Human Trafficking in Nineteenth Century France

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Human Trafficking in the Nineteenth Century France: Slavery in Sexuality

What is Human Trafficking? “Human trafficking refers to the recruiting, transporting, enslaving, or receiving of people in order to exploit abuse them (Pubantz, Jerry, and Allphin Moore Jr.).” In nineteenth century France, prostitution was a common form of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is often mistake to being another term for prostitution. Although the miscomprehension occurs frequently, prostitution was the gist during the time of the French revolution. “..trafficking in women and girls for sexual exploitation is the most commonly recongised form of trafficking (Zimmerman, Kiss, Hossain, and Watts). During the Nineteenth century, in France, revolution and luxurious spending of King Louis XVI, resulted bankruptcy. Unfair voting (First, Second, and Third Estates) led to outcast of the lower and middle classes. The peasants and commoners became poorer, while the nobility and the monarchy stripped money from the French government. Unfortunately, this results in people, especially women and children, to become desperate to satisfy their needs for survival and therefore, take on prostitution, or what many call modern-day slavery. “In many respects, trafficking of persons is considered as a modern form of slavery, and indeed it may result in putting its victim in situations that are indistinguishable from slavery.” Women that were not cared for or could not provide for their children, commonly took on prostitution or were either forced into it by sex leaders, who would hunt or track down any potentials. “ Children may be sold by poor parents, or find themselves trafficked after being abandoned” (Pubantz, Jerry, and Allphin Moor...

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