[captioning made possible by cbs television network] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org -- >> most people in the united states have no idea of human trafficking. people say to us, "oh, no, that doesn't happen in my community." >> there's still slavery. we thought we abolished it 150 years ago, but it's never really gone away. >> i cannot imagine that there can be, in the 21st century, a $32 billion industry that relies on slaves. >> how do you actually prevent human trafficking in a world where human life is treated as cheap? when people interact with each

other and we forget that we're all created in the image of god, how do you prevent people from treating human life like it's cheap? >> this is a systemic issue that we've just got to confront. it's just too big and too hidden. >> cbs presents "living in the shadows: religion's response to human trafficking." the narrator is ted holmes. >> the main factor contributing to human trafficking is poverty. people looking to better their lives are recruited by agencies offering promises of lucrative work. >> too often, it's kind of a bait and switch. you live in indonesia. i describe this incredible job that'll pay maybe 150 bucks a week, which sounds like a great

deal, come into the united states -- >> those people are then forced into manual labor or sexual exploitation, for either low wages or no wages at all. >> you get there and then you're entrapped. your papers are taken. you're in a situation where you probably can't get out. >> in other words, they are enslaved. >> some pretty unscrupulous people have figured out that, you know, if i don't pay my workers, i'm going to save a lot of money and make more profits. >> i hear all the time, "well, if they're not chained up, then it's not really trafficking." but that's not true. you know, if someone says, "you owe me $10,000 and if you don't work for me to pay it off while i add more to your debt, i'm going to kill you, i'm going to hurt your family." that's coercion. that's human trafficking, too. >> according to the international labor organization, 21 million people around the world are trafficked. 1.2 million are children.

>> these aren't just immigrants who broke our immigration laws. these are people who were lured here, false promises, brought here and then exploited and they're victims. >> people who come to this country, they may want to send money back to their home to feed a grandmother. they may want to send money back home to have a child go to school. but they are vulnerable. they get exploited. they are trafficked. >> every 30 seconds another person becomes a victim of human trafficking. >> it's a little bit hard to grasp because the word "trafficking" seems to imply movement, but a person can be exploited on the block where he or she grew up. >> the reason that it's possible to exploit people in what are heinous, heinous ways is that traffickers psychologically beat them down and really dismantle them. and they won't ask for help

because they believe what the traffickers have, you know, brainwashed them into believing, which is i'm not worth helping. >> human trafficking is a crime under u.s. and international law. it is also difficult to trace. >> it's a very diverse crime. people are victimized in many different industries. the victims themselves are incredibly diverse. it ranges from young teenagers, u.s. citizens, people here without any status, people here with legal status. >> while trafficking in human labor makes up the majority of the cases in the u.s., a significant percentage involve sexual exploitation. >> we know of a lot of cases of people, women in particular, young girls, who are recruited overseas and brought in with promises of legitimate work and then are forced into the commercial sexual industry. >> over 200,000 children are at risk for commercial sexual exploitation in the u.s.

>> there was actually quite a rigorous study done in new york city, and they estimated that close to 4,000 kids are sexually exploited in new york city alone. >> the victims of sex trafficking are often themselves arrested. >> these aren't chronic runaways. these aren't bad kids. there are kids who were lured, recruited out. >> sexually exploited kids come from backgrounds where they don't have trusting, loving adults who want to take care of them. so when a pimp comes along and says, "oh, baby, you're the greatest, i love you, we're going to make our lives together" -- he's got a lot of money, he's got a fancy car, and he buys her lunch at mcdonald's -- she thinks this is the best thing in the world. so we fight to change the law to ensure that those kids, when found, must be referred for services and can't be treated in the criminal justice system. we think that they should be offered protection and assistance, not punishment.

