For the next two weeks, the United Nations is holding a conference in New York City called the Commission on the Status of Women. People from companies all over the world that work with the UN gather for a two-week conference on issues related to women, such as abortion, human trafficking, sexual and reproductive education, domestic violence and sexism in the workplace.
As an intern for International Youth Coalition, I was given the opportunity to attend this conference and give my perspective on the topics addressed during the week. Over the next few days, I will cover different events and issues addressed at this conference and attempt to dig a little deeper into what these issues are and why they are so crucial to international dialogue.
Though I attended several different events, all with widely varying topics, the event Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking: Effective Responses for Women and Girls featured the most fascinating content.
The event, hosted by Lichtenstein, focused on the root causes of human trafficking and how to begin to eradicate this issue. According to the panel, 71 percent of human trafficking victims are women, and human trafficking is the fastest-growing part of organized crime.
These statistics are shocking—and a little disheartening. The realization that human trafficking is such a widespread and deeply rooted issue is horrifying.
The problem of human trafficking can, at times, feel totally overwhelming. Yet the event did not leave me without hope for the future. Instead, it left me with a challenge.
One of the panelists stated, “That which we walk by, we endorse.”
It is so easy to pretend that a problem—human trafficking—is out of our hands. We ignore the problems around us because making a difference feels impossible.
But the effects of human trafficking are all around us, and something needs to be done. Don’t ignore the issue, and don’t inadvertently endorse something by staying quiet about it, because disregarding a problem only allows it to grow.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline for the United States is: 1-888-373-7888
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