When we talk about human trafficking, the assumption seems to be that it’s a problem which only exists in faraway countries away from the developing world. But in reality, human trafficking is an American problem as well.
Every year, 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the U.S. Between 2008 and 2010, 83% of victims of confirmed trafficking incidents in the U.S. were identified as American citizens.
A lot of the trafficking in America is done right under our noses, without us knowing about it. The Super Bowl, for example, has been described as “the single largest human traffic incident in the U.S.” by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says the 2010 Super Bowl brought 10,000 prostitutes to the city of Miami. And in 2011, there were 133 underage arrests for prostitution at the Super Bowl in Dallas.
On Thursday, actress Jada Pinkett Smith joined the NOW with Alex Wagner panel to speak out against trafficking and discuss her own activism on the issue.