3. Slavery by the Numbers
International Labour Organization
http://www.ilo.org/global/lang--
en/index.htm
Polaris Project
https://polarisproject.org/
5. Types of global human trafficking
Labour Trafficking
68% of 20.9 million estimated victims are
trapped in forced labour
Forced soldiers
Sex Trafficking
Human tissue, organs, and cells, and also baby
trafficking
7. TIP Report, cont’d.
TIER 1 The governments of countries that fully
meet the TVPA’s minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking.
While Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not
mean that a country has no human trafficking
problem or that it is doing enough to address
the problem.
8. TIP Report, cont’d.
TIER 2 The governments of countries
that do not fully meet the TVPA’s
minimum standards but are making
significant efforts to meet those
standards.
9. TIP Report, cont’d.
TIER 2 WATCH LIST The government of countries that do not fully meet
the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to meet
those standards, and for which:
a) the absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very
significant or is significantly increasing;
b) there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat
severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including
increased investigations, prosecution, and convictions of trafficking
crimes; increased assistance to victims; and decreasing evidence of
complicity in severe forms of trafficking by government officials;
or c) the determination that a country is making significant efforts to
meet the minimum standards was based on commitments by the
country to take additional steps over the next year.
10. TIP Report, cont’d.
TIER 3 The governments of countries
that do not fully meet the TVPA’s
minimum standards and are not
making significant efforts to do so.
12. TIP Report, cont.
The 2016 Child Soldiers Prevention Act List includes
governments in the following countries:
1. Burma
2. Democratic Republic
of the Congo
3. Iraq
4. Nigeria
5. Rwanda
6. Somalia
7. South Sudan
8. Sudan
9. Syria
10. Yemen
13.
14. BANGLADESH: Tier 2
Within the country, children and adults are subjected to sex trafficking, domestic
servitude, and forced and bonded labor, in which traffickers exploit an initial debt
assumed by a worker as part of the employment terms.
Street children are sometimes coerced into criminality or forced to beg; begging
ringmasters sometimes maim children to increase their earnings.
In some instances, children are sold into a form of bondage by their parents, while
others are induced into labor through fraud and physical coercion, including in the
domestic fish processing industry, or exploited in sex trafficking.
15. CHINA: Tier 2 Watch List
…Chinese men, women, and children subjected to forced labor in coal mines and
factories, some of which operate illegally…
Forced begging by adults and children occurs throughout China. There are reports of
traffickers targeting children whose parents have migrated to the cities and left them
with relatives and persons with developmental disabilities for forced labor and forced
begging
State-sponsored forced labor continues to be an area of significant concern in China.
16. ETHIOPIA: Tier 2
Girls from Ethiopia’s impoverished rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude and
prostitution within the country, while boys are subjected to forced labor in traditional
weaving, construction, agriculture, and street vending.
Addis Ababa’s central market is the site of numerous brothels, where girls as young as
8 years old are exploited in prostitution.
Child sex tourism is a growing problem in major tourist hubs, including Addis Ababa,
Bahir Dar, Hawassa, and Bishoftu; reports identify both foreign and domestic
perpetrators, with links to local hotels, brokers, and taxi drivers.
17. INDONESIA: Tier 2
Each of its 34 provinces is a source and destination of trafficking. The government
estimates 1.9 million of the 4.5 million Indonesians working abroad—many of whom are
women— are undocumented or have overstayed their visas, increasing their vulnerability to
trafficking. Indonesians are exploited in forced labor abroad—primarily in domestic service,
factories, construction, and on Malaysian palm oil plantations—and subjected to sex
trafficking.
NGOs estimate labor recruiters are responsible for more than half of Indonesian female
trafficking cases overseas.
Debt bondage is particularly prevalent among sex trafficking victims. Women and girls are
subjected to sex trafficking near mining operations in Maluku, Papua, and Jambi provinces.
18. MEXICO: Tier 2
Groups considered most vulnerable to human trafficking in Mexico include women,
children, indigenous persons, persons with mental and physical disabilities, migrants,
and LGBTI individuals. Mexican women and children, and to a lesser extent men and
transgender individuals, are exploited in sex trafficking in Mexico and the United
States.
Mexican men, women, and children are exploited in forced labor in agriculture,
domestic service, manufacturing, food processing, construction, forced begging, the
informal economy, and street vending in Mexico and the United States.
19. SRI LANKA: Tier 2 Watch List
Within the country, women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels.
