By Clare Chambers, Editorial Intern
We at One Bread Foundation, Inc. want to take a moment to inform people who we are as a company and what trafficking looks like today.
What is Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking is the exploitation of people through force, fraud, or coercion for various purposes such as labor or sex. Trafficking is seen as a form of modern-day slavery that affects millions of people worldwide. Offenders generate an estimated $150 billion dollars annually, which makes it one of the largest industries globally. There are four main types of human trafficking:
Sex Trafficking: victims are exploited for commercial sex through force, fraud, or coercion. If a victim is under 18, coercion is not a requirement.
Child Trafficking: children are forced into labor, sex, and other purposes for profit with a big increase in online child sexual exploitation.
Labor Trafficking: individuals are forced to work under exploitative conditions such as agricultural, construction, or domestic servitude.
Organ Trafficking: victims are trafficked to have their organs harvested for illegal sale.
Traffickers often target individuals who are vulnerable due to poverty, homelessness, or social isolation. Knowing the many different signs and indicators can help identify trafficking victims. There are three big identifiers:
Behavioral Signs: victims show indicators of abuse both mentally and physically. They can often appear nervous, jumpy, and overly withdrawn. Victims will avoid eye contact, especially with law enforcement and medical professionals. Physical tells of abuse can be malnourishment, exhaustion, and unexplainable injuries.
Living Conditions: victims can often be forced into living where they work. These places are typically overcrowded and isolated with no access to the outside world including identification documents and the internet. Victims can be denied basic freedoms such as food, clean water, medical care, clothing, sanitary spaces, and much more that makes them reliant on their traffickers.
Working Conditions: victims may be forced to work excessively long hours with little to no pay while being denied access to their finances and ID documents. They may be held to impossible performance targets while being threatened with punishment or further exploitation if they fail.
Who Are We and Why Do We Matter?
One Bread Foundation, Inc. is a Christian based organization dedicated to the well-being of children, particularly those who have been sexually exploited and trafficked. Our company was established in January 2015 as a Public Benefit Corporation. Our initial goals were to fund the rehabilitation of children and teens who have been exploited, advocate for stronger laws against Human Trafficking, and educate others about this very real problem.
Our founders came from various backgrounds of mentoring and helping local kids in the Bay Area and started their focus in Oakland, California before realizing the need to expand. We collaborate with various companies and organizations who help victims of sex trafficking around the United States. Our current partners are based out of Texas and California. In the coming years, we hope to collaborate with every organization that supports victims of Human Trafficking and Sex Trafficking in all 50 states.
We are not like every other charitable organization. We personally vet all organizations that we partner with to make sure 100% of the funds we raise goes directly to the rehabilitation of children who are rescued from sex trafficking. Currently we estimate that our funding has impacted 150 kids since 2015. We have provided 5,240 days of housing, 2,808 hours of therapy, 973 hours of tutoring, and 16,022 served meals to those who have been victims of human trafficking in the United States.
We continue to work tirelessly to help every child we possibly can get out of trafficking situations and provide them with the help they deserve.
How Can You Help?
The prevention of human trafficking starts with awareness and education. Communities and individuals can take steps to recognize trafficking and prevent it from happening. There are many steps you can take to help:
Recognition and Education: Recognizing and reporting suspicious behavior to local authorities or trafficking hotlines can save the lives of these victims. Being educated on the signs of trafficking keeps you aware of the potential threat. Sharing information among your communities, friends, coworkers, and family makes a difference.
Raise Awareness and Support Local Organizations: Choose to support companies with transparent supply chains to reduce demand for forced labor. You can research local organizations that help trafficking refugees to donate or volunteer.
Stay Informed: Be aware of local and national policies regarding trafficking, fair labor, and child protection so you can advocate for stronger standards for those who are vulnerable.
We ask that you sign up for our newsletters so we can assist you in raising awareness as well as staying educated and informed on the happenings in the trafficking world. We also ask that you consider donating to our organization so we can continue our work in helping children who have been exploited.
For more information or to sign up for our newsletters or to donate visit https://www.onebread.org/donate
For more information on Human Trafficking watch our educational video at https://youtu.be/MDf4uBLTXO8