7-30-2024 12:43am

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons July 30 2024

Chris Edwards Editor

A spokesperson with the Attorney General’s Office confirmed there were at least 70 human trafficking victims identified in New Mexico in 2023, and there are still active investigations into some of those cases according to a report from KOB in January.

Since its inception, the Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 455 cases of human trafficking. 1,036 victims were identified in these cases.

The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is observed annually on July 30 to raise awareness about human trafficking and to promote and protect the rights of trafficking victims.

Although focused on the same issue, eliminating human trafficking, modern-day slavery and exploitation, the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is separate and distinct from the United States' National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons was established by a United Nations resolution and first observed in 2014. National Human Trafficking Awareness Day was established in the United States in 2007 to raise awareness in the United States about human trafficking and national slavery.

What is Human Trafficking?

The formal definition of human trafficking used worldwide was established by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, a United Nations Convention adopted in 2003. The Protocol specifies three primary elements of trafficking in persons: the act, the means, and the purpose. What is done, how it’s done and why it’s done.

Traffickers deceive, coerce, threaten, abuse power and use force — the means and methods — to recruit, move, receive, shelter and maintain control of their victims, for the express purpose of exploiting them.

Exploitation includes, but is not limited to, the prostitution of others for sex, forced labor or services, slavery or similar practices, servitude, or the removal of organs.

Sex trafficking and forced labor are the most notorious types of trafficking, but trafficking has other forms as well. Victims are also trafficked and exploited for benefit fraud, as beggars, for forced or sham marriages, in pornography production and for organ removal. These other forms of trafficking are under-reported, do not receive as much public attention and contribute to the widely-held perception "trafficking doesn’t happen where I live."

Sadly, human trafficking is a global crisis. Trafficking in persons affects nearly every country in the world; no country is immune. The victims of trafficking are building our homes, cleaning our houses, processing our food and making our clothes. They are in our lives.

Trafficking in Persons and the World Agenda for Sustainable Development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015 and also known as the Sustainable Development Goals, established trafficking prevention and the end of trafficking in persons as a global priority.

The 17 goals and 169 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals focus international efforts on ending poverty, reducing inequality, protecting the planet, promoting inclusivity and creating sustainable economic growth. A major objective in achieving the SDG goals is the end of human trafficking.

Goal 16 — "Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies" — calls for the end of abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
Goal 8 — "Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all" — calls for immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor and end modern slavery and human trafficking.
Goal 5 — "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls" — requires the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including trafficking and all types of exploitation.

The fact that multiple goals address trafficking in persons in different contexts confirms that human trafficking is a global crisis...and it's feeding on the vulnerable in the world.

Human trafficking is a Human Rights violation. It is the loss of liberty. This means the victim is deprived of the right to leave, the right to refuse work, and the right to demand compensation. They are denied the right to exercise choice over their safety and even, their very life itself. It happens in rural communities and towns similar to Alamogordo and towns of this size are not immune.

As a community locally in Otero County, we have to continue to raise awareness of Human Trafficking and to end the abject circumstances that often predispose victims to human trafficking, otherwise known as push factors; child abuse, poverty, neglect, trauma, homelessness, sexual assault, mental health illness, drugs, and domestic violence.

Victims of Human Trafficking are in need of hope and long term care to prevent their re-victimization by providing comprehensive programs (medical, psychological, educational, housing, and material assistance) with full respect and regard for their human rights. We can do this by collaborating, educating, and gathering resources.

We have to end the ignorance, stigmatization, and prejudice victims endure as they emerge from the abysmal world of Human Trafficking.

We can combat Human Trafficking by looking closer into places it hides massage parlors especially those open late at night should be questioned, the internet, gangs, motels, drug and weapon rings, and sometimes places you wouldn’t expect, such as within families.

We must stand up as a world community against those who still engage in the criminal act of buying and selling human beings. Be aware if you fill something isnt right ask questions and engage the police.

To learn more visit:

https://www.nmdreamcenter.org/issue

Despite these alarming facts, New Mexico received an F in 2022 on a report card from Shared Hope International. This is an annual data analysis conducted across the United States Each year. According to this report, our laws, services, and prevention strategies DO NOT MEASURE UP!

The New Mexico Dream Center is a part of the New Mexico Human Trafficking Task Force. We are committed to fighting human trafficking in our state and providing services to the young people who have survived. In 2021, law enforcement identified 36 new human trafficking survivors. And local service providers identified an additional 273. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Human trafficking is often under-reported and victims are difficult to identify. Traffickers target our most vulnerable: young people who run away from home or "throw-away" youth who have been forced to leave their place of residence with no option for alternative care. These unhoused youth often end up forced into sexual slavery and are bought and sold like property.

The average number of victimized youth continues to grow annually, as the demand for young people to provide sex acts thrives. This is a statewide emergency. The New Mexico Dream Center believes that it is the responsibility of every citizen to be a part of the solution to eradicate not only the crime of Human Trafficking but also combat the demand for child victims and provide justice for survivors.