3 ms·
In addition to the differentiation from former legal system of slavery, human trafficking casts is a broader definition and includes forced labor, prostitution,
by leejoramo 11y ago
In addition to the differentiation from former legal system of slavery, human trafficking casts is a broader definition and includes forced labor, prostitution, indentured servitude, child labor, organ harvesting, etc and the systems that support such activities.
Your point about the PR value is an important one. In my own volunteering with local anti-trafficking groups, this slavery/trafficking debate comes up. But the choice of words is not straight forward. Yes, people have a clear understanding of what slavery was (at least in the American context). But many people think slavery is part of long ago history and become very quick to shut off the conversation. Using the more unknown term "human trafficking" sometimes allows you to start the conversation.
- mahyarm 11y agoI think 'human trafficking' is a victim of it's own success. Because modern slavery is called trafficking, people think slavery doesn't exist anymore. A concerted effort to teach 'modern day slavery' alongside education about historical slavery will help increase awareness about it. I also know that things like forced labor, indentured servitude and so on were considered slavery in the past too. Legal prostitution and child labor (like paper routes) are not called trafficking today, and the coerced & illegal versions were called slavery back then. Trafficking also sounds like human smuggling. And many people who were smuggled out a bad country and ended up as refugees/illegal immigrants at a better country don't like human sex slavery being lumped together with voluntary smuggling. This is why I suggest calling it slavery and using it as part of the media narrative, complete with john stossel style 20/20 expose's and 60 minute specials introducing it.