National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2022: Know its history, significance & facts

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), human trafficking and migrant smuggling are global and widespread crimes that use men, women and children for profit. As per UNODC estimates, nearly 2,50,000 individuals are trafficked globally. Therefore, in order to raise awareness about the well-established crime, former US President Barack Obama declared January "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month". Since then, the month is observed to create awareness about the heinous crime. This year National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is observed on January 11, 2022.

'Organised networks behind lucrative crimes take advantage of vulnerable people'

The UN agency noted that a number of organisations having a network of millions of people are working 24/7 to assess the most vulnerable people of society. They target poor and illiterate people who can be easily moulded or lured to meet their basic requirements. Sometimes, these people offer a huge sum of money to their family members in order to convince them to move from regional places to metropolitan cities. "The organised networks or individuals behind these lucrative crimes take advantage of people who are vulnerable, desperate or simply seeking a better life," noted UNODC.  Among those trafficked, women or teenage girls is one of the most vulnerable groups which are forced into prostitution and other sex-related activities, according to UNODC. 

Types of human trafficking

According to UNODC, the crime of human trafficking consists of three core elements: The act, the means, the purpose. Physical and sexual abuse, blackmail, emotional manipulation, and the removal of official documents are used by traffickers to control their victims. Exploitation can take place in a victim's home country, during the migration or in a foreign country. In many cases, victims are forced to work in factories, on construction sites or in the agricultural sector without pay or with an inadequate salary, living in fear of violence and often in inhumane conditions.

History and its significance

More than 21 years ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 enshrined the United States commitment to combating human trafficking domestically and internationally. The law was later authorised by Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump and Joe Biden. Nearly ten years after the enactment of the law, President Obama declared January “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month” and every year since then, each president has followed this tradition. The then US President has dedicated the month to raising awareness and educating the public about how to identify and prevent this crime. 

Interesting facts

• $99 Billion per year made from sex trafficking.
• 4.5 million people worldwide are victims of forced sexual exploitation.
• $51 Billion per year from the use of forced labour.
• 21 million people worldwide are now victims of forced labour.
• 1 in 6 endangered runaways in the United States art likely to be victims of sex trafficking.
• Wear blue to support Awareness of Human Trafficking Day on January 11th.

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