Anyone who says crime doesn’t pay clearly hasn’t read the International Labour Office’s report on human trafficking, which estimates that forced labor alone generates about $150 billion a year. And that’s just one aspect of buying and selling humans. The problem is actually much bigger and complicated than most of us realize because we don’t like thinking about how slavery never really ended. It just got smarter and quieter. I wanted to learn more about it all, so I talked to Dr. Whipple, a pediatrician who often works with victims of human/sex trafficking, Dr. Williamson, a University of Toledo professor and human trafficking expert, and Dr. Gates, who co-chairs the Research and Data Committee of the San Diego County Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. This is what I’ve learned: Continue reading