>> a major contributor in bringing awareness to the problem of human trafficking has been the religious community. >> in many instances, the first recognition of this issue in any community is an involvement with the faith community. it may be that a young runaway goes to someone in a church. it may be that someone in a church has been educated and they then get in contact with authorities about this issue. >> here at st. ignatius loyola catholic church in manhattan, concerned citizens, students, and clergy are learning about human trafficking. >> people are being sold as commodities. >> how it takes place in their own community -- >> one of the ladies brought up a point that most trafficking happens in jackson heights, which is actually my neighborhood, so it's just -- it's really shocking. >> and what steps they can take

to stop it. >> people who are at the front desk of a hotel, they can be trained to look -- >> it's part of an interfaith outreach campaign to educate travel and tourism agencies about the reality of trafficking, especially during large sporting events. >> we find that many sports events around the world, super bowls, world cups, the olympics, that human trafficking, especially sex tourism -- there's an amazing increase right before and during a sports event. >> in the early days, when we were approaching hotels and airlines and they were like "this can't be happening, right?" or, "certainly not on this property, this doesn't happen here" -- until they start talking to their people and realize, yes, there have been incidents. >> with the upcoming super bowl in february, there is an effort

to canvass over 600 hotels in the new york and new jersey area, alerting staff to the potential for trafficking. >> we have a woman who was 16 when she was first recruited into the industry, and she said that she was taken to some of the best hotels and that the staff members would see her, and she said they would look at me and then they would look away. and we don't want them to look away anymore. we want them to be alert to it. >> volunteers speak to hotel managers about organizing staff training on what to look out for and what to do if they suspect someone is being trafficked. >> in many cases, these are publicly owned hotel chains with thousands and thousands of properties. and so we're asking them to say this is the right thing to do. and there are already people with expertise in this. >> the faith community's partnership with anti-trafficking groups like ecpat has raised awareness about

the commercial sexual exploitation of children. >> we have been training volunteers and many of them are catholic sisters who come out in droves to learn about how to do this. they've been amazing partners for us. >> awareness campaigns have resulted in corporations signing the ecpat code of conduct, which calls for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. among them are wyndham hotels and delta airlines. >> we were talking with delta and they have trained already 35,000 of their employees. it's remarkable, right? and so we're working with them on their connections with the hotels that they work with. i'm hoping that in five years every hotel worker will be trained in this. >> we often hear from staff members how proud they are of their company for doing this. we used to hear stories from

staff members that they would see stuff, but they didn't want to tell their boss because they didn't know what they were supposed to do. and so this gives people the tool to feel empowered to do something to protect a kid. >> we will return after these messages.,,,,,,,,

>> according to the international labor organization, over 14 million people a year are victims of forced labor, a form of modern-day slavery. victims of labor trafficking are often forced to work for little pay in unsafe conditions. on april 24, 2013, an apparel factory collapsed near the capital of bangladesh. over 1,000 workers were killed and 2,500 injured.

it is considered one of the deadliest garment factory accidents in history. >> and they had decided the day before, april 23, this is unsafe, we're leaving. they left the facility. and the owner said, "you've got to come back." this was forced labor -- "go back in," and with assurances that it had been inspected, that things were fine. and then, of course, it -- it collapsed. >> reverend david schilling is a united methodist minister and the program director for the interfaith center on corporate responsibility or iccr. >> we have about 300 institutions that are part of us, mostly faith-based, but also socially responsible investors, public pension funds and so forth. >> iccr uses that leverage to influence corporations on labor and human rights standards,

corporations that may not even know that those standards are being violated, since they often outsource their work. >> bangladesh is a good example. you have so many brands and retailers from all over the world, but particularly u.s. and europe, that have had work in bangladesh for some time in the apparel sector. and there are some real governance gaps, and the governance gaps come from the bangladesh government not really enforcing some of the labor laws, some of the issues related to fire and building safety. if we look at the last 10 years, there have probably been at least a thousand deaths because of fire. and each time it happens, the bangladesh government has issued statements that we're going to take care of this. the press focuses on it, but then moves away -- back to business as usual -- so no

