Liam Neeson’s 2008 film “Taken” brought Hollywood’s perspective of human trafficking in Europe to the big screen, but when contemplating the real issue, many students view trafficking as a problem in foreign countries, not at home.
But human trafficking, which includes the trafficking of humans for labor or prostitution, is a major issue in the United States as well.
While more than 27 million people around the world are victims of trafficking, Baton Rouge is among the top 10 cities in the U.S. for human trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Although we may not see the problem in our own backyards, human trafficking plagues our city, and little is done in our community to prevent this ghastly crime.
The A21 Campaign, which was founded in 2008, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that aims to combat human trafficking in Eastern Europe, but the organization also encourages students in the United States to raise awareness on the issue.
KEY2FREE is one of A21 Campaign’s global initiatives to creatively raise awareness on sex trafficking and modern slavery, and a group of students brought the event to the University on Thursday, which was internationally recognized as anti-slavery day.
Tigers Against Trafficking (TAT) hosted the KEY2FREE event at Free Speech Plaza in hopes to abolish human trafficking in Louisiana and throughout the world. During the event, Bridget Savoie, Spanish junior and president of TAT, said members handed out string and keys for students to wear.
“The key represents freedom,” she said. “We invited students to wear the key, share the key and be their key to freedom.”
TAT also hosts a number of other events to raise awareness, including an annual 5k run in the spring, weekly stands at Free Speech Plaza and monthly flier raids around campus.
“The first step to making a change is becoming aware of the issue,” Savoie said.
From Middleton Library to the outer buildings of our campus, almost everyone has noticed TAT’s fliers posted throughout LSU. But raising student awareness on trafficking isn’t enough to stop the problem.
Fundraising events have also played a major role in combating human trafficking. With funds to back their initiative, organizations such as the A21 Campaign can put their ideas to practice.
“Our hope is that every aware and activated citizen will help raise funds to support organizations working directly with girls rescued out of sex slavery so that each of us doing our part can collectively make a major impact,” Savoie said.
While students may think they can’t do anything to stop human trafficking, simply raising awareness on the issue can create a ripple effect in bringing attention to this heinous crime.
“Personally, I do not think that enough can be done until this slavery is completely abolished,” Savoie said. “What we can do as students is empower our fellow students to take a stand and play their part. They can become more informed and educate others so that nobody will buy the lie anymore.”
So while you may think one voice has little impact on the world, several other voices, including members of Tigers Against Trafficking, are calling for the end to human trafficking, and together, we can amplify our concerns to combat trafficking in our community.
