How to Be a Leader

Human trafficking is the number one fastest growing illicit trade in the world. It is often referred to as "modern-day slavery". Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings. The victims are transported from their homeland to another. They are forced, coerced, threatened and tortured to perform such duties as: forced labor, prostitution, sexual exploitation and or slavery. Victims have also been killed for their body parts such as: organs and cells and sold for transplantation purposes. Trafficking does not only affect women. Young boys and girls regardless of age, race and citizenship status are also trafficked. The supply and demand for human trafficking evolve from weak economies, failed states, restrictive policies for immigration and the demand for global labor. Prior to 2000, there were no comprehensive Federal Laws protecting victims from being transported and sold which made it difficult to prosecute traffickers. On October 28, 2000, The President of the United States, Bill Clinton, signed The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. It became a federal crime to transport and harbor individuals by use of fraud, force and or coercion above the age of 18, as well as unlawfully confiscate their documentation, such as passports and birth certificates. If the individual is under the age of 18, proof of fraud, force and or coercion is not necessary. The Act also aids victims in the United States helping them rebuild their life after having been rescued by their captors. It provides shelters, rehabilitation programs and relief from deportation in order avoid any kind of retribution in their native homeland. The Act also aids other countries in the fight against transporting victims over seas. This law supplements existing laws that apply to human trafficking, such as the 13th Amendment, The Mann Act, and Sections 1581 and 1584 of Title 18, which criminalizes peonage involuntary servitude (VTVPA P.L. 4:2000). The United States is the...