January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

I have written here before about human trafficking, which includes not only sex trafficking of women and girls, but also involves men and boys, organ trafficking, child soldiering, modern slavery, and domestic slavery.

Human trafficking is a global issue that has been gaining increased attention in recent years. Stories about trafficking can help us build empathy and understanding for victims and inspire us to take action against this devastating crime. Modern literature plays a crucial role in raising awareness of the issue, but it can also perpetuate biases.

“These novels can generate empathy and outrage, and they provide perspectives, information and analyses that can lead to a commitment to make change”
Bickford

Crime fiction novels often explore the complex dynamics of human trafficking, providing insight into the motivations of traffickers and the trauma suffered by victims. While these novels may offer an effective way to engage readers in the issue, they may also perpetuate stereotypes about traffickers and victims.

Stereotypes

For example, many stories focus on male traffickers exploiting female victims, ignoring that both men and women are victims and perpetrators of human trafficking. Additionally, stories may present a binary view of traffickers as purely predatory exploiters and victims as innocent non-beneficiaries, obscuring the reality that there are many levels in a trafficking ring and many people who are initially innocent victims are coerced into becoming abusers, as seen in She Told a Lie.

In addition to exploring the complexities of human trafficking, literature could do more to highlight issues often overlooked or erased from the discourse around trafficking. For instance, stories may address topics such as gender bias or racialized “others” who face discrimination because they are perceived to be in the country illegally. Moreover, literature rarely brings attention to what happens after a victim is rescued —such as their experience dealing with post-trauma, reintegrating with society, being deported, addiction, and in some cases, prosecution for sex crimes.

Overall, literature can provide a very effective platform for exploring different aspects of human trafficking so we can develop a more nuanced understanding of this global problem. By reading stories about human trafficking, we can gain insights into what drives traffickers to commit these crimes, how victims suffer from their experiences, and how we can best address this issue in our society.

Books about trafficking

Daniel Palmer, Forgive me
Alexa Steele, The Lost Girls
Johan Twiss, 30 Red Dresses
Marnie Riches’ The Girl who Walked in the Shadows – child sex trafficking
Ruth Dugdall’s Nowhere Girl
Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis’ The Boy in the Suitcase – organ trafficking
Emelie Schepp’s novel Marked for Life – child soldiers
Minette Walters’ The Cellar – forced labour
Stuart Neville, Stolen Souls
Stieg Larsson’s, The Girl Who Played with Fire
Lorenzo DeStefano, The House Boy – sex trafficking
Other books about trafficking

My stories including human trafficking

Gem, Himself, Alone

Winner of In the Margins Committee Recommended Reads 2020.

Gem has a secret.

Teenage Gem, alone on the street, has survived abuse, institutionalization, and captivity. He has lost everything and everyone he ever loved, but is finally free to build a life.

There is only one person he can count on, and that is himself.

Gem buries his past the best he can, joins up with the Rippers gang for protection, and does what he has to in order to survive.

But Riker, a vice cop, makes it his business to take away the precious freedom Gem has earned and put him behind bars.

If he can just break Gem’s alibis.

But Riker doesn’t know Gem’s secret.

While Riker can sympathize with what Gem has been through, he can’t let a dangerous criminal run free on the streets.

Riker delves into Gem’s past in a bid to discover his secrets. Can he sort through the tangled threads to lay bare Gem’s past? And if he does, will he be able to put Gem behind bars once more?

Gem is desperate to keep his secrets and make a new life for himself.

Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author P.D. Workman brings you a gritty tale of suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat and rooting for Gem right to the last page.

P.D. Workman has a gift for creating psycho-thrillers. The plots are dark and twisting and the characters are believable and frightening.
—J. Young, Goodreads reader

Another twisting tale by PD that kept me glued to the pages until the last bit. I can never get enough of these great reads by Ms Workman.
Debbie Rodriguez

And More

His Hands Were Quiet – sex trafficking
She Told a Lie – sex trafficking
They Came for Him – sex trafficking (continues with characters from She Told a Lie)
Sandy, Breaking the Pattern – sex trafficking (and lesser so the other books in the series)
Chloe – sex trafficking and pornography
Virtually Harmless – sex trafficking
Mito – using minors for medical experimentation
They Thought He Was Safe – immigrant labour
Vegan Baked Alaska – slave trade
Unlawful Harvest – organ trafficking
Out with the Sunset – child soldiers
Careful of Thy Wishes – child soldiers, slavery in the gem trade
Rushin’ Death – slavery