Kevin Bales, author of Disposal People and Ending Slavery, defines slavery as the total control of one person by another for the purpose of economic exploitation. Human trafficking is modern day slavery in action. It is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, and retention of a person obtained through use of force, fraud or coercion. The White House reports victims of human trafficking are sold into all forms of forced labor and servitude, including prostitution, sweatshops, domestic labor, farming, and child armies. Approximately 80 percent of   humant trafficking victims are female, and 70 percent of those female victims are trafficked for the commercial sex industry.

Human Trafficking and Global Slavery is really people throughout the world who are forced to work in unbelievable working conditions for hours at end for little or no pay beyond subsistence. It is really people who are robbed of their freedoms, dignity and hope.

Facts

• It is estimated that at least 27 million people are currently enslaved around the world.
• Approximately 800,000 people annually are trafficked across national borders worldwide. Around 80% of these human trafficking victims are women and girls and up to 50% are minors. The majority of females are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. An estimated 17,000 victims are trafficked into the United States each year (2007 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. State Department)
• It is estimated that Human Trafficking is a $32 billion dollar a year industry, making it the second most lucrative crime in the world, second only to the sale of drugs and considered to be the fastest growing crime. About $28 billion of this is generated from commercial sexual exploitation. (International Labour Office (ILO)
• UNICEF now believes that the number of children trafficked each year is around 1.2 million. (UNICEF, 2006)
• It is estimated that two children are trafficked for sexual exploitation each minute. (Love146 Website)
• Forced labor is most prevalent in five sectors of the U.S. economy; prostitution and sex services (46%); demestic service (27%); sweatshop/factory work (5%)' and restaurant and hotel work ($5). (NFS, Batsone)

"The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children. Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom. Victims can be abused in their own countries, or find themselves far from home and vulnerable. Whether they are trapped in forced sexual or labor exploitation, human trafficking victims cannot walk away, but are held in service through force, threats, and fear. All too often suffering from horrible physical and sexual abuse, it is hard for them to imagine that there might be a place of refuge. We must join together as a Nation and global community to provide that safe haven by protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. With improved victim identification, medical and social services, training for first responders, and increased public awareness, the men, women, and children who have suffered this scourge can overcome the bonds of modern slavery, receive protection and justice, and successfully reclaim their rightful independence." -President Barack Obama