Help prevent slavery and human trafficking
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Our nation 150 years ago realized the fundamental truth that slavery is an insult to humanity. Still, millions of men, women and children around the globe, including right here at home, are subjected to modern-day slavery. This month, we call attention to this plight against humanity and work to educate the public and ultimately prevent it from happening.
Trafficking can take many forms. Children are forced to fight as soldiers, young people are coerced into prostitution, and migrants are exploited through promises of work and decent pay. One of the most vulnerable populations, runaway youth, are most often trafficked within 36 hours of leaving home.
Calling children who are victims of trafficking “prostitutes” is factually incorrect. Children cannot consent to perform sexual acts, and they’re often the most sought for trafficking. The average age of a victim is 11-14. Sex trafficking is not prostitution; it is someone who is brought into “the life” through force, fraud or coercion and held there against their will. Experts say the average buyer of sex is a middle-aged white man. Nearly 75 percent are college-educated, and two-thirds of them have children of their own.
“Sex trafficking of our nation’s children and adults is a growing domestic threat,” Sen. Charles Grassley said, adding trafficking takes place “in every state in the nation, and even though we don’t like to admit it, even here in Iowa.” Grassley, who in 2015 helped pass federal legislation that targeted human traffickers, hosted an event last August in DesMoines to educate the public about human trafficking.
If you’re ready to take a stand, call me at 563-242-7611, to join the Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition in Clinton. And attend the screening of the social justice movie "The True Cost" at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at The Canticle, 841 13th Ave. N., Clinton. Learn more at: www.clintonfranciscans.com.
Lori Freudenberg, Franciscan Peace Center