Child trafficking, a menace affecting childhoods across the world, is predicted to rise during and post the COVID19 pandemic. With millions of livelihoods lost, and families thrown into deeper poverty, many are left with no choice but to pull their children out of school and push them into the work force, to make ends meet.

The lockdown brought with it newer challenges in addressing the issue of child trafficking. And the need for families, communities and civil society to understand and prevent trafficking of children is growing even more urgent. Here are some ads from across the world that explain the issue in a simple and hard-hitting manner, just what we need to act for children.

INDIA                                                      

Examples of the grim future facing children trafficked in India is at the centre of a campaign from Save The Children and online retailer Snapdeal.  The #KidsNotForSale crusade features images of children on the Snapdeal website portrayed in a way product might be displayed. The examples are representations of the plight facing kids who go missing.

CANADA

Created by the KBS+ agency in Canada, these print ads address a very real and growing issue that most people tend to forget about, or choose to ignore. Facing the issue of child slavery head on with a powerful image, this ad features a child performing hard labour while a price tag is attached to their body. This print ad is accompanied by the title, “Some things should never be for sale.”

LEBANON

Caritas is a non-governmental organization in Lebanon which came up with this campaign against human trafficking. One of the prints ad in the campaign showed how children are being trafficked or sold. This print ad shows the cost of the clothes the child is wearing along with the cost of that child or child rent.

WASHINGTON

This print ad by Stolen Youth shows how child trafficking is high in Seattle and it also aims at increasing public awareness about the same. It gives us a message that child trafficking is carried out like an easy game and how society needs to take steps and contribute to curb child trafficking.

FLORIDA

This print ad from Florida shows a sign board with a picture of a child and the terms “live show” written next to it. This states that if the child trafficking issues which are taking place was this obvious, then the organisation itself would have dealt with it. But, because it is not so easy to find out about, the organisation asks for the help of the public.

UNITED KINGDOM

What is seemingly a print-fault upon the first impression of this insert swiftly draws the audiences’ attention to the text left exposed intentionally. Intrigued, they are then invited to force-open the advertisement, which then reveals the campaign’s message of anti-children trafficking for Amnesty International. Juxtaposed with a gripping image that resembles a group of trafficked kids, the idea suggests the reality of how these events are being conducted under the radar.

PORTUGAL

With the caption, “The first step is to suspect” this ad gives us an idea about how criminals use statements to attract and convince people to accept their job offer. In fact, these are the trap statements which later on lead to a routine of abuse, exploitation and violence amongst children and youth people. So instead of blindly believing what people say, we should suspect their statements.

UNITED STATES

The print ad by GSW, USA tells us how we suppose trafficking looks like but, how it actually is in reality. We imagine sex trafficking is about chains and tying girls down but the real shackles used by the criminals are fear, drugs and money or emotional dependence and lies. In the modern world, criminals play with the minds of the young girls first which leads them on into trafficking.