Human trafficking is still a major concern today in many areas
There are a great deal of people who might believe that this form of slavery became obsolete many years ago but unfortunately that isn't the case. And the exploitation of millions of adults and children still takes place today. And would you believe, that it even takes place in the United States?
Human Trafficking = $150 Billion Dollar A Year Industry
It's estimated that there are something around 20+ million human trafficking victims globally. And thousands of cases of human trafficking have been reported yearly with the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, about 5,042 cases reported in 2014 with 90 percent of the victims being female.
And unfortunately it isn't just one area that has been found to have issues with human trafficking, they've found hubs in multiple places like Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.
Earlier this year, about 500 people were arrested in California as part of a crackdown on a human trafficking ring there.
And in Atlanta, a city that's described as being a hub for human trafficking, some traffickers will make as much as $32k per week, according to a 2014 study by the Urban Institute.
Today, this segment of criminal activity has been described as the fastest growing, with Atlanta being among the top cities for areas of concern.
On The Rise In South Florida
Aside from Atlanta and Los Angeles, it's also on the rise as a concern in South Florida. There have already been hundreds of cases that have gone through the criminal justice system, finding both men and women guilty of engaging in human trafficking. And prosecutors say that it's becoming steadily more prevalent there.
This week the Deputy US Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, visited South Florida to join in on a roundtable discussion on the issue just a few days ago; which more than anything just seemed like a photo-op to try and placate concerns. They're trying to give the impression that they're effectively tackling the problem with a specialized task force.
Back in 2011, they became the testing ground for this task force, known as the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force,..
which included co-operation between federal, state, and local law enforcement. Thus far they allege that they've been able to help at least 75 victims to get their lives back. Rosenstein thinks they are doing a great job and that their approach could be a model for the entire nation.
The task force that they've put together attempts to focus on more than investigation and prosecution, it's equally focusing on victims in an effort to try and help them to recover; encouraging them to testify against those who violated them and to re-build their life again.
For 2017, it's estimated that the Justice Department prosecuted only about 553 human trafficking cases.
And they've been able to find predators in a variety of places, such as those who were working as US gov contractors internationally, or working as an overnight shift mentor at children's shelters. You'd think that with the resources available to them, what with the NSA collecting all of the phone calls and e-mails etc, that there would be a lot more than just 500 cases.
When the people don't feel as if the authorities are doing enough, they've opted to take matters into their own hands. And in a variety of circumstances, mobs have gathered to break those criminals out of police custody and have attacked the suspects to the point of killing them.
There are various anti-predator groups that have sprung up in recent years, attempting to help authorities to crackdown on threats in their community, by using a variety of online tools to find and trap suspects. Perhaps if the authorities in the US took all of the resources that they were currently allocating to enforcing prohibition over victimless crimes, they'd be better able to crackdown on this problem.
Pics:
Pixabay
Sources:
http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/news/WCMS_182109/lang--en/index.htm
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/human-trafficking-growing-problem-in-metro-atlanta
http://www.vocativ.com/underworld/crime/what-american-slavery-looks-like/index.html
http://www.wsbradio.com/news/local/atlanta-streets-hub-for-human-trafficking/Icak3xYJ2wyFS55hZBQZJN/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/us/sex-trafficking/index.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trafficking-arrests/nearly-500-arrested-in-california-human-trafficking-raids-idUSKBN15G5J6
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2017/03/09/human-trafficking-on-the-rise-in-south-florida/
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2018/01/04/deputy-attorney-general-miami-human-trafficking-roundtable/
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-reg-rosenstein-trafficking-speech-20180105-story.html
http://beta.latimes.com/sns-bc-fl--human-trafficking-20180104-story.html
Thanks for posting this.
When I hear about slavery and human trafficking, I always think back to the 1800's and the dark ages - It's hard to believe that this kind of vile crap still exists in the modern era.
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This is disgusting and sickening. Any person's involved in human trafficking should not only be jailed, but put to death. Useless people who take advantage of others.
Kinda makes you wonder how much of this is actually quietly just done by government.
I question everything now.
