What is Modern Day Slavery?
Statistics:
There are 27 million people enslaved in our world today compared to the 11 million who lived during the 400 years of the trans-atlantic slave trade
Human Trafficking is a 13-19 billion dollar industrry
The selling of people is the 2nd largest (and fastest growing) criminal industry in the world
There are an estimated 17,500 people trafficked into the U.S. each year
70% of modern day slaves are female and 50% are children
Every 30 seconds a girl is sold into sex trafficking
The Basics:
I’m about to shock and horrify you. At least I hope I do. If what I am about to say doesn’t make you want to scream then you’ve got some issues. Just being honest here.
So here it goes: There are still 27 million slaves in our world today. While slavery is internationally illegal, every country including the U.S. still harbors slaves. These slaves live in conditions just as terrible and in many cases more horrific than those who were alive during the transatlantic slave trade. Slavery today takes many different faces. Sometimes it looks like small children breaking up rocks in a rock quarry for fifteen hours a day. Other times it looks like a girl being locked up in a brothel where she is forced to have sex with an upwards of forty men a night with no days off and no holidays. It may look like a child being abducted into the LRA, a rebel force in Uganda, and then being forced to fight as a child soldier. No matter what this slavery looks like it is unquestionably wrong.It is also undoubtedly wrong for us to sit by and do nothing while 27 million people live as slaves.
If you agree with me on those two last sentences then you’ve come to the right place. Clapham Sect: Phase II is a community of abolitionists who are passionate about ending slavery. We want to help equip you with the tools necessary to start your own crusade against oppression. So have a look around the site and start thinking about the role you can play in abolition. We may be small, but together we can make a difference!