change takes place. >> after the building collapse, iccr and other human rights groups pressured retailers to sign an accord improving fire and safety standards in bangladesh factories. >> it's a multi-stakeholder approach where you have companies working with trade unions, global, and local and civil society. >> companies who signed the accord must submit to rigorous, independent inspections. >> companies make a five year commitment. that's really rare because often in the apparel you're in one factory and you may be out the next season. >> so far, over 100 brands and retailers from europe, the u.s., and australia have signed on. >> you're wanting to invest in those companies that are taking the high road, and part of that is willingness to walk with them and, you know, pay a little bit more. and i think that is going to be,

in the next five years, that's going to be the issue. >> i feel like, for jews, the story of redemption from slavery is essential to who we are. we were slaves and we've become a free people. >> rabbi rachel kahn troster is the director of north american programs for t'ruah, a jewish human rights organization. >> modern slavery today is about finding people who are enslaved and freeing them from those conditions and then helping to rehabilitate them to become free people, to live lives that are productive and lives with dignity. >> current global economic conditions create opportunities for human trafficking to thrive. >> i think since the great recession started, we've seen a lot of conditions that caused worse. day slavery getting-

a lot of people are on the move and people who are on the move, especially poor people, are vulnerable to exploitation. we're also seeing labor protections getting worse. it's a sort of race to the bottom as labor laws are eroded, a lot of unionization is dropping. people lack the protections of minimum wage of a safe workplace. >> since 2011, t'ruah has partnered with the coalition of immokalee workers, a worker-based human rights organization in florida that protects migrants who work on tomato farms. >> we are the tomato rabbis to the coalition of immokalee workers. we view ourselves as their allies. >> the coalition is well known

for its fight against human trafficking and the abuse of migrant farmworkers. >> we think it's important for rabbis to not just learn about an issue, but to really put themselves on the line and say, how can we make people understand this issue, the consumers who buy tomatoes and the stores who sell them? >> one of the coalition's historic achievements was the implementation of a fair food program with the florida tomato growers association. corporate buyers pay a premium for the produce, which goes towards a wage increase for the workers. the agreement covers 30,000 workers and has zero tolerance for wage theft and forced labor. >> it is making a difference. it has given out $ 11 million in wages over the past three years. since the fair food program was instituted, they have not found a case of human trafficking in

the fields affected by the program. so that's 90% of the florida tomato industry. that's big. >> with the help of the tomato rabbis, the coalition continues to target fast food chains and supermarkets who are not participating in the fair food program. >> that's where the voice of the faith community and the fight against human trafficking is really critical, to say, we expect you to live up to your values. >> throughout the year, the rabbis stage pray-ins at a local publix supermarket in florida. >> it's never a good headline when it says rabbis protesting outside of your store. and we just want them to take the opportunity to do the right thing. i think it's a big challenge when you know that you can be part of the solution. why wouldn't you choose to be part of it? publix has said, well, we donate food and money to immokalee, but workers don't want charity. what they want is the right to work with dignity. >> we will return after these messages.,,,,

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>> my name is josie. >> my name is lydia. >> my name is ita, and i am a domestic worker. >> damayan migrant workers association is a worker-led grassroots organization founded in 2002. their mission is to protect the rights and dignity of filipino domestic workers, some of whom are trafficked from their homes in the philippines. >> i am a domestic worker. >> i am a domestic worker. >> we came to the u.s. from the philippines. >> everybody that comes here and works as a domestic worker, they are ready to do the work because they have families back home that they need to support. >> we hear many stories almost weekly, if not sometimes

daily. stories of people who are getting recruited in the philippines with false promises like well-paying jobs, things like overtime, vacation, days off. so they'll sign the contracts and they'll come here and discover that either there's actually no job available to them whatsoever, or quite the opposite of what was promised in the contracts -- long hours, low wages, no days off. >> many of us were professionals in the philippines. we were educated. >> linda oalican, one of damayan's founders, migrated to the u.s. 18 years ago and became a domestic worker in order to send her children to college in the philippines. >> it's quite a shame to be a professional in your home country and being a low-wage domestic worker here. >> domestic workers are vulnerable to exploitation.

