Sources used in this document:

Studying human trafficking is essential to bring this crime to the forefront of our consciousness as a society. On a very basic level, human trafficking is a difficult crime to keep track of, due to the resistance of victims from coming forward. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime itself stated that keeping exact figures on how many persons are trafficked "may prove to be unachievable" (Loring, Engstrom, Hillard & Dias 2007:1). The fact that the majority of the victims are women further causes many to look the other way -- its victims are the most vulnerable members of society. Furthermore, because victims are often minorities in the nations from which they are expelled -- the poor, the nonwhite, the undesirable -- there is a further incentive not to give the crime the full attention it deserves. The leaders of the exporting nation may be secretly glad to 'be rid' of the victims, and allow trafficking to occur so they will not be pressured to change, while the nation 'accepting' the traffickers benefits economically from free labor. Trafficking is often tacitly accepted in many nations, and endorsed covertly by the power structure through silence, refusal to enforce laws, and even bribery of government officials (Loring, Engstrom, Hillard & Dias 2007:5)

However, by ignoring the crime of the 'slave next door,' we are making ourselves complicit in the perpetuation of this evil. Those who expose trafficking seek to give voice to the voiceless. They also reveal the existence of inequities in the new global economy and within our own societies. The fact that most of the victims are female is important from a feminist perspective, because it highlights how women in many areas of the world often do not have recourse to better themselves economically, other than the sex industry or domestic servitude. Even without a clear idea of how many women are trafficked, the United Nations estimates that 80% of all persons who are trafficked are female (Loring, Engstrom, Hillard & Dias 2007:1).

By recognizing the signs that persons may be victims of trafficking, we can be better equipped as a society to prosecute offenders and protect victims. 28% of trafficked women were seen by a health care professional who did not recognize or report the crime. And even when women do come forward, they cannot be assured of full protections under U.S. law (Dovydaitis 2011). Under U.S. law, the T. visa allows victims to remain in the U.S. For three years, provided they