
By Alaina Paradise, Board Chair for NightLight International
January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and January 11 has been designated by the United Nations as #WearBlueDay to raise public awareness about the issue of human trafficking. Awareness matters because the more we know, the better equipped we become to take action. And when awareness is combined with motivation, real change begins to happen in our communities!
At NightLight, we kicked off the month by talking about the importance of asking why. Understanding why human trafficking exists can illuminate how to fight it and lead us to a compelling vision for what could be different. In this installment of our series, we’re exploring the "how:" How does human trafficking happen? How do people find themselves in these terrible situations? The answers can help us further understand how to help those who've been exploited, and how to prevent trafficking from happening in the first place.
What is Human Trafficking?
Let’s start with an understanding of what human trafficking is. The United Nations defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud, or coercion with the purpose of exploiting them for profit. The two most common forms of trafficking are:
Labor Trafficking, which happens when victims are exploited for labor or services. Common industries where labor trafficking happens include construction, hospitality, agriculture, fishing vessels, mining, factories, and more.
Sex Trafficking is when someone is exploited for sexual acts. Sex trafficking can happen in businesses like massage parlors, hotels, and brothels, or in private homes or online.Â
Other forms of human trafficking include organ removal, forced marriage, child soldiers, and state-sponsored human trafficking, which happens most commonly in Communist countries and Dictatorships. The 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report from the U.S. Department of State estimates that there are 27 million victims of trafficking currently being exploited around the world.
Insatiable Demand Fuels Human Trafficking Growth
Why does human trafficking happen? And why are so many people victims of this crime? The most basic answer to this question lies in the growing and insatiable demand for cheap (or free) labor, and for sex that can be purchased.Â
Labor trafficking has surged as growing consumer demand for cheap products and services leads companies worldwide to lower wages and find creative or illegal ways to get more product output while spending less on wages, safety, and care for workers. For example, to keep costs low and compete for market share in the U.S. seafood industry, fishing vessels will regularly recruit and traffic individuals (usually men) for jobs that amount to slave labor at sea. NightLight helped one such victim several years ago.
Similarly, sex trafficking has seen explosive growth worldwide as cultural values have shifted and people see sex as a means of personal gratification with no regard for how their sexual appetites or actions impact others. A vast amount of data also points to the proliferation and normalization of pornography as fueling sexual appetites for children and others outside of mutual, loving relationships.
Where demand exists, traffickers who do not believe in the inherent value and dignity of others are eager to supply other humans to make a profit.
Financial Motivation Outweighs Fear of Consequences
At its core, human trafficking is an economic crime. Most victims start with some sort of financial need, and traffickers, often motivated by greed, prey on vulnerable people for their own profit. Traffickers are coming out far ahead: according to the International Labour Organization, their profits are grossing $236 billion per year.
Human trafficking can be much more lucrative than other types of crime and legitimate work, because a human can be sold over and over again. Additionally, the risks of being prosecuted are extremely low. In 2023, the Trafficking in Persons report showed only 18,774 prosecutions for human trafficking took place worldwide. Of those, a mere 38% were found guilty and convicted. Considering the vastness of the issue, these numbers point to a failing justice system on a global level that allows more than 27 million people to be victimized with few consequences for their traffickers.Â
Vulnerabilities Create More Potential Victims
Remember the definition of trafficking? It includes three key words: force, fraud, and coercion. These are the means used by traffickers to profit from the exploitation of their victims. Traffickers look for people they can overpower, trick, or manipulate, and systemic inequalities and disparities in our world mean many people are vulnerable to their schemes.
Macro factors that increase vulnerability include war, mass displacement of refugees, lack of access to education, inadequate job opportunities, poverty, government policies that fail to protect (and sometimes outright exploit) people, and harmful social customs like child marriage or unequal rights for women. The UN Refugee Agency reported that as of June 2024, 122.6 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes. That’s more than any other time in history, and it means the world is full of people who are easier targets for traffickers.
In some cases, an individual may live in a developed country like the United States, but their personal circumstances leave them vulnerable to trafficking. Factors like drug use, previous exposure to abuse, and other emotional traumas might make them more susceptible to traffickers who prey on thoughts and emotions to manipulate them into a trafficking situation.
Applying Our Learning to Fight and Prevent Trafficking
The information we learn about why human trafficking happens can inform our actions on preventing and combating this terrible crime. We can all reduce the demand for trafficking by remembering and upholding the truth that all people are created equal, and have inherent dignity and value. We can change our buying habits and be more conscious about where our products are being produced in order to hold companies and supply chains accountable for paying workers fairly.Â
Governments around the world are working to improve justice systems to ensure more traffickers are held accountable for their crimes. As more law enforcement agencies, healthcare workers, and service providers become familiar with human trafficking and how to respond to victims appropriately, the risks of committing the crime will begin to catch up with the potential profits. Each of us can make a difference by knowing where to report signs of human trafficking, and what to look for.
Finally, we need to address the vulnerabilities and systemic inequalities that make people susceptible to human trafficking. As a global society, this means protecting and caring for those who have been displaced by conflict, and working to ensure people everywhere have access to education and opportunities to earn a fair living.Â
At NightLight, we work to address vulnerabilities as part of our holistic restoration program for the women we work with. Our first goal of 2025 is to raise $30,000 to expand counseling services for victims of trafficking and exploitation. Counseling helps them heal from past traumas, learn healthier patterns, and reintegrate into normal life with far less risk of being exploited again, breaking cycles of exploitation not only in their lives, but also in those of the next generation. At the time of this blog’s publication, we’ve reached nearly 70% of our goal! Please consider giving today to help bring healing to survivors and stop trafficking from reaching them ever again.
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Alaina Paradise has served with NightLight International since 2020, and is currently our Board Chair.