Stop the Traffik

People Shouldn't be Bought and Sold

(Steve Chalke, with a chapter by Cherie Blair)

An eye-opening account of the vast scale and cost in human suffering of people trafficking – with practical suggestions about how we can make a positive difference.

‘Make no mistake about it, trafficking is torture. It must not be allowed to continue – this book will help you to do your part.’ Emma Thompson, actress

A chocolate bar or a cheap outfit: a harmless treat or a small step towards supporting the fastest-growing form of organised crime in the world? While article 4 of the universal declaration of human rights says that people should not be bought and sold, the trafficking of people is a hugely profitable business, generating between 10 and 32 billion dollars a year in profit - a profit second only to the trafficking of drugs.

This challenging colour-illustrated book tells the story of this exploitative trade. It is a story of family betrayal born out of poverty and desperation - of fathers selling their daughters, husbands selling their wives and sisters selling their sisters. It is a story of human suffering and coercion, affecting countless men, women and children (some as young as 4 years old) – a story of forced prostitution, forced labour or military warfare and even organ trafficking. It is the story of Wihini (9) and Sunni (7) in Mumbai, sold by their alcoholic father for £20; of 17-year-old Neary in Cambodia, who went on ‘honeymoon’ with her new husband, only to find he had sold her to a brothel owner for $300; of Ximena who was kidnapped on her 12th birthday and forced to join the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. And our Western world is far from immune – the book includes the story of 13 year old British girl Jessica, who was sexually exploited by a group of men in the UK, and cases from the USA too.

But this is also a story of hope. The STOP THE TRAFFIK coalition was set up in 2006 to raise awareness, encourage involvement and inspire action to help to stop human trafficking and to support those it affects. They now work closely with the UN and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in their efforts to bring an end to the trafficking trade. Their supporters around the world are evidence that small actions, when undertaken on a wide scale, can make a big difference. In this book, broadcaster and campaigner Steve Chalke highlights practical ways in which you can make a positive difference in helping to bring this shameful trade to an end. A chapter by Cherie Blair focuses on trafficking of women and women’s rights.

Stop the Traffik will be published on 25 March 2009 (160pp, 978 0 7459 5358 8, £7.99).

Contact the Lion Hudson marketing team for further information.

To find out more about the STOP THE TRAFFIK campaign, visit their website.