It was my last year of grad school. I began the Nonprofit Leadership Program at Seattle University, thinking I would focus my capstone paper and presentation on volunteerism and service-learning centers on college campuses. As I worked my way through the program, my heart felt pulled in a different direction.
In late 2012 and early 2013, it seemed the world was waking up to the realization that the global slave trade was alive, thriving, and more lucrative than ever before. After spending time buried in stories, documentaries, and books, I uncovered truths that were hard to ignore. The more I learned, the more I became convinced that this was a cause needing my attention and talents. Unsure of where to start, I turned to the tools at my disposal. I could use my capstone project to help a local organization focused on one facet of modern slavery, sexual trafficking, and I could also begin volunteering in the Seattle area.
For months, I researched, and I wrote. I conducted interviews and did my best to listen and ask questions without judgment. I honestly wanted to learn and do some good.
When the dust settled, I delivered a paper focused on designing an aftercare model for survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation for a Seattle-based organization focused on work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I was proud of that work and the doors it opened. Before I knew it, I was volunteering and presenting my research to anyone who would listen.
Then time and another modern injustice stole my attention. After moving from Seattle to Los Angeles, I became intensely focused on those who are housing insecure or are experiencing homelessness. Six years into this work, I now believe this is the cause of my lifetime. I also believe it is the thing we must get right if we want to solve any of the other challenges before us.
But I still often think about the research and experiences I encountered in grad school. On the streets of Rio, I watched as a trans sex worker pounded the streets looking for work. Walking through crowded shopping malls, I have worried about the isolated teenager and the vulnerabilities they face. I read stories of war-torn areas and worry about those who have to rely on someone they cannot fully trust to survive.
While my attention has turned elsewhere, I can never fully close my eyes. No matter what country you call home, people are being bought and sold all around us. They are forced to work. They are forced to have sex against their will. They are forced into impossible situations few of us can fathom.
The slave trade is now larger than any other point in human history. Long after they stole the last enslaved person from Africa and damned them to a ship sailing for America, that idea for which we waged a war has never been more prominent. If millions are being stolen, abused, and robbed of their dignity, why is no one paying attention?
That such injustices are playing out all around us, yet there is no mass movement to end the violence may be one of the most heartbreaking realities about the world of human trafficking. Perhaps it is easy for us to look the other way because of those who are most often cast as the victim. Women, children, refugees, immigrants, and other vulnerable groups rarely have the loudest lobbyists in the room. Perhaps it is the nature of the crimes. We see the impact of the illegal drug trade on our city streets and in our neighborhoods. Modern-day slavery can often feel like a crime without victims we can easily see. Perhaps we are afraid to confront those in power and those who use that power to victimize others. We know people are entitled to fair wages and we know rape is wrong, yet the aggressor so often changes the narrative.
Honestly, after years of reading and learning, I don’t know how we arrived at a point where this story is one existing in the background. My bewilderment doesn’t have to be the end of this story, though. If you have read this far and are thinking about your next steps, I want you to know you are not powerless.
There are simple things one can do to fight back. I suggest any of the following:
Support local organizations focused on ending trafficking and supporting those who are escaping
Educate yourself to recognize red flags
Educate yourself on the challenge and then spread the word
Consider your supply chain. How does your shopping decision impact working conditions?
Don’t pay for sex and don’t tolerate those who do
If you can volunteer locally, ask organizations how you can get involved
Keep reading and learning
Register for trainings
Use your skills to support those on the frontline
On their own, none of these suggestions will end the global demand for sex or forced labor. In this space, it is easy to get overwhelmed with thoughts of saving the world. Instead, I would challenge you to change the corner of the world you find yourself standing. If others follow suit, collective impact can change the narrative.
But I want you to know that I am doing more than preaching. I am rededicating myself to this work. For years, I have supported the work of an organization called Love 146. Next, I want to find a great local organization to support. Using my skills, I want to volunteer where I am able. I also want to continue to advocate and educate myself. In my estimation, these are small things I can do to help end this humanitarian crisis. I suffer from no illusions. I know much more will be required, but it is a start. We can move mountains when we commit ourselves to starting.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
