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How the Obama administration fought human trafficking

Susan Coppedge is the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State. Amy Pope is the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy Assistant to the President at National Security Council, The White House. The opinions expressed in this commentary are theirs.

(CNN) President Obama has declared this January "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month," marking the United States' commitment to end human trafficking -- one of the most important human rights causes of our time.

Through force, fraud, and coercion, traffickers exploit more than 20 million adults and children in brothels and factories, on farms and boats, and in countless other industries around the world. Combating human trafficking is not easy, but President Obama and his administration have taken on the challenge and made fighting this insidious crime a priority over the last eight years. Continue Reading