Boys are more likely than girls to be forced into prostitution in coastal areas for child
sex tourism. Children, individuals with physical deformities, and those from socially
vulnerable groups are forced to beg or engage in criminal activity in Sri Lanka’s largest
cities.
Police accept bribes to permit brothels to operate, some of which 347 exploit
trafficking victims. Sub-agents collude with officials to SRI LANKA procure fake or
falsified travel documents to facilitate travel of Sri Lankans abroad.
20. VIETNAM: Tier 2
Some victims are subjected to forced labor in the construction, fishing, agricultural,
mining, logging, and manufacturing sectors, primarily in Taiwan, Malaysia, Republic of
Korea, Laos, Angola, United Arab Emirates, and Japan.
Vietnamese women and children are subjected to sex trafficking abroad; many are
misled by fraudulent labor opportunities and sold to brothel operators on the borders
of China, Cambodia, and Laos, and in other Asian countries, including Thailand,
Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore
Children are subjected to forced street hawking and begging in major urban centers of
Vietnam. Some children are subjected to forced and bonded labor in informal garment
and brick factories or urban family homes and privately run rural gold mines. Many
children from impoverished rural areas, and a rising number from middle class and
urban dwellings, are subjected to sex trafficking. Child sex tourists, reportedly from
Asia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Europe, Canada, and the United States, exploit
children in Vietnam
28. 2014 – Tulane University
Follow-on survey
2.1 million children were discovered living and
working as slaves on the cocoa plantations
in Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana
Which brand of chocolate candy do you buy?
This meeting is about active solutions. That’s going to be our theme tonight. ACTIVE SOLUTIONS. What I mean by that is: this is a collaborative, working session here tonight. I am going to explain some of the important facts and statistics, and teach you some of the complexities of global human trafficking that you perhaps didn’t already know. Some of you may be hearing this for the first time. It might be really difficult for some of you. Some of you may already know something about slavery in our world today, and hopefully what I say to you will provide you with another layer of understanding.
But what I need from you, are answers, ideas, solutions. I need everyone in this room to make a connection. That connection is going to be the understanding of how each and every one of us, right here in this room, right now, how each and every one of us is contributing to global, modern day slavery.
And my wish is that once we make those critical connections, we can now design the solutions. I want you to start thinking about the solutions, right now. Because from the connection, and the solutions, come commitment. How committed are you to ending modern day slavery? How committed will you be after this session? How committed are all of us, to making this the free world that it was intended to be?
Steven Covey is a well-known success guru, and he says “always start with the end in mind”. And he’s rich, and I’m not, so we’re going to do what he says. This is why I am preparing you now, for the close for this meeting. I need us to come up with some ideas and strategies that we can put into action straightaway, so start thinking now—that’s my end game here. And, I’m appealing to all of you, to everybody in this hall, right now, to call upon your higher selves right now. Call upon your spiritual side, and your higher wisdom. If you don’t have a spiritual side, then you need to get one. Albert Einstein had some great words for us, from his higher wisdom, from his spiritual side. Einstein’s Theory of Ascension teaches us about the Hall of Ignorance, the Hall of Learning, and the Hall of Wisdom. We all have the power to construct our world…again, please let’s enter the Hall of Wisdom and create the Earth that we desire.
And let me begin here with an original quote that I keep using, because it just keeps feeling right.
I’m about to present you with some disturbing numbers. A lot of these numbers are provided by the International Labor Organization and Polaris Project.
This is the estimated number, today, of people who are victims of human trafficking, around the world
This is the percentage, out of the total count that you see above, who are children…let’s do the math here
This is the estimated revenue that traffickers yield, worldwide, from these victims
This is the estimated number of human trafficking victims right here in the U.S.
1. The category whe re we find the highest concentration of victims. 2. This is an area where our government, and the United Nations, have needed to pay increased attention. 3. This is the category of modern day slavery where you are probably more familiar…it’s a major problem here in the U.S. 4. Sounds horrific, sounds unbelievable, but believe it. We aren’t really going to get into these types tonight, but we can and will at a different forum.
This report is created by the United States Department of State. It’s a very long and very comprehensive work, and it’s completed every year. What happens in the TIP Report, is that agents investigate, monitor, and report on the status of modern day slavery all over the world. There are sections in the report to educate the general public about the crisis, and even provide some possible solutions.
My issue with the TIP Report is this: many of the countries that are investigated, have been found to continue to exploit people through slavery, and it’s my humble opinion that we are a country of hypocrites.
