Nora is a second-year student at Grinnell College. She’s majoring in Biology, and is also a pub master at Grinnell’s Pub Quiz club. Originally from Bethesda, Maryland, she is currently taking a gap year to work as an anti-trafficking intern at the International Rescue Committee. She hopes to use the power of the media to inform others and inspire them to help change the world for the better.
In 1850, the average slave was sold for the equivalent of $40,000 today. Now, however, a human can be bought for much cheaper. Slavery has become more accessible, and as a result, more common. In fact, 40.3 million people currently live in conditions of modern day slavery, or human trafficking. That’s one in every 200 people.
Today, a victim of forced labor can be bought for as little as $90. Unlike drugs, people can be sold over and over, so selling another person can be a long-term investment that results in a lucrative salary for the trafficker.
From a financial perspective, slaves and slavery are harmful to the economy. Slaves receive little to no income, and thus consume very little and make no purchases. While using forced labor may be cost-effective from a trafficker’s perspective, victims of human trafficking have poor levels of productivity due to their conditions of living or abuse they may face. Author and activist Kevin Bales found that “‘Ironically, sometimes slave masters do better economically when they are stopped from being slave masters.’”
Case observations have shown that the local and general economy starts improving when slaves are freed, in part because more people are making and spending money. This results in improved wealth distribution, as victims of human trafficking are no longer giving up all profits to their trafficker.
In terms of labor trafficking, employers or would-be employers have a short-term economic incentive, without regard to the ethical transgressions that accompany this practice, to use free slave labor in lieu of paying employees. Forced labor exploiters generally earn just $8,000 per slave annually. Labor trafficking’s most prevalent sectors include apparel, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and domestic servitude. Sex trafficking yields even higher returns; pimps may make more than $30,000 weekly, and each sex trafficked victim earns their traffickers an average of $36,000.
How can we, as a country and as individuals, make a difference and inhibit the human trafficking market? First, we can monitor and self-police ourselves when purchasing goods. We must make sure that the supply chains of the products we buy are free of forced labor and exploitation. Putting pressure on companies to be more transparent and to pay their workers fairly is another method. Companies and corporations that wish to be more ethical can help by enforcing a set of industry standards that requires respect for human rights and full transparency in supply lines.
Sources:
https://www.kgou.org/post/why-modern-day-slavery-drag-economy-and-environment
https://www.statista.com/topics/4238/human-trafficking/
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-human-trafficking
https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/exploitation-and-private-sector
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/25/modern-slavery-trafficking-persons-one-in-200
