The Modern Realities of Sex Trafficking A Global Crime In Our Own Backyard Written by Danyella Wilder Photo Illustrations by Phillip Ndowu
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n the streets of major cities and small towns, strangers lurking in the shadows tear apart families, coercing children into working at brick kilns, slaving long hours in the heat of the day. Boys and girls, some as young as 5 years old, are forced to perform sexual acts for cyber users and teenagers are deceived into accepting work in which they ultimately sell their bodies. This may sound like a problem in developing nations. Except it isn’t. Human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, happens everywhere and can affect anyone. It does not differentiate the rich from the poor, the sick from the well. It is a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar criminal industry carried with the sole intent of exploiting vulnerable individuals, robbing them of their freedom and basic human rights. International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social justice, says forced labor and human trafficking refers to any situations in which people are coerced to work through the use of violence, intimidation or by subtler means, such as manipulated debt.
38 | Pursuit
*Names changed to protect identity