I cringe at sloppy statistics and exaggerated portrayals of human trafficking. Victims presented as objects of pity, and audiences placed in a position of superiority where they are told they alone have the power to change a person’s life. Whether awareness campaigns using such devices are ‘worth it’ is a loaded question. Could campaigns that raise awareness about human trafficking be made more responsibly while remaining successful? I believe that they can. Do I believe that we should “do it right, or not at all?” No, I do not.
I’m glad about what we have accomplished as a anti-trafficking movement, and I think we are continually learning. Since the issue of human trafficking moved into the spotlight two decades ago there have been significant improvements in our responses and solutions. We are increasingly seeing more traffickers arrested and prosecuted, more attention given to the TIP reports, more states with safe harbour legislation, more training amongst child welfare agencies & other service providers, more concern from the UN, and more businesses taking a look at their role. This simply couldn’t have happened without years of awareness campaigns. Despite their flaws, these campaigns have made an overall positive contribution to combating human trafficking.
Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Robert DeWitt of the FBI Des Moines Resident Agency (Omaha Division) delivers remarks during a press conference unveiling an outdoor media campaign to combat human trafficking in Central Iowa in 2016. FBI Omahai/Flickr/Public Domain.
