation like prostitution, pornography, and nude dancing. Some are sold as "brides."

Trafficking in persons is frequently referred to as modern-day slavery. Slavery is an apt analogy that shocks and challenges us. Americans in particular are moved by this comparison. To us, slavery is a sordid, indelible stain on our national heritage, but nevertheless it is an evil most believe we conquered and relegated to the history books. However, news media accounts, on-the-ground intelligence from nongovernmental organizations, and reports from agencies the U.S. Department of State and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, create a different picture. They reveal a hideous yet inescapable truth: slavery is alive.

The size and pervasiveness of the crime presents a formidable problem, but we fight to end these untenable human right violations. Accordingly, the Salvation Army has established this website to educate and equip people desiring to engage in this battle against the exploitation and dehumanization of human beings.