World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

World Day against Trafficking in Persons is held on July 30th each year, and is an annual event. People trafficking and modern day slavery is a massive worldwide problem with very few countries immune to human trafficking, and the event by the United Nations is to raise awareness and increase prevention of that. This year’s theme is: “Committed to the Cause – Working on the Frontline to end Human Trafficking”.

Thousands of men, women and children end up in the hands of traffickers every year, often through being tricked and mislead to believe that they are being taken to work that will make their family better off, or through force, kidnap, or even through very poor families selling children in order to survive. There are many ways that people get caught up in trafficking, but the result is the same, they lose their rights and identity and are used and abused, and it is a global problem, an industry not far behind drugs and arms in terms of profit for traffickers.

Trafficked people are forced to work, often doing hard labour or prostitution, for no reward, and usually have their identity and documents removed from them and are warned of terrible punishments if they escape, and often they are taken to unfamiliar countries where they don’t know the language and have no way of getting help, some die and are never heard of again by their families and communities.

A global problem like trafficking needs a global solution, which is why the United Nations organise the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, to raise awareness encourage vigilance and gain support for prevention of human trafficking, and also why they have produced a protocol to punish human trafficking and are hoping to implement this globally, as well as an act to protect victims of trafficking.