National Human Trafficking Awareness Day: History Behind The Day, Significance And Quotes

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is observed on Jan. 11 every year to strengthen resistance against the heinous crime. Even though the entire month of January was recognized as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, Jan. 11 was specifically designated to encourage people to raise the alarm if caught in a human trafficking situation.

Human trafficking is the condition in which victims are made to involve in commercial sex work or some type of labor by the use of threat or force. The human trafficking victims, the majority of them women and children, are subjected to a range of other hostilities by their captors, which leaves them with permanent scars in their minds.

Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crime industries in the U.S. The kingpins use varied methods, including the false promises of well-paying jobs and romantic relationships, to lure their victims into the dark world of “modern- slavery,” an aptly coined definition of human trafficking by the erstwhile President Barack Obama.

Human trafficking can happen in various settings, and in most cases, the trafficker is known to the victim. The United States Department of Homeland Security notes that law enforcement also has their fair share in letting most human trafficking cases go unreported as they sometimes prevent the victims from calling attention to their ordeal, with other issues like language barrier or fear of the captor also playing a huge role.

To initiate a crackdown on human traffickers and to give the victims a voice, the Senate established this day of observance in 2007. Ever since the presidential proclamation, the day received immense support from the masses, who contributed generously to the government-organized fundraiser events to support the cause.

On National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, here are some quotes to motivate people to work collectively against the barbaric crime of human trafficking.

• “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.”- Psalm 82:3
• “We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.”- Bernard Meltzer
• “You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say you didn't know.”- William Wilberforce
• “Dare to enter the darkness to bring another into the light.”- Tony Kirwan