Happy New Year buddy. I hope 2018 is a stellar year for you brother.
same to you man! thanks for taking the time to stop by! 😄 😄
In this age of technology we still are unable to counter such a bad criminal activity. Shame on humanity if this era remains same as ages back when this trafficking was done just due to lack of knowledge and less means of communications. Ah still I cant believe a country like USA has such high ratios of this crime. God save this earth.
Useful info. I hadn't realized that Atlanta was such a big hub for this type of thing.
This is truly shameful, totally against human trafficking, in my country and neighboring countries is very common these cases, Aregentina, Chile, Paraguay, these are the countries of exchange, it is very common to see girls of Paraguayan nationality who are trostituidas in our country and vice versa.
This is never going to end there is a lot of money in the middle, in addition usually involved very influential people of the country.
Thank you very much dear friend @doitvoluntarily for sharing this material I wish you a great Sunday
Thanks for the important information!!!!
Great post!!! Thanks for sharing. Just resteemed and followed :)
So crazy and so disheartening that there is a value to this. Some real sickos out there. I'm glad my company is donating and helping bring awareness to this growing issue in the US this year.
It's disturbing that this exists in the world around us.
The worst kind of vile - stealing a persons life.
:(
Makes me too sad for humanity.
The other week I saw imagery from Libya where young African male migrants were hogtied and chained. It broke my heart.
Each of us with a light soul must do what ever we can to defeat the evil in our beautiful world.
Your post helps.
Thanks.
I am an artist/writer/lightworker still relatively new to Steemit looking for my audience. I invite you to pop by mine if you have a moment to have a virtual mooch.
PS _ Gee thanks everso for the generous and significant upvote :) It means alot.
Be well.
xox
Upvoted for visibility
Slavery present in 2018, it never really faded in my sense
@doitvoluntarily , This is my first article of yours I've read, very insightful and informative! I followed you - no need to do the same, but wanted you to know that I'll continue reading and look forward to your next post!
NSA wiretaps are no good for criminal prosecution. You need to go to a judge and get a warrant. NSA mandate is only national security.
I fully agree all the cops working on drug cases should be on human traffic. I asked a detective I know why this isn't happening. He said drug busts are profitable for law enforcement and they can show the media a big table of drugs and money every week. Human trafficking investigations take much longer and there are no tables of drugs for the media. There is no glory for the police it's much harder work and it's the narcs who get promoted.
I wouldn't want them to violate due process and use their tools to do that anyways, but we already know that they frequently use those tools for prying into matters that aren't national security related. It's no wonder then that they haven't been able to catch more predators, clear they've got some messed up priorities! as you point out
Very important topic, human trafficking especially in women and children is taking place in all the countries of the world. In order to stop this criminal practice there should be clear policy and action plan by the national governments.
great information sharing,i like your post
thanks for good sharing
This modern day slavery is totally deplorable and should be an absolute priority for governments to wipe it out. Posts like this show really clearly the sheer scale of the problem and the terrible conviction rates. More needs to be done and greater awareness is also needed. Thank you for posting
Follow and upvote pls follow back
I believe we are in the 21st century and the universal declaration of human right kicks against human trafficking? I think fatal punishment for these traffickers would be the perfect solution
Well said! I read the Nordic Model where the buyers were sentenced a mandatory 2 years in prison. The prostitutes were given shelter, substance abuse treatment, college scholarships, and their criminal record expunged.
This ran the mob out of business, along with drug and human trafficking. Common sense, and doing things the right way made all the difference.
Guess these people don't know they can make money posting memes on steemit >.<
i loved your article this is so good .. and yeah we should fcus on this thing this is the biggest issue in the world ...its more dangrous the any aids or anything ..keep posting loved it
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It's really awful the thing that the humanity is going through, they are some people that don't feel anything. And put all the risk, for money. Valuing more material things, things that when we die we do not take them, but if we take the acts to which we have been involved. I'ts terrible, but the same time, everything has to come to light.
Nic post
Not many people want to talk about this sad epidemic. I had no idea Atlanta was a hub, and find it interesting that not much reporting went on during the blackout in December. I wonder if they are correlated?
I am hopeful decentralization will promote more transparency among transportation services.