Human Trafficking Truths 101
I watched this great TED talk recently about the danger of the ‘single story’. Chimamanda Adichie outlined how the narratives we encounter shape our perceptions of people and places without our even knowing.
In the not-for-profit sector there’s always a risk of oversimplifying or sensationalising and, even when you don’t, plenty of folks will still decide it‘s what you’ve done.
If you’re leading a movement, though, you need to show everyone how their sacrifice is making an honest difference. There’s always a balance. It’s tricky to find but crucial to pin down.
And so, we tell stories. Like Chimamanda, we tell as many as we can because we know that ignorance is apathy’s greatest ally and in telling many stories perhaps we can grow understanding and achieve change.
So without pretending to be comprehensive here’s a little myth busting about the victims of a hidden crime.
Some victims don’t know they’re victims.
Sophie was brutally traumatised and manipulated from a young age. She can’t recognise real love, she doesn’t understand her worth and she sees genuine care as captivity. Too often she runs back to her abusers. We’ll always need to keep a door open for her.
Some victims are our neighbours; they’re our friends’ kids.
Jenny and Imogen were recruited on a social networking site by an unknown perpetrator controlling the profile of a legitimate user. They’re Western and English-speaking. They were offered a fun job and the opportunity to work in a world-renowned city. A concerned friend thought the offer was too good to be true. It was. A little investigation uncovered some concerning realities and the two girls were prevented from leaving the country.
Some victims are highly educated.
Michael is a professional who has also completed teacher training. The job he applied for was posted on a popular European website and he called to check the details twice. The traffickers went to great lengths to deceive him into thinking the job and pay was legitimate. It wasn’t.
Some victims are right here.
Human trafficking is not an ‘over there’ problem. Countries in the developed and developing world are both the destination and source in this modern-day slave trade. From the brick kilns of India to the brothels of England human trafficking is devastating lives. I believe that getting your own house in order is the first step in every struggle. That’s why Hope for Justice has started out as a UK solution to a UK problem of human trafficking.
Read more, see more, change lives.
