01/26/2026

Human trafficking is the trafficking of humans where force, fraud or coercion is used. The purpose is usually for providing labor, services, or commercial sexual activity. In the United States, Human trafficking and forced labor are crimes that still exist  in today’s day and age.January is Human Trafficking Prevention month. Since 2010, the President has dedicated this month to raise awareness about human trafficking and to educate the community about how to identify and prevent this crime. Discussing the subject of Human Trafficking is vital to promote awareness about this timely and relevant topic. According to the Department of Defense, in 2023 $99 billion dollars is estimated to be made through sex trafficking and $51 billion per year is made through forced labor. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, out of 24.9 million people trapped in forced labor in the United States, 16 million people are exploited in domestic work, and 4.8 million are forced into sexual exploitation.

According to the National human trafficking hotline reports, since 2007, my state of Wisconsin has had 796 human trafficking cases, involving 1,640 victims.

The book Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall and Lisa Wysocky is a memoir of a young woman who lived a life under slavery during her childhood . Through this book Shyima Hall bravely shares her  experience as a  modern-day slave and the challenges she faces on the path to a new life in America.

The book starts off with a young 8-year-old Shyima living in Cairo, Egypt who was sold

 into slavery to work for a rich Egyptian family so she could be the breadwinner for her poor family. When her captor’s family decides to move to the United States, they smuggle Shyima illegally so that she could continue working for them. Shyima’s captors are abusive and do not provide her with any essential resources such as an education or medical care nor good food, clothes, or respect as she had to work 16 hours a day and live in their garage. One day,a concerned neighbor got suspicious and called the police. This anonymous phone call led to her rescue. She was put in foster care systems and finally got adopted. Her captors were convicted and sent to prison followed by deportation. Shyima didn’t know English and had never been to a school. However, after the rescue she went to school and despite all challenges managed to become a strong and independent woman.Today, Shyima continues to share her story of being trafficked and being enslaved at a young age. She volunteers at the Police Department  in California serving the community and ensuring nobody goes through what she went through. The book not only shares the perspective of a survivor but also provides resources to identify individuals who have been trafficked or under forced labor and ways to help.