Importance of internet and social media in anti human trafficking movement is very crucial as it makes us enable to create fast awareness campaigns about human trafficking and modern day.
“Slavery was, in a very real sense, the first international human rights issue to come to the fore. It led to the adoption of the first human rights laws and to the creation of the first human rights non-governmental organization. And yet despite the efforts of the international community to combat this abhorrent practice, it is still widely prevalent in all its insidious forms, old and new”. (Kofi Annan- Former Secretary-General of UN.
Since I have volunteered myself as anti human trafficking activist, I was constantly looking for a solution which can not only strengthen the anti human trafficking efforts made around the world but can create a wave of social change as well. Going through lots of information on the internet and on social media, I found that digital technology is the only way to reach masses affected by human trafficking aka modern slavery each year.
Through my research, I realized that we need a real place where we can find all the information about human traffickers and we can raise the voice to end that brutal issue that has became a No. 1 crime around the globe.
Anti human trafficking policy measures have evolved internationally since 100 years ago. Since 1904, the international community has been working to assemble the pieces of the human trafficking puzzle. While governments, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations have recognized the importance of collaboration and have established some co-ordination mechanisms and practices, they haven’t been able to overcome challenges.
Despite great improvements to international governmental and non-governmental efforts, they are not always reaching the people who need help, who are mostly deprived poor people. There are still millions who don’t even know what the indication signs of human trafficking are, what the forms of human trafficking are, and how much their region is affected by the problem. They don’t even know which global organizations are running anti human trafficking campaigns.
How Internet and Social Media Can Help in Anti Human Trafficking Programs:
The world has seen the greatest technological revolution of all time in the past 20 years. It started with the introduction of artificial intelligence followed by the rise of internet, which has worked wonders for the global information transfer regime. And then there came the era of emotional intelligence when social networks became a vital part of the lives of most human beings in civilized nations.
There are now more than 800 million people from around the world who are using social networks to interact with each other. What is personally most inspiring to me is the relative absence of racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination in this great melting pot of a universal nation that is the online world.
Imagine how powerful it would be for the anti human trafficking cause
if this enormous body of people could be inspired to unite together and lend their support! Already, thousands of anti human trafficking experts use social networks, and they would add their strength to our efforts to educate the larger body of people!
Concluding Anti Human Trafficking Issue in Personal Assumptions:
If we harness the rapidly growing power of digital technology, our anti human trafficking programs will have a greatly increased hope of shaping a better world for the next generation. We have the opportunity to save victims from the merciless brutality of the oppressive modern slaver. We must first find the optimum digital platform to use for the launch of our anti human trafficking campaign, where we are able to provide information on a wide scale about known human traffickers, affected regions, and organizations that will help human trafficking victims.
The most current examples that we see are CNN Freedom Project, Not For Sale Campaign, International Justice Mission, The BBC World Service Trust, Action Aid and Aide et Action. These have been granted by Internet and Social Media Giant Google Inc., which will work in coalition to facilitate governments to stop slave labor by identifying ring masters, documenting abuse, and freeing individuals. They will be providing refuge to victims with recovery programs and job training to empower them for their new lives.
Google Inc. also showed trust in Anti Human Trafficking tool portals like powerful Slavery Footprint Calculator and Polaris Project’s National Trafficking hotline. FreedomNow is also formed for the same purpose, but it’s pretty unique as it is providing a mix of general education, resources to empower victims everywhere, and an extensive database of known traffickers and their agents around the world.
These examples show us that together we can make a difference by building a safer, freer, and more prosperous world for all. Let’s start a digital revolution for anti human trafficking now!
Muhammad Saad Khan is a social activist and a volunteer for anti human trafficking programs around the globe. He has joined FreedomNow – A community built knowledge base to counter human trafficking as a research professional to learn about prevention, prosecution and protection from human traffickers.