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5 Free Documentaries that Teach Us about Human Trafficking Worldwide

The Department of Homeland Security describes human trafficking as a modern-day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked in countries around the world, including the United States. It is estimated that human trafficking generates many billions of dollars of profit per year, second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime.

Human trafficking looks different worldwide. In Africa, it can look like child labor; in the Middle East, it can look like child marriages; in the Red Light District, it can look like women being sold out of storefront windows; and in the United States, it can look like young teenagers being sexually exploited online.

It’s essential as allies in the fight to end human trafficking to have a realistic, evidence-based understanding of the issue in order to more accurately educate others. By gaining a global perspective of the issue, we can understand the widespread toxicity of human trafficking and do our part in our own communities to prevent it. We’ve put together a collection of five must-see documentaries to get you started in learning about human trafficking worldwide. All are free to stream, you do not need a subscription service to view them.

The Dark Side of Chocolate

The Dark Side of Chocolate is a 2010 documentary film about the exploitation and slave trading of African children to harvest chocolate still occurring nearly ten years after the cocoa industry pledged to end it.

Stream on Youtube

The Abolitionists

This documentary film is about the rescue of 57 children from slavery and the arrest and incarceration of their 7 traffickers. This is the story of their liberation.

Stream on Vimeo

Brides and Brothels: The Rohingya Trade

Despite fleeing atrocities in Myanmar, thousands of Rohingya girls continue to face sexual exploitation, forced marriage, and trafficking in refugee camps.

Stream on Youtube

Sex Slavery: A Family Business

Marius and Bogdan Nejloveanu ran a sex trafficking ring like a family business, forcing Romanian women into prostitution in Britain.

Stream on CNN

The White Lie - A Child Labour Documentary

A documentary that highlights the new amendment made to the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act of 1986 and explores the terrible condition of children working in the BT Cotton fields of Gujarat.

Stream on Youtube

Sharing is Caring!

If you’ve learned something from this article, we hope you will share it with others. Education and awareness continue to be our best weapon in the fight against human trafficking and you can use your voice on social media for good by sharing what you know.

You can also donate to support our mission to end exploitation throughout Wisconsin and the regional Midwest. Thank you for taking this fight seriously by investing in it.

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