3 Ways You Can Take Part in the Fight Against Human Trafficking
Today I have a dear friend guest posting. Molly is one of the sweetest and kindest person that I have ever met. She has a passion for making stomping out injustice in the world. And because January is #HumanTraffickingAwareness month, when I was planning out my content for the month, I knew I wanted Molly to guest post. Hope you enjoy and really read what part you can do to fight against human trafficking.
Human trafficking: Human trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, labor or services, in which the act, labor or service is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.
Human trafficking is the world’s fastest growing criminal industry. The International Labor Organization estimates that the annual profits generated from human trafficking EXCEED $32 billion dollars making it the second most profitable transnational crime after drugs. It’s impossible to know the real number, but it is estimated that there are more than 27 million slaves in the world today. That is more than during the entire 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
January is Human Trafficking awareness month. This issue is one that I have personally be passionate about for almost 10 years. It is an issue that I am in the fight to see it end in my lifetime.
One of the most common questions I get from people is, “How can I take part in the fight against human trafficking?”
While it is a complex and difficult issue to tackle, there are ways that you, too, can be a part of the solution.
- Educate yourself.
- this is, by far, the first and most important step. If you begin to educate yourself on the issue, you can learn about the various ways in which to stop it. There are SO MANY THINGS in our lives that are connected to human trafficking. Learn about them. Educate yourself so you can then educate others. Knowledge really is power.
- Prevention.
- The key to prevention is understanding where the demand for human trafficking is fueled. The demand for human trafficking can be linked to things like drug abuse, pornography consumption, and unhealthy or abusive relationships. By eliminating the fuel (i.e. drugs/pornography/ homelessness), we eliminate the demand.
- For teenagers, making sure teenagers are being safe online. I know, I know… they hear it all the time. But it is SO true. Most trafficking cases originate in some way shape or form ONLINE.
- Take action.
- Pray. I believe in the power of prayer and I believe that we can take action by praying BOLD prayers for both victims of human trafficking and their perpetrators.
- Volunteer. Volunteer with a local organization like Shield North Carolina, or larger organizations like A21, International Justice Mission (IJM), Polaris Project, etc.
- Shop ethically. Make sure the brands and companies you are shopping from are fair trade businesses or have ethical business practices (i.e they don’t use slave labor in their supply/manufacturing chains). I write all about this on my blog, Still Being Molly.
Again, there are countless ways you can take part in the fight against human trafficking, but these are a good place to start.
About the Author
Molly Stillman is the founder and creator of Still Being Molly, a life and style blog started in 2007, and the host of the Business with Purpose podcast. Her true passion lies in helping inspire women to know that they were created on purpose, with a purpose, and for a purpose. Molly has had the honor of collaborating with brands such as Stitch Fix, Target, Elegantees, The Root Collective, Sseko Designs, Noonday Collection, and more. She is honored to have been featured in such publications and media as US News & World Report, Scary Mommy, The 700 Club, Cary Magazine, and was named as one of “the Carolina’s 75 Most Stylish People” by Carolina STYLE Magazine. She is a wife to John, mama to Lilly and Amos, dog mom to Tater and Audrey, a loud laugher, lover of Jesus, Diet Coke and all of the Chipotle burritos. You can find her on the internet at stillbeingmolly.com.
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This is such an important cause. I have been involved with Lighthouse for Life which also fights human trafficking. It’s horrific the things that go on, but time we take a stand to prevent this from happening to anyone else.
Education is key as well as blogs like this that will help spread awareness of was we all can help prevent human trafficking. Sometimes we can feel so helpless, but it is great to know there are things we all can do.
This is so scary to think about. But I agree that being informed is number 1!
I couldn’t believe the amount of articles I recently read during the Super Bowl about sex trafficking. I know it goes on, but it’s crazy to actually see how prevalent it is. Thank you for these tips and making us more aware!
I know and honestly until I met Molly I was aware of how prevalent it was in our society,
Cumberland County, Fayetteville was recently listed as leading the state in human trafficking and as the mother of girls this is something I am highly aware of. I am always looking to learn ways to stay up to date and fight it in whatever way I can.