Countries that actively participate in reducing global poverty, garner tremendous benefits for their efforts. The United States could anticipate these same benefits, with the biggest benefit being the reduction of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is a blanket term used to identify the activities of individuals who trick people into compelled service against their will. According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) these activities contain the terms slavery, debt bondage, child soldiers, prostitution, and forced labor.

Global poverty is a formidable obstacle to discontinue since it is not only an economic issue, but a political and cultural issue as well. Poverty can lead individuals to act in desperation just to support their loved ones.

The link between global poverty and human trafficking has strong ties to one another. As stated by the United Nations, “Difficult conditions such as poverty, lack of opportunities, including unemployment, and displacement make people especially vulnerable.” Additionally, the United States Department of Health and Human Services also acknowledges poverty as a serious risk factor concerning human trafficking.

Particularly, the United States has become a significant source, transfer, and destination country for victims of all ages, nationalities, and genders being forced into human trafficking. The 2005 and 2006 Trafficking in Persons Reportby the United States estimated that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the country annually.

Many victims are contracted into the United States by individuals preying on the naivety of those in poverty.

Take the account of Maria, a Honduran girl who survived being involved in sex trafficking.

When Maria was a 15-year-old girl living in her Honduran village, two businessmen approached her and two friends offering them work in the United States at a textile mill. Maria thought this opportunity could help her struggling, single mother and seven siblings. Arriving at their destination in Houston, the three girls were kidnapped, raped, beaten, and forced to work in brothels disguised as cantinas. These girls, whose ages ranged from as low as 12, were chosen by customers who would take them to the back of the brothel and pay for sex. If the victims did not meet their quota, they were beaten and tortured by their captors. After six years, Maria finally escaped and was returned to her mother.

The whereabouts of Maria’s two friends is still unknown.

Advocates against human trafficking such as the United Nations, the United States Government, and the Freedom From Project all agree that poverty plays a key role in promulgating human trafficking.

The Freedom From Project asserts the connection between poverty and human trafficking stating, “Poverty is a major driver of the human trafficking industry. Those trapped in poverty are keen to obtain a better life for themselves and their families, and these vulnerable people are preyed on by unscrupulous people offering jobs, training, opportunities, remuneration and better life prospects.”

Therefore, if the United States participated more in reducing global poverty, the nation could benefit by seeing a reduction in human trafficking into the country.