Freedom and Justice - Human Trafficking
Scripture
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV)
Focus Statement
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, “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.” 4 Incarceration is the state of being confined in prison, typically as
punishment for a crime. Thousands of innocent people experience human trafficking
which is a form of modern-day slavery, involuntary servitude and labor trafficking.
It can be defined as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to deny one’s freedom for the
purpose of obtaining some type of labor or commercial sex acts. Some of the methods
are violence, manipulation, false promises of well-paying jobs, and romantic
relationships. Between 21 million and 45 million people are enslaved around the world.
These three forms of slavery are prevalent throughout the world. The United States
Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Those who are
trafficked are denied these unalienable rights.
The age old solution to any form of slavery whether it be prison or human trafficking is
prevention, intervention and reentry. These are the best solutions; however, the
question becomes how to implement them.
Action Items
To eradicate human trafficking:
● Develop new understanding concerning the issues of modern day slavery by
planning/attending workshops and seminars.
● Advocate for new laws, structure and policies to identify and eradicate modern
day slavery.
● Create or work with task forces on the local, state and federal government levels
to help with prevention, intervention and reentry.
● Advocate for more counselors in schools.
4 U.S. Constitution, 13th Amendment, 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery
(1865) | National Archives.
● Become familiar with the body of research on the subject of human trafficking
and the laws implemented to prevent or intervene on behalf of those being trafficked.
Resources:
National Human Trafficking Hotline Hours: 24 hours, 7 days a week. Languages:
English, Spanish, 888-373-7888.
Missing Kids, https://www.missingkids.org/home.
Selah Freedom, www.selah freedom.com.
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), endslaverynow.org .
The Issues, https://www.missingkids.org/theissues.
Polaris Project: https://polarisproject.org/.
Movie: Sound of Freedom.
National Farm Worker Ministry, www.nfwm.org.
Shared Hope International, www.sharedhope.org.
DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-center-countering-human-trafficking.
