Over the past few years, my firm – Kolsby Gordon – has been handling more and more cases where we represent children who have been physically or sexually abused. Too often, the cases have a similar fact pattern. A known risk of harm to a child; whether it be a pedophile or an abusive individual, is not taken seriously or is downright ignored by the people or government agency responsible for caring for the child. It is not easy to read reports of what these children have been through. You literally have to take a moment, walk away from your desk, and take a break because the material can be overwhelming.
Recently, the newspapers reported a story that I found hard to read. It was the story of a certain evil that exists in our society that we need to talk about more and do more to stop. I am referring to the horror that is human trafficking. A 12 year old girl was kidnapped from her home in Philadelphia and forced to prostitute herself. She was sold from pimp to pimp and transported to different states to provide sex to men. She was battered and abused. Stories like this are hard to focus on. I would think there are some people who would intentionally not read the story because it would upset them and ruin their day. Yet, the time has come that we have to start reading these stories and we have to start getting upset.
Human trafficking is modern slavery where children (and adults) are exploited for a profit. Whether it’s for sex or for labor, it has been reported that human trafficking throughout the world is a 31 billion dollar business. That is a staggering number. This is a staggering problem. It’s a problem that on a grass roots level we need to talk about more in hopes that dialogue will lead to action.
