Working in the human trafficking space in Nepal has changed my world.  The more I have learned about this dark underbelly of our world, the more I wish I could un-know it because understanding the complexities of human trafficking leaves an indelible imprint on your soul.  It’s a topic that most people don’t want to talk about and so it exists in the shadows. And that’s what allows it to grow.

I wish I didn’t know about the sheer magnitude of human trafficking.  It’s an industry worth $150 billion a year and its victims are often the most vulnerable in our world and society.  I wish I didn’t know about the evil and corruption that empowers human trafficking to exist.

I wish I didn’t know that women and children are disproportionately affected, but that people of all ages and genders and backgrounds can become victims.  Many are lured with false promises of a better life and who doesn’t want that?  Sadly, these hopes and dreams soon become the stuff of nightmares as the promise of a better life descends into a cycle of abuse and exploitation.

I wish I didn’t know that many traffickers are women.  I wish I hadn’t met some of those female traffickers in that Nepali prison. I feel betrayed by my own gender. What woman sells another woman seemingly without conscience?

NGO’s, law enforcement agencies and other social justice groups are working tirelessly to combat human trafficking, but often their efforts are hampered by limited resources, elusive criminal cohorts, weak prosecution laws and victims who are too paralysed by fear and shame to report their experience.  I wish I didn’t know that NGO’s like ours do most of the heaving lifting and that governments should be doing so much more.

The more I’ve had to navigate these complexities, in my work with Every Daughter Matters the more I’ve come to appreciate the dedication and bravery of those who have chosen to take up the fight against human trafficking.  I’ve met some of the champions on the front-line, working on the Nepal/Indo border where some 20,000 Nepali women and children are trafficked every year, and their efforts are nothing short of heroic.

I wish I didn’t know that our front-line staff are regularly threatened, simply for trying to make a difference, or abused for speaking the truth and threatening ‘the dream’ that the vulnerable desperately want to believe could give them a better life.  Too often our front-line workers are ‘at-risk’ simply for trying to make our world a better, safer place.

Only 2% of Nepali girls who are trafficked are ever heard of again.  I wish I didn’t know that, because my thoughts are often with the other 98%.

Poverty, lack of education and a society that favours boys over girls, makes Nepal’s daughters particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Their innocence and vulnerability are used as weapons against them.

The sobering reality is that human trafficking is not limited to distant places like Nepal, where my work takes me.  It’s happening here in Australia, even if we don’t see it or look for it here.  This knowledge forces us to confront the truth that this horrendous crime could be happening in places we frequent on a regular basis.

It’s an inconvenient truth because it means we can’t dismiss the issue as someone else’s concern. It calls us to be vigilant, to pay closer attention to our surroundings.  When it comes to human trafficking, ignorance is definitely not bliss…it’s actually a blind spot that perpetuates the cycle of human suffering.

Knowing about human trafficking is burdensome.  I wish I didn’t have a conscience, for then I could just go on my merry way.

BUT – it is this very burden that can become the catalyst for change.  It can motivate you to become an advocate for the voiceless, to support organisations fighting against this injustice, to raise awareness in your sphere of influence.  To be part of a movement of people that says, ‘enough is enough’.

The flip side is, I love my work!  We are rescuing 100+ girls every month…pulling them back from the edge of the cliff.  Everyday we are changing lives!

I have the most rewarding job in the world.

Truth is, I’m glad I know about human trafficking, I get to advocate for the voiceless.