End Slavery Now!

Picture yourself sitting in a classroom, about to take a test.  Maybe you have that slightly jittery feeling that comes with holding your number-two pencil during the few minutes before the exam commences, hearing nothing but the tick of the second-hand on the clock (let’s face it, no matter how many years it has been since you attended high school, you know exactly what feeling I’m talking about).  Mentally preparing yourself for the true-or-false questions soon to come, reviewing definitions that you have memorized… and the exam is handed out.  You look at the questions.

Here’s an easy one:

1)      True or False: Slavery in America ended with the Emancipation Proclamation.

The tip of that number-two pencil should snap off as you resoundingly circle “False.”

Now it might get a little trickier.

2)      Define slavery.

How crafty; a question with no definitive answer! You can start by looking at the legal definition:

slav·er·y

1. The state of one bound in servitude as property of a slaveholder or household.

And you can think of this definition in terms of the 13^th Amendment, passed in January of 1865, and designed to abolish slavery:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Though today, as modern day slavery defies all legality, it might be helpful to look at a more specified definition.  Here is the definition of “severe forms of trafficking in persons” under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a federal law passed in 2000:

1) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under 18, or

2) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjecting that person to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

However, even this definition doesn’t seem to do justice to the millions of people who are bound in servitude, controlled through violence, and forced to act without free will.  End Slavery Now further explores how to measure and define slavery, highlighting important questions to ask when judging if an individual can be considered, and defined as, a slave: “Can this person walk away? Are they under violent control?”

At his 2010 speech for the TED Conference, a biannual event devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading,” Dr. Kevin Bales spoke about combating modern day slavery.  Bales is the co-founder of Free the Slaves, the author of “Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves,” and widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on modern slavery.  In his talk, he discussed what it means to be a slave, and put forth his own descriptive definition of slavery:

“Agriculture workers in Africa, whipped and beaten… and I want to be very clear. I am talking about real slavery. This is not about lousy marriages, this is not about jobs that suck, this is about real people who cannot walk away, people who are forced to work without pay, people who are operating 24/7 under a threat of violence and have no pay.  It’s real slavery and exactly the way slavery would be recognized throughout all of human history.”

But let’s be honest… these are just definitions.  Why do they matter?

Because slavery is not just something of the past.  The importance of its definition, and its presence, did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation, or with the 13^th Amendment (remember your pencil tip breaking as you definitively circled “False” for Question #1?!).  As Bales stresses, slavery is not low wages, it’s not cultural manipulations, it’s not bad marriages.  Slavery is not illegal immigration.  And it’s certainly not a joke.

Once you understand what modern day slavery really is, you can understand what approximately 27 million people deal with daily.  Every day, millions of people are dehumanized in the most drastic ways imaginable.  They are treated as nameless, faceless objects: they are “bound in servitude as property.”  By understanding the definition of what you are combating, you can find new and effective ways to expand this anti-slavery movement.

Let’s try one last question on that test:

Freedom is:

a) just another word for nothing left to lose

or

b) personal liberty, and what we are working to ensure for every human being on this planet

I’ll give you a hint: Freedom’s not just another word for nothing left to lose.  It’s everything.

Father’s Day is here. This year let’s forget about getting a card, or a barbecue, more chrome for our motorcycle or a new fishing rod. This year let’s not worry about presents. This year let’s take on a mission. This year, in celebration of Father’s Day, let’s do what dads were made to do; defend.

Let’s defend our daughters. Let’s leverage our political will to ensure that the men who buy and sell our children are fully prosecuted; and let’s make sure the punishment fits the crime. Let’s leverage our compassion (and what’s greater than a father’s compassion?) so that the daughters trapped in this nightmare can be quickly rescued and restored. And let’s leverage our moral courage and take a stand against the commercial sex industry and their attempts to glamorize prostitution and traumatize our daughters.

Just imagine if you’re one of the 100,000 fathers in America whose daughter – or son – is one of the 100,000 children who have disappeared in the last year, forced into the commercial sex industry. If your thirteen-year-old daughter vanished, and you didn’t know where to find her or how to get help, what would you do? How could your family endure that kind of emotional torment?

Though many think slavery was abolished long ago, as hard as it is to believe it indeed still exists. Child sex trafficking is one of modern slavery’s horrific forms. Our daughters and sons, taken from under our very noses, are being sexually abused and serially raped. Consider this staggering statistic – the average age of children entering prostitution here in the U.S. is just thirteen years old. At this age they are too young to protect themselves.

Fortunately, there are many groups and people working tirelessly to put a stop to sex trafficking in this country. And as a father, there is something you can do. You can help prevent the sexual exploitation of your child, and other children.

