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Remember the video we posted just a few days ago? The one that urged consumers to think twice about the impact their choices have before purchasing? Well, I've found more on the subject, courtesy of Voice of America News, which brings us more on the awareness campaign by the International Organization for Migration. 
According to VOA News, Richard Danzieger, head of the Global Counter Trafficking Program at IOM, says that, although problems like poverty and misogyny contribute to human trafficking, it is the consumer's demand for unreasonably inexpensive labor and goods that drives the trade.
He [Danziger] says the campaign aims to change consumer behavior through the use of soft power, not hard power. "We are not asking people to boycott a particular brand or boycott a particular super market or chain store. We are simply asking people to find out what lies behind the products they buy. We are asking people to buy responsibly," he said.
The International Labor Organization estimates 12.3 million people are in forced or bonded labor and sexual servitude around the world.
Danziger says stories about human trafficking usually focus on women and girls used for sexual exploitation. But he says both men and women are trafficked for labor exploitation.
He says there have been large increases in the last five years in the trafficking of men and boys to work in the agricultural, construction, fishing and domestic service sector. "We estimate, based on some ILO (International Labor Organization) figures that in industrialized countries there are over 100,000 trafficked migrant workers. So, severely exploited migrant workers. If they were paid their back wages, the wages they are due, it could come to something like $2.5 billion. So, we are talking about large sums. Throughout the world, there is an estimate by the ILO of what we call stolen wages of almost $20 billion," he said.
According to VOA News, Richard Danzieger, head of the Global Counter Trafficking Program at IOM, says that, although problems like poverty and misogyny contribute to human trafficking, it is the consumer's demand for unreasonably inexpensive labor and goods that drives the trade.
He [Danziger] says the campaign aims to change consumer behavior through the use of soft power, not hard power. "We are not asking people to boycott a particular brand or boycott a particular super market or chain store. We are simply asking people to find out what lies behind the products they buy. We are asking people to buy responsibly," he said.
The International Labor Organization estimates 12.3 million people are in forced or bonded labor and sexual servitude around the world.
Danziger says stories about human trafficking usually focus on women and girls used for sexual exploitation. But he says both men and women are trafficked for labor exploitation.
He says there have been large increases in the last five years in the trafficking of men and boys to work in the agricultural, construction, fishing and domestic service sector. "We estimate, based on some ILO (International Labor Organization) figures that in industrialized countries there are over 100,000 trafficked migrant workers. So, severely exploited migrant workers. If they were paid their back wages, the wages they are due, it could come to something like $2.5 billion. So, we are talking about large sums. Throughout the world, there is an estimate by the ILO of what we call stolen wages of almost $20 billion," he said.
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