Monday, December 14, 2015

From student Emily Van Zeeland, "Set Me Free," by Stephanie Olson:



This image was taken by Stephanie Olson for her Set Me Free Project which is an antihuman trafficking moment. This movement aims to raise awareness and provide education to help end human trafficking.  Human trafficking is currently a $150 billion dollar business which makes it the second fastest growing crime in the world. Since human trafficking involves many painful and controversial topics such as rape, prostitution, and violence, many people would rather not think about human trafficking. However, the only way to truly end human trafficking is to bring awareness to the severity of the issue. The fact that human trafficking violates many human rights stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights demonstrates the necessity for change. Two human rights that human trafficking majorly violates are described in articles 4 and 5. Article 4 deals with the freedom from slavery. The hand placed over the girls mouth in the image displays the lack of freedom that individuals suffering from human trafficking have. Human trafficking is not a choice; it is forced upon individuals, who many times are unaware of what is happening. Article 5 furthers the point stated by article 4 by claiming that all humans have a right to the freedom from torture and degrading treatment. In the image this type of treatment is shown by the barcode on the girl’s forehead. She is not viewed as a human being; instead she is just an object and thus is treated like one. This image accurately displays the major human rights violations of human trafficking and has created a positive impact that has resulted in many people donating to the Set Me Free Project.

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