Modern Day Slavery

Slavery is being forced to work, under threat of violence, with no chance to walk away. It is estimated that 27 million people are enslaved in the world today. That's more than at the height of the slave trade. Today the sex trade is thriving, both globally and here in the US. In fact San Francisco is host to 43% of all trafficked women entering California. An estimated 100 seedy massage parlors and numerous online websites provide avenues for men to purchase victims. International and domestic trafficking is a booming multi-billion dollar business. Deceived into believing jobs are awaiting them, many women arrive in the US believing they will make a better life for themselves and their families. Others are sold to traffickers for as little as $1 by families faced with poverty and starvation, while some are kidnapped off the streets here in our own country. In 2005, police confiscated $2 million dollars from 10 Asian massage parlors during a San Francisco raid. (SF Gate- Meredith May) It barely made a dent in the industry.

Women report being beaten, raped, starved and tortured before finally giving in to their captors. They are often exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, forced abortions and other health compromises. Their life truly is a life of slavery.

‘Human trafficking is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them. Human trafficking is a crime against humanity'. -United Nations, Office on Drugs and Crime

Human Trafficking Awareness Month - January 2010

January 11, 2010: Press Event at City Hall

Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris, Supervisor Carmen Chu, SFCAHT co-chair Nancy Goldberg, and a survivor spoke about anti-trafficking efforts here in San Francisco. 

Click here for video.