If you suspect a case of human trafficking, click here.
Picture by Marilyn Ribgy www.disciplemakers.org
-President George W. Bush, U.N. General Assembly Sept. 23, 2003
The U.S. government has declared one of the greatest threats to human dignity is human trafficking: the commodification of human beings.1 Human trafficking is an umbrella term used to describe all forms of modern-day slavery. No longer is this a term from the past, but a horrific reality in our present and, unfortunately, our future. The forms of trafficking are many and varied, but commonly involves victims entrapped in commercial sexual exploitation such as prostitution, or labor exploitation in sweatshops, domestic servitude, construction and agriculture.2
There are an estimated 27 million trafficking victims in the world today,3 and the deplorable trade in human beings is growing!4 Trafficking is the dark underbelly of globalization in which the strong exploit and abuse the vulnerable for their personal pleasure and gain. Human trafficking is a nexus of evil, as traffickers perform all manner of incomprehensible acts of cruelty, brutality, humiliation, dehumanization and exploitation. The size and pervasiveness of the crime presents a formidable problem, but with your assistance we fight to end these untenable human right violations.
The Salvation Army has established this website to educate and equip its own and others desiring to engage in this fight alongside us. It is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource, but please feel free to contact us for more information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Definitions
- Important clarifications
- Forms of trafficking
- Effects of trafficking
- Sample cases
- Steps to take
- Reporting process and contacts
- Safety assessment
- Important announcements
- Links to other news sources
- Federal legislation
- Roles of federal agencies
- Non-governmental efforts in the U.S. (not including The Salvation Army)
- Combined efforts
- Challenges to victim identification
- Quick Guide to victim identification
- Comprehensive guide
What you need to know about serving survivors (under development)
- Quick guide
- Effects of trafficking on victims
- Needs of survivors
- Key roles in a trafficking case
- Mechanisms: multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) and service collaboratives
- Outreach strategies
This website is administered at The Salvation Army National Headquarters. For more information or suggestions, please contact:
Lisa Thompson
703.519.5896
lisa_thompson@usn.salvationarmy.org
Sources
1 Attorney General John Ashcroft, U.S. State Department Conference: ?Pathbreaking Strategies in the Global Fight Against Sex Trafficking,? February 25, 2003.
2 Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons -June 2004. Washington DC.
4 Office to Combat and Monitor the Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State. (2004). Trafficking in Persons Report - June 2004. Washington DC.
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