Most people like and trust superheroes. We relate to the fight against evil by these intrepid, relatable defenders. There is perhaps no greater villain than someone who forces or coerces another human being into modern slavery.  Imagine if there was an iconic superhero who raised awareness and guarded against the evils of human trafficking every day?

Marvel created, and made famous, the notorious smuggler  Coyote. Spider-Man and the Punisher defeated him, and he was incarcerated at the Ravencroft Institute (Westchester County, NY) but subsequently escaped.

We find an interesting synopsis of Marvel’s blockbuster “Black Widow” from the Borgen Project.  According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), one in three females who are trafficking victims globally are children. The production team behind “Black Widow” was keenly aware of this statistic and endeavored to elevate this message with audiences to make their movie more impactful. “Black Widow” director, Cate Shortland, intended for themes of human trafficking to come through the film.

Shortland wanted to “intersect [Marvel] with reality,” as the trafficking that defines Natasha Romanoff is based on real events that happen to thousands of young girls every year. Shortland felt that to ignore the blatant trafficking schemes of the Red Room and the atrocities that young girls similar to Natasha face, notably forced hysterectomies, would be out-of-touch and a disservice to the impact that the film could make on audiences globally.

From Thomson Reuters Foundation, we learn about another female superhero who uses  her powers to fight sex crimes in India; she battles  the stigma that trafficking survivors face in the third instalment of a comic series due to be released this week.

Priya, a rape survivor-turned superhero who flies around on a tiger, fought her abusers and helped acid attack victims in the last two editions of the "Priya's Shakti" comic.

"Comics are hugely popular with teenagers and young adults ... we wanted to reach teenagers because they are learning about sexuality, gender-roles and sexual violence," said series creator and filmmaker Ram Devineni.

"More importantly, we have given voices and put attention on survivors of gender-based violence," Devineni told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an email.

Thousands of people across India – largely poor, rural women and children – are lured to cities each year by traffickers who promise good jobs but sell them into modern day slavery.

In the course of research for this blog on superheroes in the trafficking space,  I discovered where they exist and how they leverage passion to combat child exploitation into real actions.

I also learned that superheroes don’t always wear capes.  A visit to  The Human Exploitation Rescue Operative, or HERO, Child-Rescue Corps demonstrates this. 

The Human Exploitation Rescue Operation (HERO) Child-Rescue Corps Program is a paid federal internship that annually recruits, trains and equips wounded, ill or injured (VA/DoD Disability rating) veterans and transitioning service members to become computer forensic analysts (CFAs) to combat child exploitation and rescue of child sexual victims.

HERO interns directly support HSI special agents in the:

rescue of child sexual victims

prosecution of sexual predators

prevention of child sexual abuse

Creating powerful, impactful change IS possible for everyday humans  too.  For inspiration, visit the US Department of State’s: Trafficking in Persons Report: Heroes

Major media companies have the potential to drastically raise awareness of and  help with the fight against human trafficking. Many organizations are doing all they can, but the public would greatly benefit from an iconic symbol to help  push awareness, action and the practice  of “see something, say something”.  Perhaps Marvel will see this blog and introduce a new, modern crusader that would be central to stories of hope for those being held captive in modern slavery.