“HAPI Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium Leg 2”

HAPI - Cagayan de Oro recently conducted a series of Anti-human Trafficking Symposiums around the city and nearby municipalities. On June 26, 2022, HAPI, International and Youth Volunteers for Peace and Development, together with the Pualas Sangguniang Kabataan, conducted its second leg of activities at Barangay Pualas, Baungon Bukidnon, Humanist Alliance Philippines, International and Youth Volunteers for Peace and Development, together with the Pualas Sangguniang Kabataan, conducted the second leg of these activities. The youth were gathered and encouraged to discuss the topic, focusing on the role of human rights. The pandemic made human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, worse since more of the perpetrators utilized online forms of trafficking. They subject their victims to the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act against the will of the person trafficked. In some cases, traffickers may use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to get what they want. Trafficking victims include men, women, and children of all ages, races, and nationalities. Today, there are approximately 45.8 million people caught in the trap of modern slavery around the world, including 10 million children. It is difficult to determine the exact statistics because so many cases go undetected and unreported, but to date, approximately 15.4 million people are forced into marriage, and 4.8 million people are forced into sexual exploitation. The best way to combat human trafficking is to educate society, especially the youth, because traffickers depend on the naivety of their victims to gain their trust. Taking this away from the traffickers could save so many lives. Making sure that the youth and other sectors of the society know how to deal with the red flags and other signs of human trafficking could be the best defense against this modern slavery.