Up for Sale: Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Alison Marie Behnke is a writer and editor. She has written about a wide range of topics, including immigration, world and cultural geography, ethnic cuisines, American and European history, biographies, and fashion. She lives in Minneapolis.

"This slim volume provides a thorough introduction to a topic that is receiving increased attention at local, national, and international levels. Real-world scenarios based on actual cases effectively portray instances of human enslavement, relating diverse experiences from restaurant and factory workers, domestics, beggars, sex-trade victims, and child soldiers. Additional situations address other types of trafficking, such as illegal infant adoption, debt bondage, and the selling of human organs. Narratives come from both victims and perpetrators and explore elements of exploitation, manipulation, and victimhood. An accessible style, brief chapters set off by subheadings, ample definitions, and nuanced background information regarding the economics and international scope of trafficking will help researchers understand context. The graphic-rich pages feature photos with detailed captions, sidebars and inserts, and lists of facts and figures. The final chapter talks about taking action, ranging from awareness to grassroots advocacy to support for international campaigns. Pair this with fiction selections such as Kim Purcell's Trafficked (2012) to engage, inform, and empower young adult readers." ―Booklist

"'In modern times, slavery has a different face and goes by a different name: human trafficking' states this well-sourced overview of human rights violations. Drawing readers in with a brief definition of the subject and a few harrowing tales from victims, the book is broken down into five chapters: 'Modern-Day Slavery,' 'Terrible Toil,' 'Sex Sells,' 'Stolen Childhoods,' and 'Taking Action.' Although the book is fairly brief, it offers a good first look at human trafficking, and the text is substantial enough to provide an overview for those unfamiliar with the topic. Though Behnke includes examples of trafficking in the United States, she also casts her eye globally, looking at debt bondage, sweatshops, forced prostitution, the illegal selling of body organs, child soldiers, and children illegally taken from families and sold for adoption. The narrative is concise, clear, and factual, and there are plenty of photos and text boxes to break up text, though they are sometimes repetitive, and stock photos are occasionally used. While this book doesn't get too close to its difficult subject, the images and stories, especially those of young people, will inform teen readers. For firsthand accounts of sex trafficking, try Abby Sher's Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery (Barron's, 2014). A strong stepping-off point for further inquiry into the subject." ―School Library Journal

"'At any given time, up to 20 to 27 million people around the world are believed to be victims of some form of human trafficking.' Or you could call it slavery.

Hillary Rodham Clinton might think that modern slavery is 'thriv[ing] in the shadows,' but in reality, it is thriving right out in the open. What is in the shadows is paying due recognition to human trafficking, and Behnke's shattering overview of modern slavery's many hues will go a long way toward raising the bar of awareness and action. Behnke keeps her tone even; hysterics would only distract from the sheer villainy of the institution. And institution it is, with various departments and subunits: There are labor trafficking and sex trafficking, debt bondage, organ trafficking, and baby and toddler trafficking. Some traffickers are lone wolves, others are members of an extended family, still others are rings with global reach. The book has a number of boxed testimonials of special piquancy, as well as a good number of bell-clear pictures to bring the issue home. Of note is the chapter on how to steer clear of slave-manufactured products and, indeed, how to read the signs that someone may be trafficked. What really zings to the heart of the problem are the roles played by poverty, discrimination and lack of education in the fostering of vulnerability to becoming a slave.

This slim volume makes clear the grinding reality of the cheapest labor and presents a welcome chance to act." ―starred, Kirkus Reviews