Human Trafficking Awareness Day, January 11, 2018
Texas Border Business
McAllen, Texas- Geena Grajo, an International Baccalaureate student from McAllen ISD, wants to encourage students, faculty, community members and businesses to come together and raise awareness for Human Trafficking. Homeland Security says, “Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.” The Washington Post writes that “most human trafficking occurs in poorer areas and areas with less laws placed against it. This illegal practice remains hidden in plain sight where some victims act normally in public while escorting their buyer or owner.”
Nearly 80 percent of human trafficking is used for sex and 19 percent is used for labor, leading to the spread of STDs. Slavery is known to be a thing of the past; however, there are roughly 40 million people being trafficked, consisting of 27 million adults and 13 million children. As a result of the rape and abusive behaviors of their owners or by disease, 30,000 of sex trafficking victims die each year. Because humans are able to be reused–unlike drugs or armed weapons–human trafficking is the most advantageous form of illegal activity and continues to grow, producing around $150 billion USD every year. The most popular way people were, and are, trafficked, deduced by survivors, is by false job advertisement, followed by being sold by their own families, and a significant other way is by being abducted and trafficked by a friend. Of all the slaves alive today, one percent of victims are ever rescued.
Grajo chose this subject as part of her Diploma Programme requirement of CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service). Geena says, “The age group most affected by the horrors of human trafficking is my age group. This horror can affect anyone I know. Realizing this, I knew I had to do something about it; I had to at least inform those who could very well be affected and make sure they know this is not a distant problem. This is something that happens in our own community. My goal for this project is to raise awareness and empower more people to take a stand for the victims of human trafficking.”
To speak to Grajo, please call Lamar Academy at 956-632-3222.
