Presidents Address



"It ought to concern every person, because it is a debasement of our common humanity. It ought to concern every community, because it tears at our social fabric. It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets. It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers public health and fuels violence and organized crime. I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name — modern slavery.” PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA



Sunday 6 April 2014

Making the Hunters the Hunted

In order to stop human trafficking new tactics need to be employed. The most recent is harnessing technology…
 “We’re going to harness technology to stop them … [by] encouraging tech companies and advocates and law enforcement … to develop tools that our young people can use to stay safe online and on their smart phones.” President Barack Obama, 25 September 2012.
Human traffickers utilise technology at all stages of the process; from initial recruitment of targets through contacting them via social media, email or cell phones, to the logistical organisation of transportation, to advertising their human products, to the resulting financial transactions. And this all leaves a cyber trail.
Image from: http://real-agenda.com/2013/04/24/cell-phone-spying-device-raising-privacy-concerns
Technology giants such as Google and Microsoft are now collaborating with governmental and law enforcement agencies to utilise their resources in identifying potential traffickers by recognising illicit patterns of internet use, tracking cell phones, and recording financial transactions1. By sharing this data on a global scale it’s an incredibly powerful tool in identifying, tracking and prosecuting traffickers.
Technology is also helping to prevent sex trafficking through widespread education of the warning signs, and protect those at risk by providing an avenue by which to contact law enforcement discretely. 
By Hamish Prosser

References
1. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210737.pdf
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