Though the statistics are overpowering, the reality is mostly out of sight.
Human trafficking, defined as sex slavery and/or forced labor, is the world’s fastest growing illegal business — to the tune of $32 billion annually, according to the United Nations. The UN estimates some 28 million people are forced to work against their will worldwide.
It’s also a Seattle issue.
Two years ago, when the FBI launched an effort to recover juvenile prostitutes and arrest their pimps in 40 cities around the country, fully one-third of the nearly 70 kids recovered came from the Everett-Seattle-Tacoma corridor.
On Oct. 20 the King County chapter of the non-profit organization, Not For Sale, a nationwide network created to fight human trafficking, will hold a “Free2Walk” 5K walk-run-march starting at Gasworks Park at 9 a.m. Check-in is at 8 a.m.
Magnolia resident Bonnie Brann, Senior Associate Pastor at First Free Methodist Church, serves on a committee of about 10 people organizing the event. At the same time, Nate Strong, student body president at Seattle Pacific University, is galvanizing on-campus support for the Oct. 20th walk and for anti-trafficking initiatives throughout the year.
“We want to be holistic about it,” said Brann, an SPU alum, who emphasized there is more to do than walk, run or march on Oct. 20. Information on how to get involved in the anti-trafficking effort on an ongoing basis will be available at the starting line, she said.
“We’re not going to be able to take care of everyone enslaved,” Brann noted, and pointed to statistics that show human trafficking follows the money: the Olympics, Super Bowls, and big conventions. “It’s not just an overseas problem,” she said.
SPU, a First Free Methodist school, sponsors numerous community outreach programs, but student government has usually maintained its focus on campus affairs. Strong said that’s changed this year.
“We decided to take on something external to ourselves,” he observed, citing First Free Methodist’s Abolitionist roots. He said the reception among students, and their awareness level of the issue, were impressive.
Money raised from the Free2Walk event will go support Not For Sale’s local and global anti-trafficking initiatives.
Information for the Oct. 20 event at Gasworks Park, and registration, are available at: http://www.free2walk.org/