My Topic: Human Trafficking

As a white, mid-to-upper class female who grew up in a Colorado suburb commonly recognized as "the nation's largest master-planned community" , I came to college with very little knowledge about racial and ethnic diversity, everyday oppression, or the effects of globalization. I have definitely learned more in my time as a college student about these topics, but in some ways I still remain ignorant about important global issues.

Though there are many global inequalities which I do not know much about, I have decided to focus this blog on human trafficking because it is a growing concern that affects 12 million people worldwide.
Human trafficking is considered the modern day form of slavery. People, young and old, male and female, are taken and forced into sex or labor jobs. This can include prostitution, domestic slavery, sweatshop workers, and countless other dehumanizing practices. These people are kept in degrading positions, robbed of the chance to petition for their own rights or even connect with others in similar situations. Those who experience human trafficking, though they do not represent one socioeconomic or ethnic group, are treated as unequal human beings in every possible way. When I have heard about human trafficking in the past, I assumed that this only occurred in third world countries, but every single country in the world has human traffickers taking advantage of others.

It seems to me that human trafficking has increased in today's world because of the unique situations caused by globalization. Rich countries are losing factory jobs because of cheaper labor available in poorer countries; rich tourists can travel to poor countries for sex with young children and not have to consider the consequences; the poor oppressed people cannot find ways to voice their anger at this injust system because they cannot access the internet or the other modern ways of communication. These problems will only increase throughout my lifetime as technology advances, the rich become richer and have more administrative service jobs, and as the poor fall further and further behind.

My exploration of human trafficking will hopefully be a learning experience for both myself and viewers of this blog. I think that learning more about this issue is important because it is highly common, but scarcely recognized throughout the world. People from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, countries, and walks of life can become victims of human trafficking. Learning about this global issue is important for me because it will continue to be relevant knowledge throughout my lifetime; I will need to be armed with the knowledge of how to combat this disgustingly common theft of human life. Though I am one person and sometimes feel that my own efforts will not effect great changes, if I truly understand the facets of this topic and spread my knowledge to all of the people I encounter, then the movement to end modern day human slavery will be that much bigger. From what brief things I have read, I believe that this issue needs exposure more than anything else, in order for people around the world to stand up and stop human trafficking.