According to the State Department, 27 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking, but the fight to end modern slavery continues. In 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that 29 countries, including the United States, were on track to combat trafficking. 

The Takeaway has followed this story with Philip Martin, senior investigative reporter for Takeaway partner WGBH. Martin has followed the sex trafficking route from Asia to the United States and explained that he found "people eager to get out of their situation — they want a better life and of course in wanting a better life, they are vulnerable to all types of pitches from traffickers."

Martin continued: "Basically they are drivers, they recruiters, they are friends of the family, quite often. And basically they deceive and trick these women into a life of servitude."

The story continues today with Alison Kiehl Friedman, deputy director for the federal Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. She discusses how the United States is combating the demand for trafficked persons at home and abroad.