According to the ILO鈥檚 2012 estimates, 60 percent of the 14.2 million people in forced labor are male. Yet male victims of human trafficking are rarely discussed. The lack of public attention on the trafficking of men and boys is reflected in the of human trafficking.
According to there are 529 shelter beds available specifically for trafficking survivors in the United States. Of those 529 shelter beds, 125 are available to men, and a mere two are reserved for men only.
The problems identified here are not merely semantic. While awareness-raising is critical, it should not be used to justify or excuse misleading or inaccurate information. We will not see true progress until the passion of the anti-trafficking movement is matched with intellectual rigor and is freed from narrow and paternalistic tendencies.
Ryan Beck Turner is associate director of advocacy for the Human Trafficking Center at the University of Denver鈥檚 Josef Korbel School of International Studies. The and both provided feedback to Mr. Turner on this article.
