Modern Day Slavery

Modern Day Slavery Most people believe that slavery was abolished when the Thirteenth Amendment was passed in 1865. What most do not know is that there are still many people being used for forced labor and sex illegally in the United States and across the world today. It has become an increasing problem in the last ten years, and the numbers are growing every day. According to the Polaris project in 2007, 27 million was the number of people being forced in this modern day slavery, with 80 percent being women and children, and with an average age of 12 to 14 years. Of the female slave victims, 70 percent are used for sexual exploitation, leaving the other 30 percent for forced labor. One million children are exploited by the global sex trade on a yearly basis. The cause of this crime is the greed of those who run this multibillion dollar industry. Many victims are shipped across the borders of various countries, that makes this problem very difficult to stop. It is estimated that 14,000 to 18,000 foreigners are brought into the United States each year for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced labor. In a fictional Lifetime movie based on true events it showed how the victims are often given promises of a new jobs or being reunited with family, but instead they are held captive with no way to escape. Young women are sometimes lured by men who claim to love them, and who then sell them to the brothels for a small profit. They are beaten into submission and also threatened by being told that, if they try to escape, their families will be harmed, killed or even they themselves will be killed. The Polaris project stated that the profit of this industry is an astounding $32 billion a year. The victims of these crimes do not receive any of the income, but they are forced to work long hours with no days off. The victims of the sex industry are forced to take multiple clients, sometimes reaching more than 30 per day. American people contribute to this by