The Defenders USA program challenges men across America to step up and personally participate in protecting children from sex-traffickers. Founded on Father’s Day in 2006 as a project of Shared Hope International, The Defenders USA is a campaign by men, to men, and for men. We ask you to take a pledge to stand up and speak out: don’t purchase or participate in pornography, prostitution, or any form of the commercial sex industry, and hold friends accountable for their actions. We need good men like you to help reduce the demand for the sexual services of young girls and boys. Men started this problem; better men have to stop it.

Along with prevention, it’s important to provide the children already bound in sex slavery with help. We need to work with our legislators to strengthen laws providing victim services and treatment. And most importantly, we must recognize that children are just that – victims, and not criminals. A child being forced through violence to participate in the commercial sex industry should not be punished; they need our help.

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking found misidentification of victims to be the primary barrier to properly addressing America’s trafficked children. Shared Hope International conducted investigations throughout the country and found that children being prostituted are often arrested for the crime committed against them. While the men purchasing or selling their sexual services, the johns and the pimps, frequently go unpunished.

Rescued girls and boys who have suffered severe physical, sexual and emotional trauma need psychological and social services, as well as legal counseling. And they need somewhere to go besides the inside of a jail cell.

Today, surrounded by love and support from your family, take a moment to consider those fathers who won’t see or hear the words “Happy Father’s Day,” because their child is enslaved. As you count your blessings, remember there is something you can do to help – take The Defenders USA pledge, to help protect your daughter or son and shine a light on this important issue. Children all across the country will be grateful.

Tomas Perez

National Director

The Defenders USA Project

Shared Hope International

www.thedefendersusa.org

Lauren Taylor

Founder & President

End Slavery Now

www.endslaverynow.com

Emancipation Day is inarguably a cause for celebration. Also known as Juneteenth, its origin stems from June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news the Civil War had ended and the enslaved were now free. Juneteenth commemorates the legal emancipation that came with the Thirteenth Amendment, as well as African American freedom and achievement. Thirty-six states now recognize Juneteenth, America’s “second Independence day,” and a sizable movement continues to push for June 19 to become a national holiday.

There is an irony to Juneteenth, however, that is lost on most of us. If you ask the average American when slavery ended, inevitably they respond with “1865.” And therein lies the tragedy: we all bought the story we were taught in school. So we stopped paying attention to things that looked like slavery, sounded like slavery or even felt like slavery. Although making slavery illegal was a critical milestone for the U.S., the truth is it never ended – it just went underground. It became a hidden crime. Right here, right under our noses, slavery still exists.

True, the visible balls and chains are gone. Modern slavery has evolved, and can fool even the trained eye. Today’s slaves, as documented in the new book The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today, are not only the housekeepers and field hands of yore, they are hotel maids, janitors, manicurists, construction workers, nannies, landscaping crewmembers, restaurant workers and more. People you may see every day. Hidden in plain sight.

For the slave, however, the experience is still the same as it ever was. Controlled by violence, unable to walk away, and paid nothing beyond subsistence.

The U.S. State Department estimates between 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked to America every year to become slaves, from at least 35 countries. At any given moment there are conservatively 40,000 people in slavery in the U.S. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline (1-888-373-7888), operated by Polaris Project, received over 7,000 calls last year. A study by Free the Slaves and the Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, found that forced labor operations had been reported in at least 90 U.S. cities between 1998 and 2003; the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has worked together with the Department of Justice and the FBI to uncover, investigate and federally prosecute seven cases of modern-day slavery in Florida’s fields alone. And not all victims are foreign-born – modern slaves include U.S. citizens as well, particularly children enslaved in the commercial sex industry.

So now you know. We Americans have a dirty secret. We make all kinds of noise about human rights abuses in other countries, but the greatest human rights abuse of all – slavery – is happening right here. And no matter how hard you try, you can’t unlearn it. Yes, you can choose to turn your back. Or you can join those of us who are standing up and saying, “Not on my watch.”

We pledge allegiance to a republic that promises “liberty and justice for all.” But there is much to be done before America delivers on this promise. We need stronger laws criminalizing all aspects of human trafficking. We need greater funding for victims services and rehabilitation. We need better training for law enforcement. And we need to teach our citizens to recognize modern slavery and identify victims – about a third of the slaves freed in the U.S. every year are rescued because an average person sees something he or she can’t ignore. We need all the boots on the ground we can muster.

Realizing a legal emancipation in the 19^th century was an incredible achievement, but there is still much work to be done. Abolishing slavery didn’t end slavery. Let’s put our money where our mouth is and put in place the programs we need to make America truly the “land of the free.” Let’s set an example for the rest of the world – let’s finish the job we started and eradicate this scourge from our great country, forever. Then, by all means, let’s celebrate.

Dr. Kevin Bales

President

Free the Slaves

Co-author, The Slave Next Door

Bill Bernstein

Deputy Director

Mosaic Family Services

Ron Soodalter

Co-author, The Slave Next Door

Lauren Taylor

Founder & President

End Slavery Now

“And if you feel like you are witnessing a movement, then get up girl and let them know you’re free.”

