A Weapon Against Traffickers
Posted by Huibert Fousert on
The growth of technology over the last 30 years has significantly changed human trafficking operations. While traffickers have taken advantage of the changes, people have turned it into a weapon against traffickers.
The US estimates about 70 percent of people are now bought or sold online. About $45 million was generated through online human trafficking in 2013. The internet has also become a dangerous place for young people. The average entry into prostitution in the US is 14 years old.
These are scary truths to face, however technology is being used to combat human trafficking. JP Morgan Chase developed an anti-money laundering tool that helped to unearth a Nail Salon that covered for a prostitution situation. While LexiNexis has thrown much research and detection work towards saving lives which has led to a huge database of resources and training tools. Polaris and others have gathered information, then used it to respond to trafficking trends.
Many other countries are using technology to fight human trafficking as well. In India about 5 children disappear every hour. In response to this devastating news a man developed a new weapon against traffickers--a face recognition app (FaceTagr) to help find missing children. So far this new development has located about 100 children!
Technology has pooled resources together for those taking a stand against human trafficking.