Reading and Writing Against Trafficking

Here are two things for your consideration on this Friday before Labor Day:

Recommended Reading:
Hat tip to Sarah Coenen for finding this one. This is a great Washington Post op ed on human trafficking today. You can read it here. The article talks about the uniting power of diverse groups crossing religious, political, and geographical lines to combat trafficking and exploitation. It also looks at what's currently being done and why the need to address underlying causes of trafficking is so important. Here's a sneak peek (I was especially excited to see the mention of Chab Dai's Helen Sworn, who is one of my heroes):

"Helen Sworn, the English woman who founded Chab Dai, talks a language of partnership and cooperation - with government and private companies, women's groups and police. The challenge is to educate people about their rights, and to protect those who fall victim to circumstances or to crime. But she also sees the issues as an integral part of development and social change. As corridors for transportation open up, as borders are easier to cross, as tourism gains momentum, the pressures for trafficking increase. She argues that at the same time that we work to protect and help victims directly and prosecute those who break the law, far more effort should go to addressing the underlying causes.

And the underlying causes are ferociously complex. First and foremost it's about poverty, ignorance, and lack of opportunity. Grinding need drives desperate families to sell a daughter. Uneducated girls more easily fall prey to promises of a glittery life, only to end up trapped in a brothel. And simple greed exacerbates the problems. Weak government institutions and corrupt systems make it hard to enforce laws. Unequal relations between men and women are corrosive realities that translate into low priority to the work needed to bring about change."

Go visit the article and give it some link love if you can! I always like to show editors just how interested we are in keeping updated on the battle against trafficking. It's one of the most simple things we can do to ensure that these kinds of stories continue to be published and get attention.


Get Your Voice Out There:
Chances are if you're here, you're interested in the issue of child sex trafficking/human slavery and exploitation. And you probably want to do something about it. If writing's your thing, why not give this a thought?

There's a great blog on Change.org, run by Amanda Kloer, and they're actually looking for some additional writers. Check out "Want to Blog for Change.org?" for more information and an application. We need more voices like yours to bring attention to human trafficking and add even more momentum to making it a thing of the past.

Have a great long weekend.

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