Human Trafficking Research Paper

The rate of human trafficking in Uzbekistan has skyrocketed in the past fews years and in order to stop sex slavery and unpaid labor throughout Central Asia, the government must step in by detaining the people responsible for trading laborers, as well as educate people more so that they do not become victims. Uzbekistan’s government also needs to arrest those buying people as slaves and shut down hidden infrastructure used purely for the trading of laborers and those forced into prostitution. People take young girls to sell and marry off to men who are much older, women are forced into the sex industry, and capable men are forced to work without pay in harsh conditions. The root of this issue is the people behind the trade and selling of humans.

When a girl turns 12 years old, she is often considered a woman by traffickers. This means that by the time she turns 14, she has most likely been married off to an older man, and, statistically, will be impregnated by the age of 15 (“The Girl Effect”). Once she gives birth, she will have no choice but to sell her body to support herself and her child. This cycle will once again be brought to life through her daughter once she turns 12. As a result of young women’s unpreparedness for motherhood and extreme poverty due to forced pregnancy, the trafficking industry inevitably forces victims’ daughters to become involved with the world of sex labor once they turn 12. This cycle continually victimizes those forced into prostitution or marriage and their children, which causes the proliferation of sex work rates ("Not For Sale", 2014). Another factor that contributes to the increasing sex work rates is the lack of education among women in areas primarily affected by human trafficking. Women who are not educated because of the young age they were abducted at are not in positions where they can fight the system of trafficking or learn about and help with the development of modern slavery solutions. The lack of education due to abduction violates the Human Rights Article 26, which states that

Also, by shutting down travel routes used primarily by traffickers, they can slow the selling rate of slaves. Since there will no longer be secret routes to aid traffickers in the process of transporting slaves, those who continue to travel and sell humans will be at a much higher risk of getting caught. Increasing the probability of getting caught is a key element in the elimination of human trafficking. Those who are willing to take risks by traveling along main routes will be caught by police, and those who refuse to risk their freedom for money will no longer be an issue to the government, in terms of human trafficking. Once the risk of getting caught increases, there will be less people willing to travel in the open to exchange slaves, so the rate of human trafficking will decrease. In addition, if government officials interrogate the traffickers that they catch, they will most likely get answers about the people, farms, and workplaces that are purchasing slaves. As a result of there being no one to sell to, there will be less of a demand for laborers, which will cause the human trafficking industry to collapse. Lastly, the people of Uzbekistan need to have proper education in order to escape poverty, which is one of the main causes of human trafficking.