Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

The High Price of Human Trafficking

“Human trafficking is broader in scope than most people realize,” says Elise Hilton in this week’s Acton Commentary. Today, human trafficking impacts entire industries, and job sectors – both legitimate and illegitimate. Continue Reading...

‘We Cannot Accept Trafficking’

Today, Pope Francis met with Orthodox, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu representatives to sign a Declaration of Religious Leaders against Slavery. Pope Francis thanked those in attendance for making the public commitment to end modern slavery in all its forms. Continue Reading...

7 Figures: Trafficking in Children on the Increase

Today the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released their 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. “Unfortunately, the report shows there is no place in the world where children, women and men are safe from human trafficking,” said UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov “Official data reported to UNODC by national authorities represent only what has been detected. Continue Reading...

Preventing Human Trafficking

Human trafficking can be prevented. It takes tenacity, hard work, and knowledge of the needs of the people in a particular area of the world. One of the greatest “push” factors (those factors that drive people into human trafficking) is poverty. Continue Reading...

Can A Text Message Save a Human Trafficking Victim?

The Polaris Project is one of the most highly-respected human trafficking organizations in the nation. Based in Washington, D.C., the Polaris Project (named after the North Star that guided slaves to freedom in the 1800s) is home to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Continue Reading...