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Human Trafficking Supply Chain Risk

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ntro: Human Trafficking Supply Chain Risk When the media talks about human trafficking, the first thing that comes to mind is the kidnapping and sale of women and children. Of girls lured from their homes. But human trafficking is more than just sex trafficking. Many victims of trafficking are conscripted into modern-day slavery through force, fraud, or coercion. This takes the form of debt bondage, forced labor, and involuntary child labor. Human Trafficking is also a supply chain issue. Human trafficking in the supply chain may take many forms. For example; a consumer might stay at a hotel where the sheets were made from cotton harvested by migrant farmers who work with no water and no rest. Consume a chocolate they found on their pillow, made from cocoa beans picked using child labor. Order shrimp for dinner which was fished using forced labor and where the dishwashers and servers have had their passports confiscated. Take a call on their cell phone, which uses materials that were mined by children and assembled by bonded labor. This is more than an ethical issue; it is a business issue. President Obama noted that human trafficking slavery "ought to concern every business because it distorts markets.” Consumers and investors have an increased awareness of supply chain risk, and an increased aversion to companies perceived of exploiting slave labor. To address these moral and economic issues the United States and other governments are actively passing legislation

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