Unveiling the Hidden Truths of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is among the fastest growing categories of crime in the world right now, rivaled only by the drug and weapons industries. A 32 billion dollar global enterprise annually, its effects are far reaching and highly damaging to all involved. In reality, “human trafficking” is essentially a politically correct term for slavery. Through books, articles, and interviews, the two phrases are used interchangeably and are used to mean the same exact thing. There is an endless list of myths and misconceptions in regards to human trafficking, but I plan to keep all the information here very clear and concise. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Human trafficking is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.” (1) This means that innocent people are taken from their homes and families, kept in secret and forced to work for their captor or whomever they are sold to. This work may be physical labor and it may be sexual in nature. The living conditions are usually harsh, and it is not uncommon for the captor (or

Forced labor and prostitution are widely known about, but some of the less-known reasons have to do with forced marriages and organ trading. The black market organ trade is not just something that was made up for novels and movies. Kidneys, livers, and any other organs that can be taken and reused are up for grabs. Traffickers will often try to bully their captives into willingly giving up an organ for free. Some captors will actually offer to pay the donator for their organ, but that usually ends up with the “donor” getting paid less than was agreed upon, and they are still being held against their will. In some cases the victim is knocked out, operated on, and left without an organ or