Category — Human Trafficking in the U.S.

January 11, 2012 marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and Polaris Project intends to commemorate this significant day by increasing our ongoing efforts to raise awareness about human trafficking and inspire people to action. However, it is important that our efforts to raise awareness for the issue extend further than just this one day.

We are encouraging all anti-trafficking activists to participate in our month-long “[_________________]” Against Human Trafficking” photo campaign starting on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and ending on Valentine’s Day 2012.  At the end of the campaign we’ll post a follow up photo blog with all of the entries that we receive.

Here are a few easy steps to get you started:

1. Take a picture of yourself (alone, with your pet, with friends, etc.) holding up a sign with “______ Against Human Trafficking.” Be creative!
2. Send your pictures in to info@polarisproject.org by Tuesday, February 14, 2012  and they will be featured on our North Star blog.

In addition to preparing for this photo campaign, be sure to stay tuned to our Twitter and Facebook accounts throughout the day for statistics, tips, and a special giveaway!

To submit a photo, you must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Photographers retain the copyright to their photographs. Photographers agree to have their submitted photograph displayed in Polaris Project print and online advertisements, marketing material, and our social network platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress. Photographers also agree to have their work used without any fee or other form of compensation. Submissions will never be sold by Polaris Project.

Recent articles regarding the “Sugar Baby” trend, where debt-burdened young people seek romantic relationships with older individuals for financial compensation, have portrayed these arrangements as a new and modern phenomenon.  These journalists have a point: college students entering into these relationships are a byproduct of the onerous cost of education in 21st Century America.  In a broader sense, however, the Sugar Baby craze is merely the newest installment of an age-old quest to seek salvation from economic deprivation. [Read more →]

Vulnerability to any crime is subject to a variety of socioeconomic, cultural, and independent factors that place some individuals at higher risk of entering dangerous situations than others. Although financial insecurity is a huge vulnerability for many college students and recent grads, it is not necessarily the only factor in a persons decision to be come a sugar baby. [Read more →]

On November 15, Polaris Project hosted the first ever National State Legislators Conference Call on Human Trafficking. More than 40 legislators from 26 states joined a conference call and webinar put together by Polaris Project to collaborate, share ideas, and advocate for anti-trafficking legislation. Each state has taken its own approach to combatting human trafficking and the purpose of the call was to give legislators an opportunity to learn more from each other on what has worked and the challenges others have confronted in successfully carrying anti-trafficking legislation.

Executive Director and CEO Bradley Myles provided an introductory statement on the need for strong local action against trafficking. Then, legislators that worked closely with Polaris Project offered their insight and guidance to veteran and freshmen legislators on how to pass anti-trafficking legislation. [Read more →]

Survival sex is a term commonly understood within the context of the runaway, homeless, youth (RHY) community whereby youth turn to prostitution as a means of survival – exchanging sexual services for basic necessities such as food and shelter. Today, educational debt is putting some young adults in the same dire situation. [Read more →]

The phenomenon of “sugar babies,” – where debt-burdened young people seek romantic relationships with older individuals for financial compensation — have been recently in the news. A recent Huffington Post article told the story of a young college student seeking a way out of her college debts and we couldn’t help but draw the connections between these highly exploitative relationships and the potential vulnerabilities linked to situations of human trafficking. [Read more →]

Capitol Rotunda, Harrisburg

October 18, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.

30 victims, held in debt bondage. Sexual and physical violence used to force them to work long hours at very little or no pay. You may think that you would never come across this type of crime, but in Pennsylvania, these 30 labor trafficking victims were working in plain sight at stores like Walmart, Kmart, Safeway, and Target. These stores hired contractors to clean, and were unaware of the horrific conditions that their cleaners were working under. This is just one of many human trafficking situations that have emerged out of Pennsylvania in recent years, and a reason why PA Senator Daylin Leach yesterday hosted a press conference in the Harrisburg Capitol Rotunda calling for legislation that requires the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline number.

[Read more →]

Join Polaris Project for the third annual Stop Modern Slavery Walk on the National Mall Constitution Gardens (Constitution Avenue NW and 19th St. NW, Washington, D.C.)
 On Saturday, October 22, 2011 (8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) thousands of activists from the D.C. metropolitan area will walk together to stomp out slavery! There will be an information fair, guest speakers, and live musical performances.

As one of the few annual events centered around human trafficking in the D.C. metropolitan area, the Stop Modern Slavery walk is a great opportunity to stand united with the anti-trafficking community against modern-day slavery. Individuals that choose to participate at the walk can share their experience with the world live from the walk by contributing to the #smswalk tag on Twitter. We hope to see you there, so grab some friends and sign up for the Polaris Project team today!

Here are 3 things you can do to spread the word about the upcoming walk:

1. Share this blog with your friends!
2. Tweet about the walk on twitter – don’t forget to use #smswalk in your tweet! Here’s a sample:
   Join @Polaris_Project and @DCSMS for the 2011 #smswalk! Sign up today: http://ht.ly/64sl
3. Talk about it on Facebook! Here’s some sample text
   Do you know that slavery still exists? Join me at the 2011 Stop Modern Slavery Walk and help stomp out slavery! I’ll be walking with the Polaris Project team. Will you join me? http://ht.ly/64slS

We hope to see you there.

Part I of this two-part blog series discussed three websites that can help you be a socially responsible consumer. Here are three more sites that sell goods made by survivors of human trafficking or that use fashion as a way to educate the public about human trafficking. [Read more →]

Our Policy team has just returned from the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) with a lot of positive news to report! The NCSL organizes an annual national summit, where legislators from all around the country come together for a four-day meeting, sharing ideas and progress. This year, Polaris Project attended so that we could reach as many legislators as possible and spread the word about the need for comprehensive and effective human trafficking laws. [Read more →]