Slavery and Human Exploitation

When you hear the word “slavery,” you may think of people living long ago, in ancient Rome or before the American Civil War. You may imagine that slavery happened only in the distant past. The reality is that slavery exists today. People are still treated like a commodity—a product to buy and sell. Slavery is contrary to what God had intended for humanity.

Organizations dedicated to ending human trafficking estimate that, worldwide, over 25 million people are caught up in its web. Some people are held against their will and forced to work for wages that get them only further in debt. In some places, wages are so low that workers must borrow from their employer to provide for basic sustenance. Even as they work long hours, they go deeper into debt. Their employers essentially own them. This is labor trafficking.

In other places, poor families must choose whether to sell one child to gain the money needed to support the others or watch all their children starve. Young boys may be signed into bonded labor, and not released until they are well into adulthood. In other cases, young men and women are lured with promises of relationship, income, and respect, only to find themselves forced into the sex trade.

Economic exploitation is a major contributor to poverty, crime, war, and social unrest. Addressing people who became wealthy by exploiting others, the apostle James wrote, “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty” (James 5:4, NIV). The Bible calls us to care for all people. Proverbs 14:31 declares, “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (NIV).

There are many ways you can help work against human trafficking and labor exploitation. Consider:

• Volunteering with organizations in your community which raise awareness of and work to end human trafficking.
• Investing in human trafficking awareness training so you can recognize the signs of human trafficking.
• Researching the conditions in which jewelry, makeup, and metals essential for electronics are mined, including the possibility that they were dug up by children.
• Researching the companies which grow and sell the food you eat to learn how they treat and protect the workers in their fields from harassment and exploitation.
• Researching the countries in which your clothes and sports equipment were manufactured. In many countries, children are still forced to work long hours in fields and factories.
• Writing companies that manufacture the products you buy, asking them to ensure that the people providing the raw materials for their products are treated well and fairly compensated.
• Contacting government representatives, to ask them to combat human trafficking.
• Contributing to humanitarian organizations which work to uplift people and safeguard them from exploitation.