HUMAN TRAFFICKING

HUMAN TRAFFICKING. Human trafficking is the process of trapping people through the use of violence, deception or coercion and exploiting them for financial or personal gain.

What trafficking really means is girls groomed and forced into sexual exploitation; men tricked into accepting risky job offers and trapped in forced labor in building sites, farms or factories; and women recruited to work in private homes only to be trapped, exploited and abused behind closed doors with no way out.

People don’t have to be transported across borders for trafficking to take place. In fact, transporting or moving the victim doesn’t define trafficking – it can take place within a single country, or even within a single community.

People can be trafficked and exploited in many forms, including being forced into sexual exploitation, labour, begging, crime (such as growing cannabis or dealing drugs), domestic servitude, marriage or organ removal.

   Human trafficking in numbers

       51% of identified victims of trafficking are women, 28% children and 21% men
       72% people exploited in the sex industry are women
       63% of identified traffickers were men and 37% women
       43% of victims are trafficked domestically within national borders

   (Estimates by The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (1)

In January 2022 a local coalition and a UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE faculty members were recognized for their efforts to stop human trafficking. Governor Kim Reynolds recognized a total of five with Outstanding Anti-Trafficking Service Awards as part of Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

The Tri-State Coalition Against Human Trafficking was founded in 2014 by five area congregations of women religious: [[SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (BVM), SISTERS OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS OF THE HOLY FAMILY (OSF), SISTERS OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (PBVM), Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters and SISTERS OF MERCY. Members did not have to be sisters of a religious order. The organization educated local residents about human trafficking.

Kim Hilby, a University of Dubuque assistant professor of sociology, taught a class each semester on human trafficking which was considered important for students going to such fields of work as nursing, social work, and law enforcement. (2)

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Source:

Reese, Kayli, "Group, UD Professor Honored for Anti-Trafficking Efforts," Telegraph Herald, January 15, 2022, p. 2A