Every minute, two people are stolen into the world's $150 billion slave industry, for labour and sex. Of the 120 human lives captured in the space of an hour: 80% will be women and 50% will be children.
In 1850 a slave cost $40,000. Today a life is valued at $120.
Today, it is estimated that there are 45 million slaves worldwide, and in the last ten years, this industry alone, is reported to have grown from a $32 billion industry to a $150 billion human exploitation scheme.
In 2013 I joined Hagar, an international Non-Government Organisation which, as well as funding research into trafficking in New Zealand, aims to support women and children who are survivors of severe human rights abuse.