The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.
Exploitative practices linked to labor trafficking, including bonded labor, forced labor and child labor.
Why It Matters:
Labor trafficking is a fundamental violation of human rights. In addition to the human rights abuses that define their involuntary servitude, victims of labor trafficking suffer from a variety of physical and mental health problems:
Scars, headaches, hearing loss, cardiovascular/respiratory problems, and limb amputation.
Psychological effects of torture are helplessness, shame and humiliation, shock, denial and disbelief, disorientation and confusion, and anxiety disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, panic attacks, and depression.
It affects relationships. Many victims also develop Traumatic Bonding or “Stockholm Syndrome,” which is characterized by cognitive distortions where reciprocal positive feelings develop between captors and their hostages. This bond is a type of human survival instinct and helps the victim cope with the captivity.
Child victims of labor trafficking are often malnourished to the extent that they may never reach their full height, they may have poorly formed or rotting teeth, and later they may experience reproductive problems.
What God Says:
Psalm 82:3- Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
1 Timothy 5:18- Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.. the worker deserves his wages.
Proverb 11:8– The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.
Proverbs 31:8-9 Open your mouth for the speechless and all those appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Take Action:
If you think you have come in contact with a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1.888.373.7888.
Signs of Labor Trafficking– Recognizing potential red flags and knowing the indicators of human trafficking is a key step in identifying more victims and helping them find the assistance they need.
Bureau of International Labor Affairs– combats international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. The website includes child labor and forced labor reports.
FRDM– a social tech company with the mission to improve the world by improving supply chain transparency.
Made in a Free World– They are a community of advocates, doctors, doers and changemakers fighting slavery around the world
Freedom Communities– Believes each community holds the answers and that through Christ, all things are possible.
