According to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, human trafficking is defined as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” (Source: United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking).
“Slavery occurs when one person completely controls another person, using violence or the threat of violence to maintain that control, exploits them economically, pays them nothing and they cannot walk away.” (Source: http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/20/the-facts-slavery-human-trafficking-definitions/)
The modern day slave is literally bought and sold on a national or international market, for an amount ranging between $80 to more than $5000. They have no control over their lives or their children’s lives, including where they live, work, their sexuality or health. Slaves are frequently held captive with chains or bars, and threats or actual violence against themselves and their families. Many human trafficking victims do not even realize they’ve been enslaved; they’ve been told that the practice is legal and further that they are legally, ethically, and morally obligated to their captor. (Source: http://www.madebysurvivors.com/)
Victims of human trafficking often endure gross human rights violations, including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of violence and/or death against their family. Young girls trafficked as sex slaves frequently have their virginity stolen through long, painful, and violent gang rapes in order to break down their resistance; since the girls have not yet matured and are not prepared for sex, they frequently suffer abrasions and open sores making them even more susceptible to HIV/AIDS and all sexually transmitted diseases. (Source: http://www.madebysurvivors.com/)
