10 Human Trafficking Videos to Watch Right Now

by Amanda Kloer

Published December 30, 2008 @ 10:52AM PT

This list is a compilation of 10 outstanding human trafficking videos, ranging from music videos to news reports to PSAs.  All of these are available on youtube.com as well as here.

Constance

Constance is a short, heart-wrenching hip-hop song which tells the story of a young Filipina girl trafficked into commercial sex and boldly connects her to the white man in the U.S. who watches her on his computer. 

 

Schools for Schools

My Chemical Romance + comic books + saving child soldiers in Uganda = amazingness.  Invisible Children has created Schools for Schools, a campaign to encourage youth to help rebuild schools in Northern Uganda.  Plus, you can win a trip there! 

 

Child Sex Trafficking in Las Vegas, NV: Compiled News Reports

This is a great compilation of news reports which shows that what happens in Vegas stays with an exploited child for the rest of her life.  While sex trafficking of children happens all over the U.S., Las Vegas's loose prostitution regulations have allowed the practice to flourish.  However, Las Vegas law enforcement are working hard and moving in the right direction.

 

Ending Slavery: What Businesses Need To Do

Leading trafficking expert Kevin Bales gives a mandate to business owners, business employees and consumers to work as a team to end slavery.  This video applies to anyone who has every worked anywhere or ever bought anything. 

 

Bound By Promises: Contemporary Slavery in Rural Brazil

Brazil has a huge and often overlooked forced labor and debt bondage industry in rural areas of the country.  Slavery is so common in some parts, it has almost become an institutional way of doing business.  In Portuguese with subtitles.

 

All I Need

As an activity, I find listening to Radiohead falls somewhere in between getting my teeth cleaned and standing in line at the DMV.  So keep that in mind when I say the song is awesome and it will give you chills.  MTV's polished production draws a too-close-for-comfort connection between us and where our stuff comes from. 

 

Wanted

This is a great mock ad from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, which proves the point that trafficking is an industry built on deception.  The good news is that awareness campaigns like this around the world are helping women spot the bogus ads and see the reality behind them.

 

Call + Response Trailer

Cornell West says it best (as he often does), "Never forget justice is what love looks like in public".  The film has an amazing collection of celebrities and a lot of heart, and even  the trailer is compelling in and of itself.  How will you respond? 

 

UNODC Labor Trafficking PSA

This PSA does a great job of showing how trafficking victims end up in slavery, and how a desire for better work overseas is a huge motivator.  It addresses the issues of globalization and poverty which drive people to take risks, often to their detriment. 

 

Katie Couric's Notebook: Human Trafficking (embedded video not available upon request by CBS)

Katie Couric discusses human trafficking in India, in the context of the State Department's Trafficking in Persons report.  This video demonstrates the diplomatic issues which often arise when addressing human trafficking in other countries.