Human trafficking is ranked the third most common crime after economic fraud and drug trafficking in the country, according to UNESCO and reported in this article posted yesterday about a raid in Nigeria that freed 32 teenagers ages 15-17 that were forced to bear children for this purpose.

According to the piece, some of the girls shared that they had been offered approximately $192 U.S. to sell their babies and then the babies would be sold from anywhere between $1,920 to $6,400 U.S. each. Sadly, the state agency fighting human trafficking in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says it has many such cases currently being fought in its court system right now.

Human trafficking is not isolated to West African countries either. The U.S. has a steady stream of demand and it’s hard to bring the perpetrators to court because of the covert nature of the crime, the invisibility of victims and high levels of under-reporting.

What Can We Do to End Human Trafficking and Slavery?

Amanda Kloer wrote an excellent piece a few years ago that is relevant today as it was in 2008 for Change.org. The piece offers 10 tips to fight human trafficking that you and I can do TODAY including supporting fair trade whenever possible since slavery often happens in the hands of large multi-national companies that employ slave labor to produce its goods (suggestion #5).

Other ideas include having a viewing party about a film that discusses human trafficking (here are 10 human trafficking films to consider), calling your local government officials to let them know to pass legislation to develop stronger anti-trafficking laws (and uphold them) and supporting women and girls’ business and educational opportunities.

Still in college, Amanda has some great tips for college kids to really get the ball rolling as well including pressuring your school to buy better (ie fair trade!).

It’s hard to think each of us, in the comfort of our homes or offices, can really lend a hand in something as tragic as this raid in Nigeria. But by supporting fair trade and offering an alternative to these girls and their families, we ARE moving in the right direction. And while Nigeria may seem far away for many of us, the reality is that human trafficking really does to place closer to home than we’d like to think.

Can you commit to doing one of Amanda’s suggestion in the coming day, week or month? Share this post with your family, friends and customers. Let’s be PRO-ACTIVE and stop the demand that fuels human trafficking.

~Megy

PS – You can follow Amanda Kloer’s tweets, too, by following @endhumantraffic.