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Slavery. To many, this word triggers the idea of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the Civil War that symbolizes the end of slavery. Some might think of the 13th Amendment, which banned slavery and forced servitude in the United States since 1865.
The illegality of slavery means that the number of slaves has been reduced, right?
Wrong. There are more than 27 million slaves today, according to Not For Sale, a global anti-human trafficking group. This is an even greater number than the magnitude of slaves during the infamous Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Human trafficking happens everywhere.
Teacher Daniel Gavin’s Honors United States History class is currently running an anti-human trafficking awareness campaign.
Over the past few weeks, the have held multiple bake sales, a movie night, and an after-school barbeque. Their goal is to spread knowledge about how widespread human trafficking is, not only globally, but especially in America.
Movies like “Taken”, which the class showed on Thursday night as part of the campaign, demonstrate the hostile nature of human trafficking in foreign countries.
Many Americans believe that illegal slavery only happens outside of the United States, in countries like Cambodia or China. But the reality is that human trafficking occurs in local communities all over America.
There have been various human trafficking incidents in Massachusetts as well. A couple living in Brookline, Massachusetts was charged with forcing a woman to be their domestic slave and for “engaging in human trafficking and modern day slavery” in 2004.
In 2007, five men were charged with sex trafficking of children in Boston, Massachusetts.
Junior Jamie Spagnuolo came up with the anti-human trafficking topic for the campaign. “I suggested the topic of human trafficking because it is prevalent throughout the world, yet many people are unaware of its impact,” she said.
“Almost a quarter of a million people are enslaved in America alone. I think that it is important to inform people about this issue because so few people know about it. “