>> being brought into the family and being forced to work and not allowed to leave the house or being held by fear and threats >> they are often undocumented and work in isolation with the fear of deportation if they do not comply. >> i was told in two years i can be able to apply for my green card, but it wasn't true. >> lydia catina amaya is a community organizer for damayan. she shares her own story of indentured servitude to help other domestic workers. >> as soon as i arrive there, they took my passport. i was brought to a very remote area in new jersey. i was working with them for, like, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. i was always hungry over there. i'm not allowed to go out. there's still a very low regard in society for domestic work, which is mostly women's work, and we actually think that this

is one of the root causes of labor trafficking of women domestic workers. it's an industry that's mostly unprotected by labor laws and so this is what some of our campaigns aim to adjust, to really recognize this workforce and to include them in basic labor laws. >> damayan has recovered $600,000 in stolen wages for over 40 workers. they've also assisted over two dozen trafficked workers to secure housing. >> i know it's not that really easy to really get up, but as long as you are determined and you have your real community loving you. i'm so blessed i found this community. >> well, it's for and by workers who've experienced the challenge of really being away from their families, being treated by their employers, and then helping others in the same situation that are difficult.

>> karen prudente is a member of united methodist women. she is originally from the philippines and was introduced by a friend to damayan, where she now volunteers. >> they find hope that they're not alone, because they come to this country as strangers, foreigners, and they become one family. and that's important. they go to church together. they give back. they volunteer, despite the hard work that they have to do in people's homes. >> prudente felt that the two organizations could help each other, so she put together a series of events to introduce damayan to the nearly 8,000 members of united methodist women. >> we know that this problem is not going to be solved by united methodist women alone. >> susie johnson leads the washington, d.c. office of public policy for the organization. >> what it enables us to do is to form alliances that are

lasting because once you start working on human trafficking, you work together then on education, you work together then on fair labor practices. you work together on ways in which you can improve the opportunities for women to live as whole persons. >> some of these gatherings were really dynamic places where we would not have otherwise been able to speak with people from different parts of the country. >> it also raised damayan's profile, enabling them to connect to other religious organizations. >> it's really brought the issue to a much larger audience and really showed us the power that interfaith community has and the power that we can have together when they support worker-led fights. >> for immigrant communities all over america, the u.s. conference of catholic bishops recently launched a new anti-trafficking initiative called the amistad movement. >> we see the immigrants, both

undocumented immigrants and even immigrants here with legal status, are probably the most at risk. >> hilary chester is associate director of anti-trafficking for the organization. >> they tend to work in some of the most unregulated and poorly regulated industries -- restaurant work, construction work, agricultural work, domestic work. >> in august, chester and her team were invited by the archdiocese of newar to speak to a congregation in a west african neighborhood. >> i feel strongly that there's a lot of expertise, there's a lot of leadership, there's a lot of talent in these communities themselves, and we just need to tap into that. >> attendees learn what to do if someone they know is being trafficked and how to take the information into their own community. >> the people that these victims reach out to may not be someone like you or me. they're going to reach out to their own community members, their peers. and that's who i want to be educated.

>> one simple thing everybody can do is to talk about this. one of the reasons i think this has gone on for so long is the unwillingness of good people to talk about it. >> we need allies. we are not going to end trafficking alone. with the help of other worker sectors and interfaith partners i think we can make a much greater impact. >> as a human rights activist, when there are so many bad things going on in the world, to be part of something that is making change is a really powerful message, so they don't say, "oh, i learned about the terrible things going on." they say, "i learned that there have been terrible things going on, but i met the people making a difference." and we can be part of that difference.

>> to view this program and others like it, go to cbsnews.com/religionandculture. [ wind howling ] ,

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. hi many welcome to "bay sunday." we begin with our weekly pitch. if you have a show idea, we'd love to hear from you. go to kpix.com. click on can kpix5 logo. it's the holidays. our fist guests are making those those less fortunate have something special. it's san francisco's meals on wheels. it's their annual holiday gift bag drive complete with a benefit concert. here to chat with us is meals on wheels executive director ashley mccum ber and michelle schmidt who will grace the jazz center stage for a big benefit. welcome. >> thank you. >> you need help year d