While 2010 saw some major victories in the fight against human trafficking won by Change.org's 2010 Human Trafficking Heroes, the year was also full of those who did absolutely zero to fight modern-day slavery. More than that, these entities exacerbated, facilitated, and profited from human trafficking. While several groups gave trafficking a big green light this year, five entities stood out in 2010 for their epic FAILs in the fight against trafficking. Here are Change.org's 2010 Human Trafficking Zeros.
2010 Human Trafficking Zeros
Government of Uzbekistan: The Uzbek government has been forcing children as young as 9 to leave school and work in the cotton fields for years, and the 2010 cotton harvest was no different. Not only is the Uzbek government sanctioning child labor, they're often actively forcing children to work. That makes them one of the most notorious pro-slavery governments in the world, and a shoo-in for a 2010 Human Trafficking Zero. An related honorable mention goes to children's clothing company Gymboree, which is the only major clothing retailer that has refused to stop buying Uzbek cotton.
Village Voice Media: While Craigslist spent 2010 shutting down their adult services ads in the U.S. and eventually overseas, Village Voice Media chose to thumb their noses at anti-trafficking activists and watch child sex trafficking continue on their classified ads site, Backpage.com. Village Voice Media continues to profit from sex trafficking, ignore requests to stop advertising for the crime, and block attempts of victims sold on Backpage.com to seek justice. Facilitating child sex trafficking in 2010 makes Village Voice Media a big Zero.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA): The BGMEA might be the biggest zero you've never heard of. They've helped keep wages low and conditions poor for millions of Bangladeshi garment workers. That includes supporting the government branding workers' rights advocates "enemies of the state" and imprisoning them and protecting unsafe conditions that result in workers being burned alive. With help from mega-corporations like Walmart, the BGMEA has helped keep Bangladeshi workers exploited throughout 2010.
Senator Jeffrey Sessions and Concerned Women for America: Senator Sessions and CWA share a zero spot because they both blocked a bill that would have provided critical shelters for the 100,000 children trafficked for sex in the U.S. each year. Sessions was the sole Senator to block the bill, which was passed unanimously by the Senate it's first time through. Denying children who have been raped and enslaved a safe place to live is a pretty untenable move, politically, but Sessions did it. Similarly, CWA issued a letter at the 11th hour telling Congress trafficked kids deserved prison, not help.
Hershey: Yet another year has passed and chocolate companies across the world have made increased commitments to buy cocoa harvested and processed without child or slave labor. And for yet another year, Hershey remains the one major chocolate company to continue profiting from slavery without even trying to change a little. Frankly, Hershey's repeated failure to keep pace with their competition's improved cocoa sourcing is pathetic. It would be laughable, if their profiting from child and forced labor in 2010 wasn't so serious.
In 2011, anti-trafficking advocates and consumers will continue to fight against these Human Trafficking Zeros and fight for an end to modern-day slavery in the cotton and cocoa fields of Europe and Africa, the factories of Bangladesh, and the streets and websites of America. Will you join them in turning these zeros into heroes in 2011?
Photo credit: Perfecto Insecto
Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
2010's Human Trafficking Zeros | End Human Trafficking | Change.org
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