I know I’m going to get a lot of fallout later, because I always do when I come out and say something “radical” and “offensive” like that. Happens every time. But this is where my quote came from, that I showed earlier.
Awareness without Action = Acceptance.
Our government is fully aware of the plight of so many labourers overseas, and often times right here within our borders, yet, as a nation, we continue to allow the imports to come in here. These are imports which we fully realize are made under conditions of immense suffering, the likes of which we would never tolerate here, in our great country. And yet we continue to allow the flow of these tainted goods, because we, as consumers, benefit from the low prices of those imports.
The TVPA is a very important piece of legislation. It is the cornerstone of all additional federal and state regulations that have arisen over the past decade.
The Act is available as part of the TIP Report.
A little bit about forced soldiers and child soldiers. Again, this information is available in the TIP Report. This section is just a quick summary of some of the countries that are under highest suspicion of having the worst cases of children who are forced to be soldiers, or little girls who are part of these military units serving as wives for adult male soldiers.
Let’s take a look at the international garment industry. I want you all to do something for me. I want you to take a look at the clothing labels of the person next to you, if they’ll let you. Or look at your own. All garments sold here in the U.S. are required to indicate the country of origin. I just want us to figure out where many of our clothing items are coming from. So, when you discover the “made in” for some of the clothing in this room, just shout it out if you can.
Does anybody know this photo? Nobody knows where it came from? This is Rana Plaza, in Bangladesh. A major textile factory was located here, and the conditions were subhuman. The people working in the factory could not make a living wage, no matter how hard, or how long they worked. The building was unstable, and the factory owners were warned that is was dangerous for the employees. They didn’t care. The building collapsed, and over 1,100 workers were killed, and hundreds injured. The streets were littered with debris, and bodies, and fabric, and invoices. The invoices were for Kmart, and other large American retailers who were exploiting the poor conditions and horribly low wages, to keep their costs low, to create greater profitability for themselves.
Now I want to tell you about a website where you can learn more about your own participation in modern day slavery. The site address is slavery footprint,org, and it’s very cool, they’ve done an excellent job. You can go to this site and take a survey, which will let you know about areas of your own consumer behavior which are contributing to exploitation. There’s a lot of good information on this website and I recommend that you, after we leave here tonight, take a little tine to check it out.
Here are a couple of screenshot of the website. You’ll learn about a variety of industries that consumers can effect, and you’ll learn more about the supply chain – from raw materials, through manufacturing, and finally to our stores and our homes. Now I want to take a look at another important area.
Everybody knows what this is right? I’m going to let you all know where this chocolate bar comes from. Because this chocolate bar has had a long journey, before it got to this photo, and before it was this final product for people to purchase in a retail store. Before all of that, it was this.
This is a pod full of cocoa beans. The pods are harvested on plantations mostly in West Africa. After the pods are collected they are spilt open and the cocoa beans are processed into large sacks, which are then shipped to candy suppliers all over the world. But where do the pods come from?
They come from here.
And from here. What am I talking about?
Better World Shopper is only one of many companies who have done extensive supply chain assessments, and they create these charts to show you how they have rated the various brands. You can enter many different industries and find a chart similar to this one.
Now let’s bring it closer to home, and talk about what’s going on here in America. Remember in the beginning, when you saw the numbers. We had an estimate of at least 100,000 victims here in the U.S. And I can tell you that is a very, very low estimate. So here’s what’s happening here at home.
After travelling sales crews say: these may be areas that you don’t believe you have any connection to, or any involvement in.
Sex Trafficking: Here’s something that thousands and thousands of Americans are involved in…sex trafficking. It’s estimated that tens of thousands of America’s commercially trafficked victims are children. Are you…(advance animations)
I told you all earlier that I was looking for you all to make a connection. Please raise your hand if you have made a connection between worldwide modern day slavery and yourself. It’s not a connection that we ever want to make, is it? I made a speech in Portland Maine back on October 15 when we kicked off the 500 Mile Awareness Walk throughout New England, and in that speech I said: “we don’t want to know this”. And we don’t. We want to deny the existence of such extreme human rights violations, especially violations of that magnitude. And none of us, not one of us here, ever wants to discover that we are complicit in this crime. It’s not good news, and I understand. I remember how I felt when I first discovered and understood the enormity of human trafficking today. It was like a freight train had run straight over me. In the ensuing weeks and months, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t focus, and I couldn’t go about my life in the same way. In that instant, that moment when I made the connection, everything changed for me. I would never be the same.
