Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking
Some call it modern slavery — human trafficking networks that stretch around the globe to deliver people into the hands and control of those who want to use them for labor or sex, the selling and trading of God’s children.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, women and girls made up 60% of those being trafficked that year, with many forced into prostitution or online pornography; another 17% were boys. Human traffickers prey on the most vulnerable — those who flee their homes due to war, human rights violations, climate change, or extreme poverty.
In the United States, many of those who are trafficked are American citizens, including people trying to survive on their own, teenagers who have left or been kicked out of their homes, individuals in dysfunctional or abusive relationships, and the unhoused.
The 222nd General Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted a statement of concern on human trafficking, stating clearly that “[h]uman beings, created in the image of God, are not for sale” and suggesting approaches for anti-trafficking work and advocacy.
