Student, university groups work to end human trafficking

The average price of a slave in 1809 -- adjusted off of today’s value -- was $40,000. Today the average price of a slave is $90, according to abolitionist Kevin Bales.

President Obama called human trafficking "modern slavery" during a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative on Sept. 25.

Today’s victims of the trade are worth less than half of the cost of an iPhone.

Human trafficking is “the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, or fraud or deception ... for the purpose of exploitation,” according to the United Nation trafficking protocol.

"It's barbaric, it's evil, and it has no place in a civilized world," Obama said.

Obama announced a series of initiatives to put an end to human trafficking nationwide last week. He called for an assessment of the problem for the first time ever and a $6 million grant to create solutions.

In the United States, over 17,500 people are trafficked annually, according to The A21 Campaign, a campaign to end human trafficking.

Todd Kirchgraber, training director at St. Petersburg College's Center for Public Safety, is part of a movement put on by the school to educate law enforcement officers and the general public about the signs of human trafficking.

“(Trafficking involves) people of all ages, all races, all national origins. The key is not to focus into any single attribute but to look at the broad spectrum, and that’s what we’re getting the general public to do,” Kirchgraber said. St. Petersburg College has opened the course to all members of the community including college students in the area.

Kirchgraber said the program works similar to a neighborhood watch; once people are aware of the signs they will be more likely to get in touch with law enforcement if they believe they’ve found victims.

As human trafficking continues to move into the spotlight, more programs like St. Petersburg’s offer young people the opportunity to get involved in putting an end to trafficking.

Jennifer Clark, chair of the Women’s Studies Committee at Southern Texas College, works with approximately 20 students each year to host an annual human trafficking conference, which draws speakers from around the country and invites students to research the issues and present papers or artwork.

The conference usually goes on for a few days and each session draws about 150 students.

“Usually after they attend they want to participate, they want to get involved,” Clark said. “Common people that get recruited (as victims) are between the ages of 18 and 25, which is the ages of college students and I think students can really relate to that.”

She often has former students return to plan and help attend the conference, and she believes students are a key demographic in spreading awareness.

Eliza Collins is a Fall 2012 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.