Million victims of slavery in the world today
Modern slavery victims are children
%
of victims of the sex trade are children
%
of those forced to marry are children
“Money may be able to buy a lot of things, but it should never, ever be able to buy another human being.”
– Senator John Kerry, former US Secretary of State
An Overlooked Worldwide Crisis
Human trafficking is a growing problem across the globe, especially within developing countries. The Greater Mekong Sub-region and Thailand have served as a source and destination country for traffickers and victims. Sex trafficking puts women and girls at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other devastating health consequences, both mental and physical. The violence and poor living conditions victims experience is unimaginable to many people but is all too real to them. Steps need to be taken to help trafficking victims now and to prevent future trafficking.
A Thai Epidemic
Within Thailand, Bangkok and Chiang Mai are the main hubs for sex trafficking. Women and girls can be lured into trafficking in multiple ways. Often traffickers go to rural and impoverished villages and promise girls and their families that they will be taken to the city to start jobs as waitresses or maids.Traffickers tell the families stories about all the money their daughter will make and the different opportunities she will have. Traffickers will even make a “down payment” on the girl and pay parents for their daughters before they take them.
An Effective Method to Fight Trafficking
FTD is a prevention program, focusing its efforts on ethnic hill tribe girls in Northern Thailand who are at-risk of being trafficked due to extreme poverty, lack of legal status, being orphaned or having parents in jail. FTD focuses its efforts on the most vulnerable girls in Northern Thailand.
While many NGOs provide support and services for a short number of years, the FTD model provides shelter, support and education through college and beyond. FTD Daughters enter the program as vulnerable children and emerge as empowered adults.