This January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, committed to abolishing the evil of modern-day slavery.

Trafficking in persons is formally defined by the United Nations Protocol as an act of “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons” by means of “threat, force or coercion” for “the purpose of exploitation.” Operating on force, fraud and coercion, human trafficking is a criminal industry that is fueled by a demand for cheap labor and services, and a negligence of human freedom and dignity.

It is one of the fastest growing international criminal enterprises, generating nearly $150 billion annually, distinctive in its high profit and low risk level. This has allowed modern-day slavery to persist in the shadows, trapping more than 40 million people globally.

A major piece of misinformation regarding the extent of trafficking is that human trafficking is a human rights issue for nations abroad. However, the US State Department estimates that 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the US every year, and the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 children are exploited in the US sex trafficking industry annually. From 2010 to 2012, there were over 1,200 trafficking victims in California alone.

Lawmakers have been working to fight domestic trafficking, with recent efforts narrowing in on the transportation industry to identify potential victims, as traffickers make use of broad transportation networks to move victims around. The Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act (S. 1536) was signed into law on January 3, designating a human trafficking prevention coordinator within the Department of Transportation and expanding the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s education program to include human trafficking prevention. Another piece of legislation, the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act (S. 1532), is set to be signed by the President and would impose a lifetime disqualification of those who use a commercial vehicle to commit trafficking offenses from operating commercial vehicles.

The eradication of modern-day slavery requires that there be a collective awareness of the threats this global crisis imposes on human livelihoods – the very aim of this month’s acknowledgment – as well as of the many ways in which all - from the individual to antislavery organizations and government - can contribute to fighting for the inherent freedoms of every human being. Our collective moral conscience as humanity calls for not only our dedication to make others aware of the extremities of modern-day slavery, but also our impassioned persistence to take action with its urgency in mind.