Care House
Care House  -  131 Market Street  -  Mount Clemens, MI 48043  -  Phone: 586.463.0123  -  Fax: 586.783.3515
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Board of Directors
    • Care House Funding
    • Employment
    • In the News
    • Publications
  • Our Services
    • About Child Abuse
    • For Children
    • For Parents
    • Language Assistance
    • Online Pamphlets
    • Resources
  • Support Care House
    • 2023 Summer Sensory Beach Bag and Backpack Drive
    • Care House Assisting Macomb Project (CHAMP)
    • Donation
    • Volunteer
  • Events
    • Event Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us
    • Sign Up For E-Newsletter
    • Financial Transparency
    • Directions to Care House
  • Intern Opportunities
  • Intern Insights
  • Blog

Freedom Only Rings for Some

2/8/2017

 
Posted by Emilie K.

February 1st, America’s National Freedom Day: a day to celebrate the end of slavery…or so we thought!

152 years ago on February 1st of 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment banning slavery in the United States. On this day every year, we rejoice and reflect on America’s freedom. We promote and acknowledge all that our country has worked towards in forming a more perfect union.  President Barack Obama selected January as Nation Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month, ending with National Freedom Day on the first of February. While we must recognize the growth and progress that our nation has made, we cannot ignore many of those still trapped in slavery today. Before becoming an intern at Care House, I had no idea how prevalent slavery still is in America. I didn’t think slavery was still an issue. Boy, was I wrong!

Brace yourself for some disheartening statistics that you may not see in your everyday life—I know I didn’t! According to UNICEF, human trafficking subjects children, women, and men to force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. This horrific practice can include prostitution, pornography, and sex tourism as well as labor for domestic service, factory or construction work, and migrant farming. Human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states, with the highest numbers of reports coming from California, Texas, Florida and New York. In 2016, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) received 7,572 reports of human trafficking cases. Of those reports, 2,387 (31.5%) involved a minor (under the age of 18) and 5,551 (73.3%) were sex trafficking.

When I was exposed to these statistics and learned of the traumatic experiences of those sold in human trafficking, I wanted to do everything and anything I could to help. But being only one person, how much of an impact could I really have? If you feel the same way I do, you’re not alone. Even by reading this post, you’re making an impact. Being educated and aware of these horrible acts is a great step in the right direction! Now share what you’ve learned and spread awareness that slavery is not completely eliminated. There’s a wide variety of resources on human trafficking and organizations to check out. Below is a short list of just a couple of the many resources you can access:

  • End Trafficking Project | UNICEF - https://www.unicefusa.org/mission/protect/trafficking/end
  • Polaris Project | NHTRC- https://polarisproject.org/
  • Human Trafficking Prevention Toolkit | AbolitionistMom - https://abolitionistmom.org/
  • Coalition Against Trafficking in Women | CATW - http://www.catwinternational.org/
  • Slavery Footprint | http://slaveryfootprint.org/

 
If you suspect someone is a victim of trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at        1-888-373-7888 or visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/ to learn more.
 

Blog Citations
https://www.unicefusa.org/sites/default/files/End%20Trafficking%20OnePager-%202016.pdf
https://humantraffickinghotline.org/states




Comments are closed.

    Archives

    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    April 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.