These hands look way too young to be bound in chains. Photo credit to Imagens Evangelicas.
Human trafficking is a very serious and terrible crime, which is often committed to use women and even young girls for sex slavery. The occurrence of this throughout the world needs to come to a stop, especially in parts of India. A woman should never have to worry about her safety at every given moment to avoid her life belonging to someone else. Even though it is illegal by law, it still happens to almost 2 million women and girls per year. This number should be zero. There are many ways we can help accomplish this goal and protect the women and girls we love in our life.
If a female is captured for the use of human trafficking, she may undergo several changes to her body, both at the physical and the mental level. Stress, anxiety, and depression are just some of the more mild symptoms one might begin to notice. Since these women are no longer in control of their lives, there is a high risk a victim will fall into these mental illnesses. There are many diseases which can also come with the emotional tolls as well. These may include AIDs, HIV, std’s, or other easily spread diseases. The living conditions usually aren’t sanitary, which causes many more problems of health. None of these conditions are ideal for any human being.
The use of the women that are victims of the human trafficking are very broad, which can make the process harder to stop. Some of the women who are used for human trafficking in India are sent to the Middle East. This happens due to the rules of men in countries of the Middle East, in that they have most of the power. Males have most of the control in those countries, which leaves women at a disadvantage. Some of the women come from Nepal or Bangladesh, making it once again hard for the criminals to be caught. Women are sometimes sent to slave camps where they may even be servants, slaves, circus performers, or even used for pregnancies of children, who are used illegally in the work force. These are all terrible things that should not be happening in today’s world.
In the story of the Silent Slaves, a woman tells her story of being involved in and a victim of human trafficking. Her personal experience is heart breaking, but sheds light on how serious of an issue this is. It not only causes problems for these women, but any woman who has to live in fear that this could be her reality if she is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Reading her story is very sad, but she was brave to do so. This helps the situation come to the light of current events to protect others.
To learn more about how to fight human trafficking, please visit this anti-human trafficking webite. It provides a lot of good quality information about the problem at hand, and how you can do your best to help cease this issue. If you are a woman, it can also give you safety tips on how to make sure this never happens to you, a friend, daughter, sister, etc. Taking the time to educate yourself could save your life, or someone else’s life. Do your part to make this world a better place for everyone.
Awareness is being brought to the public, let’s continue this trend. Taken by Mayor McGinn.