Corporations exploit human trafficking for profit
Do you know how many slaves work for you? That’s the question asked by slaveryfootprint.org, a website that estimates the number of people forced to produce the goods you use. For the average person, the number is 24.
The United Nations defines human trafficking as “an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them.” This defines human trafficking as a modern form of slavery, an underground market of bodies.
According to Free the Slaves, there are currently about 27 million slaves in the world forced to work without pay, under threat of violence. Free the Slaves is a national organization that targets international corporations that rely on slave labor in order to raise awareness to consumers who buy from those corporations.
“People are trafficked because they are vulnerable,” said Jess Lutenberg, president of Ithaca College’s chapter of Free the Slaves. According to Leutenburg, people can be trafficked easily by asking them one question: “Do you want a job?”
Although the majority of human trafficking occurs in Africa, India and Southeast Asia, the United States is no exception. According to slaveryfootprint.org, 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually. Traffickers target children as young as 12 years old with the promise of a job, only to force them into prostitution or dangerous factory work. Threats of violence, deportation and death keep trafficking victims under the control of their bosses.
Yet there is no badge for victims of trafficking. Trafficked persons are often “employed” by legitimate businesses and exist in the market as traditional workers. Few signs exist to clue authorities into the violence and illicit activity. Victims often remain unnoticed and the system continues to thrive.
In other cases, government institutions and law enforcement overlook the illegal work because the contribution to the local economy is of such enormous value. According to a 2011 report by the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF), dozens of factories in Asia are still contracted to use slave labor to produce clothing for labels like Ralph Lauren, DKNY, GAP, Converse, Banana Republic, Land’s End and Levi.
Human trafficking constitutes $32 billion of the global economy. According to Mosés Naím, editor of Foreign Policy, an amount that size automatically interacts with every sector of the international society. In his book, Illicit, Naím argued that companies, governments, and citizens are all involved. Without realizing it, many citizens are continuing the slave trade by buying corporate goods and keeping sweatshops in production.
On a more local scale, the sex trafficking industry is thriving for similar reasons. There are few signs to recognize a woman being forced to work in a massage parlor or strip club. New York state currently has one of the best legal systems in prosecuting human trafficking in the US. Sex trafficking in the state is a Class B felony, up to a 25-year sentence in jail, and labor trafficking is a Class D felony, up to a seven-year jail term. Rehabilitation for victims is available at non-profit, anti-trafficking agencies through state law.
In September, NY senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Attorney General in order to continue combating human trafficking on a local level. The grant was bestowed to the Erie County Sheriff’s office and the International Institute of Buffalo to assist in the creation of regional task forces.
“When we fight back against human trafficking, we can hold more dangerous criminals accountable, help victims put their lives back together and keep more New Yorkers safe,” Senator Gillibrand said in a press release.
Free the Slaves’ call to action is clear: businesses must clean up their supply chains, consumers must demand slavery-free products and governments and international institutions must toughen enforcement. As legislation and enforcement improve, human trafficking is gaining more national attention. But until international corporations refuse to participate and citizens refuse to enable, the slave trade will continue.
Kaley Belval is a freshman documentary studies and production major who only buys things that are Made in Freedom. Email her at kbelval1[at]ithaca.edu.