Wednesday, by act of Congress, is Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the U.S., and ICADV encourages others to become more aware of the millions who are victimized by trafficking – and more involved in finding ways to stop it.
While estimates of the numbers vary widely, the U. S. Government recently reported that 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year; 80 percent of them are female and almost half are minors.
These figures do not include the millions who are trafficked into labor and sexual slavery within national borders.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) – the United Nations agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment and social protection issues – estimates there are 12.3 million people in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, and sexual servitude at any give time; other estimates range from 4 million to 27 million. (United States Department of State, “Trafficking in Person Report”, June 2007
The U.S. State Department estimates traffickers make $32 billion annually in their illicit trade.