I didn’t really want much of an introduction in the beginning because what was important was the message, and the information that I had for you. But now I will tell you who I am.
I am a person who believes that human trafficking, the exploiting, the buying and selling of human beings, and the severe misery of bondage that is inflicted upon our population, is occurring because of suffering and unresolved traumas of our human race. As humans, we have been distancing ourselves further and further away from our higher selves.
I have worked with quite a few people, mostly women, who have survived horrific exploitation. I have watched some of them on their journey to heal. I am highly honored that some of them have allowed me to see this journey, and to learn from it, and to be a part of it. Through their healing journeys, these amazing humans have become true angels of healing to other survivors. That’s how they operate, and it is astonishing. I will never stop feeling intense admiration for these powerful people. They have reached deep within, through their own suffering and innocent trauma, and found ways to use their higher selves to become great leaders. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of, and, as I said, it is a solemn honor for me to know them, and to learn from them.
So now I’m going to try and explain where I was coming from a few minutes ago when I spoke of the suffering and trauma of millions of humans. I hope you can understand. My belief is this: the people who are exploiting others are suffering. They are traumatized people, with souls that have been traumatized. Because of this condition, they are living their lives driven by fear, or driven by lack, or driven by the grip of powerlessness. There are millions of people living this way, walking our planet. Millions. They inflict suffering on others because of their own unresolved trauma and suffering. They don’t know any other way. I want you to think about this for a moment. Let what I am saying sink in.
What will stop this crime? You heard my quote: awareness without action equals acceptance. So what can we do? Is it violence we need? Organized groups, like mine, we be should be arming, and attacking plantations, and brothels, and military encampments? What about the “man camps” up in the Dakotas right now? Do we organize and raid, shooting the men who are holding women, girls, and young men captive there? Do we answer violence with violence? Would that work?
Yes, and No.
What else can we think of? Improved legislation? I mentioned to you the TIP Report and sanctions that are required based upon a particular country’s tier ranking. Is the corruption going to step aside and let those laws work? Are elected officials going to be willing to take a stand, and get behind these victims? Or are big corporations, and big money, going to continue to dominate? The federal government has rolled out all kinds of legislation, beginning with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. And, due to the hard work of survivors, politicians, and advocates, purchasing sex has become illegal, on some level, all across our nation, in a bold effort to stop commercial sexual exploitation by addressing the demand.
Then there is the Harkin-Engel Protocol. Once the United Nations and other groups could prove that the chocolate industry was making massive profits by using over one million child slaves, the protocol was enacted. It gave the big industry importers 10 years to clean up their act. 10 years. We are a world that will tolerate the extreme suffering of innocent children, so candy companies can continue to make huge profits? What do you think they are doing during the 10-year grace? Continuing to do what they’re doing, and now they have time to come up with more complex loopholes
So my question is this: is all of this legislation working? Some might say yes, but is it working fast enough? Are the officials who are implementing these laws free from their own corruption, which is occurring through their own suffering, as I mentioned before? Is it working?
Yes, and No.
I’m not going to give you any answers here. That’s not why I have come to you. I’ve come here to tell you my story, and the stories of others, and to ask you for your help. What, then, can we do? What will we do? What will you do? What is the “action” that will carry us through this?
These survivors that I mentioned, they have been able to rise from the most abject despair, and misery, to reach into their collective conscious and unconscious power to access solutions to help other survivors. Let’s use this example. How do we build on that? How do we access that power, within each other, within ourselves, to rise above suffering, especially the suffering of our most vulnerable, and most innocent human beings? How do we teach each other to turn our trauma into healing, and our evil into good? Instead of inflicting pain on others, out of our own depraved pain, what can we do to be the holy solution to human trafficking? Let’s start here, in this auditorium.
Do you know somebody who is participating in human trafficking and slavery? Are there people in this room who purchase products made by slaves? Probably most of us are doing so without even realizing it. But now we know. How about some of the men? Who do you know in this room, or in your circle, or in your family…who do you know is a man that is purchasing sex, and by doing so exploiting girls and women? What can you tell that person? And how can we help that person?
What can we tell ourselves? How can we help ourselves? How can we connect with the hearts, minds, and souls of the millions of people who are committing this atrocity against humanity? How do we heal their deepest trauma? How do we fix their suffering? How could we do that?
It won’t work, you say? Well, what has worked? Slavery has been around for thousands and thousands of years. What has worked? What are you going to write on that sticky note? What can you do, and what can we do, to change the world? Help me, please. Because I see a world where nobody, nobody is for sale.
