I first heard about Radiant Cosmetics through Grit and Glamour and just had to participate to bring attention to this subject. To help bring awareness to human trafficking, I purchased a wonderful color in Radiant’s Moisturizing Lipstick called Park Avenue (below). The lipstick itself is fantastic! It is moist, the color is amazing and long lasting. They have many shades to choose from, and I’m definitely going to check out their other lipstick colors as well as their other products because of the great quality. I hope that you all will do the same and help bring attention to this very important issue by purchasing a lipstick. Not only will 20% of the profits for each purchase be donated towards the cause to fight human trafficking, but Radiant will also donate a lipstick on your behalf to a survivor or current human trafficking victim during the month of January. Please find some information below regarding human trafficking and let’s kiss slavery goodbye!
WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING? *
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. As defined under U.S. federal law, human trafficking involves the commercial exchange and exploitations of humans including forced prostitution, various forms of “labor or services,” or servitude and debt bondage.
Human trafficking is considered to be one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world, second only to drug dealing, which it’s expected to surpass in the next two years. The United Nations estimates that 27 million people are trafficked annually.
WHO ARE VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
There is not one consistent face of trafficking victim. Trafficked persons in the United States can be men or women, adults or children, foreign nationals or US citizens. Some are well-educated, while others have no formal education.
While anyone can become a victim of trafficking, certain populations are especially vulnerable. These may include: undocumented migrants; runaway and homeless youth; and oppressed, marginalized, and/or impoverished groups and individuals. Traffickers specifically target individuals in these populations because they are vulnerable to recruitment tactics and methods of control.
Undocumented immigrants in the US are highly vulnerable due to a combination of factors, including: lack of legal status and protections, language barriers, limited employment options, poverty and immigration-related debts, and social isolation. They are often victimized by traffickers from a similar ethnic or national background, on whom they may be dependent for employment or a means of support.DOESN’T HUMAN TRAFFICKING HAPPEN MOSTLY OVERSEAS?
While human trafficking happens widely overseas it’s also happening every single day here in the United States, in our own backyards. Human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states. The United States acts as both a transit and a source destination country. The global reach of this injustice is staggering; 161 countries worldwide have been identified as affected by human trafficking.
The U.S. government estimates that over 100,000 children are in trapped in the sex trade in the United States each year. Most human trafficking in the United States occurs in New York, California, Texas, Florida and Georgia.
The U.S State Department estimates that around 18,000 foreign men, women and children are trafficked into the United States annually. Foreign women and children brought to the U.S. for sex trafficking find themselves forced to work in brothels, strip clubs, escort services, and massage parlors.
Sex trafficking also happens to U.S. citizens already within our borders. Around 300,000 American children are at risk for trafficking annually.
WHAT DO I DO IF I SEE A SITUATION WHERE I THINK SOMEONE IS TRAFFICKED?
You can report trafficking crimes and get help by calling the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-3737-888, a national, toll-free hotline, available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. New laws provide options for trafficking victims regardless of immigration status.
*From http://www.radiantcosmetics.org/pages/human-trafficking