The evolution of the illegal buying, selling, and transportation of peoples throughout modern history and the efforts to combat this atrocious practice.
With all the focus on modern day human trafficking occurring this month of Dressember, we thought we would take a step back and consider the bigger picture. When did modern trafficking start? How has societal understanding of it evolved? What actions have been taken against trafficking throughout history?
First, let’s consider what exactly is human trafficking. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), human trafficking is the act of gathering, moving, receiving, or keeping human beings by threat, force, coercion, or deception, for exploitative purposes.
Those exploitative purposes can include forced sex work, slavery, hard labor, domestic work, and even selling a victim’s organs on the black market.
Basically, if a human being is transported against their will and is forced to engage in anything against their will or their best interest by another, it is human trafficking.
Below, we have collected a list of the most impactful moments of human trafficking in modern history.
During the 1400's-1600's, the European practice of enslaving Africans for transport overseas to sell was a booming business. The countries of Portugal, Britain, Spain, North America, Holland, France, Sweden, and Denmark all considered peoples of African descent as inferior and their worth only in the money they could fetch. Dehumanization of victims for economic exploitation is a running theme of trafficker behavior throughout history. This period of time is what most people associate with human trafficking and slavery.
Between the 1600's and 1904, the phenomenon of "White Women Slavery" became a Western societal problem. White women slavery was the procurement of a Caucasian woman against her will and the forcing of her into prostitution. In 1904, the first ever international agreement against human trafficking was signed. It was creatively named the International Agreement for the Suppression of the "White Slave Traffic." Six years later, white women slavery was internationally criminalized during the International Convention for the Suppression of the "White Slave Traffic."
Part of the aftermath of World War One was the creation of the League of Nations. As an international governing body dedicated to peace, the League was the first organization in which international agreements could be made within and actually pressure the signing parties into compliance. The League of Nations significantly impacted the future of human trafficking combattance. Here's how:
In 1921,the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children was signed into being by the league. This document was groundbreaking as it globally recognized women of all ethnicities as well as boy and girl children as victims of human trafficking. However, only sexual exploitation was taken into account as what people could be forced into.
1927 marked the year when international research was officially taking place to measure the extent of human trafficking in the Western and Eastern world.
During World War Two, the Japanese government was guilty of forcing thousands of women across the Asian continent into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers to rape and exploit. Rutgers University describes this atrocity below:
After World War Two, the League of Nations was succeeded by The United Nations.
In 1949, the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others occurred, effectively condemning and establishing punishment for traffickers and buyers who exploit women and children.
India put into action The Immoral Traffick (Prevention) Act in 1956. Intended to prosecute third parties involved in trafficking such as brothel owners, instead the impact was the crackdown on the victims who were forced into sex work.
1995 marked the 4th World Conference held by the United Nations. During the conference, Trafficking was specifically defined as violence against women. Also, enforcement actions to back up previous anti-trafficking stances was implemented. This includes law enforcement, institutions to aid victims, and educational and rehabilitative facilities internationally.
2000 was a great year for victims of previously unrecognized forms of trafficking and exploitation. Men were finally acknowledged as victims. Trafficking outcomes beyond sex work were recognized as well, such as domestic work, harvesting human organs, and forced labor migration. This occurred through the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
It took over 600 years for global society to become aware, recognize changes, and act to acknowledge victims of all ethnicities, ages, and gender.
But today, humanity is dedicating itself to eradicating human trafficking. There are hundreds of organizations dedicated to the emancipation of victims and continued freedom of survivors throughout the world.
We here at Dress For Freedom have aligned our efforts this December with The Dressember Foundation. Dressember fundraises to provide anti-trafficking organizations strategic monetary grants. These grants empower Abolitionists to continue their projects and programs dedicated to locating, rescuing, and rehabilitating victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.
It's been over 600 hundred years since victims have started to seek justice for their abuse.
Visit our team's Dressember campaign page to give the gift of freedom today. Your gift of $20 will empower a survivor by giving him or her and aftercare kit designed to help them feel loved and safe as they go though rehabilitation.
Together, we can be the generation that eradicates human trafficking and slavery.
