I went to a screening of Nefarious, Merchant of Soles, a couple of weeks ago. It was a documentary on human trafficking, and was probably one of the best I’ve ever seen – if you can say that about the subject matter. You can take a peek at http://www.nefariousdocumentary.com.

While there, I received a couple of pieces with stats on human trafficking. They are a bit horrifying but I thought I’d share, because ignorance isn’t bliss and knowledge is power. Consider yourself educated after reading this, and then do something.

National and International:

• 27 million people are enslaved around the world, which is more than the 9 million during the Trans-Atlantic Slavery period – Free the Slaves, Kevin Bales
• Human trafficking (sexual, domestic, industrial and agricultural) is a 32 billion dollar per year industry, bringing in more revenue than the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB combined. – United Nations
• Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry around the world. – US Department of Health and Human Services
• There are nearly two million children involved in the international commercial sex trade. – UNICEF
• 161 countries out of 192 are involved in human trafficking. – United Nations
• 80% of all trafficking victims are women and children who are forced into the commercial sex trade. – US Department of State
• The average age of entry into commercial sex slavery int he US is 13. – US Department of Justice
• Over 17,000 people are brought into the US each year for trafficking purposes. – US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2006
• The average age of a girl entering prostitution in the US is 12 years of age. – Domestic Sex Trafficking of Minors
• Her life expectancy after entering is just seven years. – Shared Hope International, “Demand: A Comparative Examination of Sex Tourism and Trafficking in Jamaica, Japan, The Netherlands and the US” Sharedhope.org, July 2007
• The two other most common forms of slavery in America are domestic servitude and agricultural workers. – The Slave Next Door by Kevin Bales

Atlanta:

• Atlanta is a major hub for human trafficking in our country.
• 200-500 underage girls are raped for profit in our city each month. – Adolescent Girls in Georgia’s Sex Trade: Tracking Study Results, Atlanta, GA: The Shapiro Group 2011
• 7200 menu purchase underage girls for sex each month in Atlanta. 42% of these men come from the upper north side outside the perimeter, 26% from inside the perimeter, 23% from the south metro area, and 9% from the vicinity of the airport. With approximately 3 million adult men in Georgia, 23% have purchase sex with females and 20,700 do so in any given month. – Georgia Demand Study, 2009 by the Shapiro Group, Atlanta, GA
• 90% of the runaways wind up in prostitution. – Hidden in Plain View: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls in Atlanta, 2005

Local Organizations:

• Not For Sale Georgia (www.facebook.com/NotForSaleGA)
• Out of Darkness (www.outofdarkness.com)
• Wellspring Living (www.wellspringliving.org)
• Street Grace (www.streetgrace.org)
• Meet Justice (www.meetjustice.org)
• International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org)