What is Human Trafficking?
Our overall goal at MISSIO is to inspire and empower a movement of people in the fight against human trafficking, and it has taken years of research, learning (through both experience and education), and consulting with experts.
Still, it is a very complex and elusive issue. So what is it?
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control victims for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or labor services against his/her will.
In a nutshell, human trafficking comes in many forms and takes on different characteristics in different places around the world...that is why it can be so difficult to wrap our minds around. Also, it does not always involved physical restraint, like we may see in Hollywood portrayals. Victims can often be controlled by fraud or coercion, and sometimes they are even being manipulated into performing these services by a family member or a significant other.
As our team here at MISSIO has been educating and equipping salons and stylists in how to identify potential victims, this definition has helped them to better understand the grave injustice of human trafficking and the role that they can play to help in its prevention, rescue, and recovery.