Human trafficking is the most horrible, yet unnoticed, crime of this century. Perhaps it is the most unnoticed crime because it comes in various forms. Boys and girls may be trafficked for uses of labor, sex, house cleaners, cooks and even organ harvesting. According to “55 Little Known Facts about Human Trafficking,” “The FBI estimates that over 100,000 children and young women are trafficked in America today. They range in age from nine to 19, with the average being age 11.” It has been mastered by many traffickers making top dollar for their slaves, has horrible effects on slaves emotionally and physically, and the trade practices are closer to home than most people realize, considering Toledo is a major city involved in human trafficking.

In “A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery,” Ben Skinner states, “All it takes is the promise that the child will be well nourished and educated.” If parents are given this promise they will do anything for their children and happily give them up, but little do they know they will be beaten daily, sexually and physically abused. According to “Human Trafficking and Slavery,” traffickers buy their slaves for as cheaply as possibly to either sell them for even more money down the road or for the fact they could be sick or injured during enslavement. Slave masters quickly make their money back and continue to do the crime unnoticed.

Traffickers destroy their slaves physically and emotionally. India is home of the Red Light District which is home to thousands of sex slaves that live in brothels. According to the UNO on Drugs and Crime, within these brothels girls and boys, but more often girls, are kept in a small room where they serve 15 or more customers on a day to day basis. Girls are harassed sexually and sometimes physically as their customers use them for sex. As the numbers of enslaved people accumulate across the globe, human trafficking also increases rates of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Most people do not realize that human trafficking is occurring all over the world as well as very close to home. According to “55 Little Known Facts about Human Trafficking,” “Human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states.” In Ohio, Toledo is a very active area for human trafficking activity.