Combatting Human Trafficking Through Financial Stability
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Recognizing January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, this blog is the last in a series about the intersectionality of human trafficking with financial stability, education, and health. To read the other blogs in the series, click here and here.
Human trafficking – the act of compelling someone to work, for little or no pay, through force, fraud, or coercion – is an incredibly complex, intersectional issue. Systemic injustices like racism, homophobia, sexism, economic inequality, and more lead some people to face more risk of human trafficking than others. It is a multi-dimensional problem that disproportionately impacts marginalized communities around the world.
United Way envisions a world where communities deliver equitable solutions to achieve lasting change, giving everyone the chance to thrive — especially in education, economic mobility, and health. Each of these issues is affected by and affects human trafficking. They are prevention points *and* intervention tools in the fight against human trafficking.
Financial Stability for Human Trafficking Prevention
Human trafficking stems from and contributes to economic instability for individuals and communities. Traffickers often seek out financially vulnerable individuals, such as those living in poverty, unemployed, or who are experiencing homelessness. In fact, a United Nations analysis of 200+ human trafficking cases found that the “majority of victims were reportedly in a condition of economic need, characterized by an inability to meet basic needs, such as food, shelter or healthcare” at the time of recruitment.
Traffickers often make false promises to vulnerable people, offering shelter, money, or food in exchange for labor or sex. Such situations frequently turn into cases of human trafficking in the form of exploitation such as debt bondage, forced labor, and/or forced commercial sex, and more. As the National Survivor Network explains, highly vulnerable populations, like refugees or displaced people, are particularly susceptible to trafficking because of their precarious financial status. Community-based programs focused on financial security and economic mobility are an effective tool to reduce vulnerability to human trafficking.
Angela F. Williams, President and CEO of United Way Worldwide, visited United Way of Ghana in November to learn about their work, which includes anti-human trafficking programming. She visited a United Way-run women’s empowerment project in rural Ghana where they met an 18-year-old woman named Mary,* holding a small baby. Mary recounted a story of resilience, as she shared through tears about how she'd been forced to leave school after becoming pregnant. Before finding the United Way program, Mary worried about her ability to provide for herself and her child without an education or a job. She credited the United Way program with helping her build financial security, thereby supporting the safety and wellbeing of both herself and her child.
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Without access to a safe, stable source of income, Mary could have been highly vulnerable to human trafficking. Human trafficking is prevalent in Ghana, and both boys and girls are known to be trafficked into forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.