-  State Radio, “Calling All Crows”

John Lennon once asked us all to imagine; Lance Armstrong has made wearing a yellow LIVESTRONG bracelet a symbol in the fight against cancer; musicians of all genres have banded together and asked their fans to “Rock the Vote”; millions of dollars have been raised through annual AIDS walks, and just as importantly, millions of people have started thinking about safety and solutions as a result.  Awareness is the first step to solving a problem, and the global tragedy of modern day slavery is no different.

The harrowing reality is that slavery did not end with Lincoln.  Although slavery is not legal anywhere, it happens all over the world, even in the mostly unlikely of places.  Forced to work in fields to brothels to American suburbs, there are an estimated 27 million modern day slaves.  In this crucial movement to end slavery now, a lack of awareness about the reality of modern-day slavery might be holding us back the most.  Awareness is not a human rights cliché; it is the greatest tool for change available.

In New York City, an entire human trafficking awareness campaign has begun within the last few weeks.  The Somaly Mam Foundation, a nonprofit committed to eradicating modern day slavery, recently partnered with the Office of the Mayor of New York to launch the campaign, called “Let’s Call An End To Human Trafficking.”  This awareness campaign involves print both print ads, placed in subway stations and bus shelters throughout the five boroughs of the city, and a new anti-trafficking website.  The street advertisements, in both English and Spanish, evoke situations like forced labor and sex slavery with their images and phrases.  They provide a 311 number to call to learn more about human-trafficking, and urge victims to seek help.  The website further provides information and resources for victims.

On this new website, Mayor Bloomberg writes, “We hope our public awareness campaign, and the resources we are providing online, will help us involve more people in the fight against human trafficking.”

New York’s city-wide campaign highlights the value of awareness in both policy and reality.  Hopefully these anti-trafficking advertisements will lay a foundation of thought in the minds of New Yorkers… which could turn in action… which could turn into change.

However, you don’t have to be plastering ads all over the country’s largest city or singing about empowerment at sold-out concerts (although it might help) to be raising awareness about modern day slavery.  You just have to be talking. Everyone can do something: words are just a powerful as lyrics, and a conversation with a friend is just as important as a poster.  Simply initiating the conversation about human trafficking is valuable, and often half the battle.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” -William James

If you are reading this, you most likely have the freedom to state your beliefs to a friend, to write your opinion on a piece of paper and mail it, or even just to let the click of a button act as your voice.  While these actions are all fairly basic, they are more than just freedom; they are power.  Modern day slavery is an issue that holds an estimated 27 million people captive, from rural towns in India to the suburbs of America.  These slaves are denied their freedom, and likewise, their power.  Take action for them!

Access your own power in even the simplest of ways:  send an email, stay informed, tell your friends, do something. Especially when a problem seems so far away (it’s not) and seems so embedded in society’s past, present, and inevitably future (it’s not), the easiest path may be looking away.  But change only comes after action, from the press of a button to the echo of one voice.

So…

Inform yourself about the horrors of modern day slavery!   Know the facts that make up the tragedy.  Then tell your friends, and let them know all that they can do to join this battle.  With a few clicks, you can follow End Slavery Now on Twitter, become a fan on facebook, or receive daily email alerts on human trafficking.  With a few more clicks, you can recommend the same to friends and family.  And the movement expands.

Wear a hat, a sticker, or a tee-shirt with an anti-slavery message. This is fashion at its best. Brands are designed to draw attention to an idea, to make a statement… why not make one with a little more meaning behind it?

Start a library of anti-trafficking books at your church, or recommend an anti-trafficking book to your book club.  Have a bake-sale to raise the money for these books; not only will you accomplish your goal, but you will help raise awareness about human trafficking among members of your community.

Write to a congressman.  The power of a hand-written letter is shocking.  After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, U.S. Senator Paul Simon said, “If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda…then I think the response would have been different.”  Politicians make decisions based on constituencies, and support the issues that their constituents show interest in.  Imagine if you and ten of your friends wrote letters to your senators or congressmen telling them to address the problem of modern day slavery… imagine if a few groups of friends in every state did this.  Something so simple could change the course of history.

To be more directly hands-on, volunteer to do victim outreach.  Polaris Project engages in local intervention in the Washington, DC metro area, providing victims with 24-hour hotlines, distributing outreach materials, and providing emergency services.  Based on your qualifications, you may be able to provide modern day slaves with free counseling, healthcare, or legal services with the New Underground Railroad’s volunteer opportunities.

These are just some of the many ways you can take action, and get involved in ending modern day slavery.  For more ideas, be creative! And click on the Take Action link to find a list of extensive opportunities and ideas.  Harness your power- your freedom to ACT- and add your voice to the movement to end modern-day slavery.