5 Free Must-Watch Documentaries to Learn More about Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is depicted in countless books, movies, news channels, and media outlets. These platforms are powerful tools for raising awareness. However, not all depictions are guaranteed to be accurate, helpful, or ethical for those hoping to become better informed on the issue of modern slavery.
As a result, documentaries have the potential to be excellent resources. As compared to movies, TV shows, and some books, documentaries tend to use real people who are connected to the trafficking industry rather than actors. Because they depict real people, documentaries tend to be less at risk of sensationalizing the issue of trafficking. Further, documentaries allow the viewer to hear the unpolished, unscripted, and authentic words of those involved in every stage of the trafficking industry.
Wondering where to begin? Here are five documentaries to get you started that depict, discuss, and debate human trafficking and its challenges.
Face to Face with Slavery - This brief, 30-minute documentary follows the lives of currently-trafficked individuals, survivors of trafficking, and human rights activists in the Congo, Ghana, India, and Nepal. It balances the harsh realities of modern-day slavery in each of these locales with success stories of freedom and flourishing. This documentary follows individuals who are involved at all stages of the fight against trafficking, from activists working alongside Free the Slaves, to survivors of trafficking who are now community leaders. A powerful interview is also conducted with a family that created their own brick-making business after escaping forced labor in a brick kiln. You can view the documentary for free here.
Rotten - This two-season documentary series is available on Netflix. Each episode focuses on a different industry in which human trafficking is present, including dairy farms, avocado plantations, and sugar cane harvesting. A powerful benefit of this series is that it not only exposes the abuse workers endure within these industries, but also discusses other issues that are interconnected with the trafficking industry. If you want to learn more about how labor laws, environmental concerns, and consumerism interact with human trafficking, Rotten will provide valuable insights into how our everyday purchases relate to slavery.
The Traffickers - This eight-part documentary can also be found on Netflix. Nelufar Hedayat, who hosted this documentary series while she was only in her 20’s, travels to all corners of the earth to talk with victims of trafficking, trafficking survivors, traffickers, and those who purchase trafficked goods and people. If you want to come face-to-face with the ethical dilemmas and complications of the trafficking industry, you may find “Organs for Sale” to be a particularly challenging episode. Hedayat talks with individuals who have been victims of the industry of kidney harvesting, those who harvest the kidneys, and those who have knowingly purchased trafficked kidneys in an effort to preserve their lives. This documentary series is notable for its ability to invite viewers into the mindsets of traffickers—some of whom were forced to drive others into the trafficking industry.
Children for Sale - This video was produced as a part of The CNN Freedom Project in order to raise awareness about the presence of trafficking in the United States. The video places particular emphasis on how young victims are treated within the American justice system. Teenagers caught in the sex trafficking industry often face prostitution charges and other legal backlash rather than being treated as victims of abusive traffickers. Jada Pinkett Smith engages in intimate conversations with girls who were lured into the sex trafficking industry and the women who helped them escape their traffickers and create a safe, fulfilling life for themselves. This documentary can be viewed on The CNN Freedom Project’s website.
Very Young Girls - This 80-minute documentary can be viewed for free with an Amazon Prime account or Doc Club subscription. The film opens with the home videos of two sex traffickers in New York City who recorded their day-to-day lives in hopes of starting a reality TV show about their lives as pimps. (These videos have since been leveraged to sentence the two men to prison time on trafficking charges.) Several young women who were first trafficked between the ages of 12 and 14 discuss how they were lured into the trafficking industry, what they endured at the hands of their traffickers, and how their lives have since changed. Viewers join these women on all of the ups and downs of the rehabilitation process, relapses into the industry, and their journeys toward health and independence.
Countless documentaries, news reports, and online resources are available for those hoping to develop a better understanding of modern-day slavery. As you research these resources, consider whether the stories of victims are being told ethically, accurately, and realistically. Modern-day slavery is a complex issue that manifests differently in the each circumstance. By educating ourselves on the appearance of trafficking, we are better able to spot it, stop it, and empower survivors to live in freedom and dignity.
About the Author
Holland Freeman is a Pacific Northwest native and pine tree enthusiast studying Religion and Conflict Management at Pepperdine University. She is keen on exploring this lovely earth by lacing up her running shoes, backpacking through the forest, and journaling on a European train heading who-knows-where. She plans to continue in her passion for advocacy and human rights through graduate studies in the field of Theology and Peace Studies.