Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world, producing around $32 billion per year, according to oag.ca.gov. Global Partnership to End Human Trafficking (Global PEHT) is a local organization that raises money to stop human trafficking and generate more awareness regarding the issue.
Human trafficking is the action of forcibly relocating people from one country or area to another, most typically to exploit them for forced labor or prostitution, according to oed.com.
The majority of victims sold come from poorer areas. Of the 2.5 million victims each year, 1.2 million of them are children, and 56 percent are women and girls, according to unglobalcompact.org. The highest numbers of trafficking for sexual exploitation are in Europe and Central Asia, according to unodc.org.
Although human trafficking is a global issue, it is also present in Connecticut.
“The state of Connecticut had 200 documented human trafficking cases last year, and one case involved a two-year-old child,” Communications & Prevention Coordinator for The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education Ms. Charlotte Poth said in an interview with globalpeht.org.
Mrs. Elizabeth Koldyke Boolbol founded Global PEHT in 2015, with a group of modern-day abolitionists who fight to stop the atrocities of forced labor and sex trafficking. They created the organization with influence from Thistle Farms, another anti-human trafficking organization based in Nashville, Tennessee, according to globalpeht.org.
Global PEHT’s mission is to offer a sustainable, long-term strategy to end human trafficking. They are striving to open a residential recovery home in New England for trafficking survivors who are seeking a new life. To achieve these goals, survivors create pet collars, leashes, and bracelets to raise money and awareness, according to globalpeht.org.
Women in a rural community who are poor and vulnerable to trafficking in Guatemala make these items. The first group of pet collars and leashes were to raise awareness rather than money. Global PEHT plans to make more pet supplies and eventually sell them at local veterinary offices, specialty stores, and through their website.
Global PEHT also hosted a showing of the documentary, I AM JANE DOE to raise money and awareness about human trafficking November 2. The event accumulated $630 in donations, but they expect that number to rise as they receive more donations.
The documentary follows the lives of JS, MA, and other Jane Does and their fight against the websites that sold them, according to iamjanedoefilm.com. The Jane Does are the victims of human trafficking who prefer to keep their real names anonymous in the production and release of the film.
The website backpage.com sold JS, a victim of human trafficking, and today, her mother Nacole is working on a lawsuit against the website. Both women are advocates in the fight against human trafficking.
After the showing of the movie, JS and her mother Nacole participated in a group panel, where they discussed the documentary and the issue of human trafficking.
“Being a survivor is really difficult, and the healing and putting the pieces back together is a never-ending process,” JS said during the panel. “Seeing all of you here today helps me heal.”
-Celia Daigle, Staff Writer