“It’s impossible to protect all girls from guys like I was, because that’s what we do. We eat, drink and sleep, thinking of ways to trick young girls into doing what we want them to do” (Knapp). This chilling quote from a short documentary is the exact words from an ex-pimp. Human trafficking, as defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “organized criminal activity in which human beings are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited (as by being forced into prostitution or involuntary labor).” This definition does not cover the ways in which people are brought into this chaos; persuasion, some forced, and some even grow up in that environment. Most Americans know it as is international problem that does not affect them; some do not even know what human trafficking is. The truth is human trafficking is happening all around us; it could even be happening in your home town.
In the United States alone in 2008-2010 “federally funded task forces opened 2,515 suspected incidents of human trafficking for investigation” and of these 2,515 incidents “8 in 10…were classified as sex trafficking, and about 1 in 10 incidents were classified as labor trafficking” (Banks). The confirmed cases led to 144 known arrests. In the video Slavery Out of the Shadows: Spotlight on Human Trafficking, The Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) states that human trafficking is the “second largest and fastest growing illegal industry.” TYLA also states that “trafficking is often mistaken as solely an international problem, but the number of American children at risk of trafficking is ten times higher than the 18,000 international victims trafficking across U.S. boarders each year.” Human trafficking is known as the modern day slave trade.
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...zens of states pass laws to fight human trafficking.” USAToday. USAToday, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Banks, Duren, and Tracey Kyckelhahn. "Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2008-2010." Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Office of Justice Programs, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Knapp, Jeff. ""Chosen" Review: Documentary Sheds Light on Local Sex Trafficking." Clark College Independent RSS2. Clark College, 22 May 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Texas Young Lawyers Association, prod. Unknown: Slavery Out of the Shadows: Spotlight on Human Trafficking - TYLA. Texas Bar Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
CNN, prod. Amber Lyon: Selling Sex?:Confronting Craigslist. CNN. Cable News Network, 13 Aug. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
CNN, prod. Amber Lyon: Underage sex trade still flourishing online. CNN. Cable News Network, 05 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,
Kotrla, K., & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2 (Iss. 1), article 5.
"Sex Trafficking in the U.S." Sex Trafficking in the U.S. | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Polaris Project, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
21 Nov. 2013. Unknown. The. " Human Sex Trafficking in the U.S. Minors.
Domestic sex trafficking is the vile new innovative business model used in the sex industry to promote prostitution. The myth about sex trafficking is that it is a foreign not a domestic problem. Sex trafficking is a very lucrative business. The “John’s” create a demand and the “pimps” provide the supply. Child abuse, child neglect, pornography, pedophilia and prostitution are all links in the chains that enslaves America’s children for the pleasure of adults.
The United States is a major port for human trafficking and, “Due to the covert nature of human trafficking, it is difficult to ascertain which countries are the primary source nations for trafficking into the US” (Hepburn). People of all ages and genders are at risk to human trafficking (Hepburn). Women and girls make up about fifty-six percent of the people trafficked for forced labor, while men and boys make up the other forty-four percent; children make up forty to fifty percent of those numbers (Hepburn). Ninety-eight percent of the people trafficked for sexual explorations are women and girls (Hepburn). Children tend to be targeted more than adults because they are much more vulnerable. Human trafficking has different forms, and “While trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation is more publicized in the media, it is not the only form of trafficking that takes place in the US” (Hepburn). Trafficking for the purposes of forced labor is just as likely to occur as trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation (Hepburn). Many citizens have never heard of human trafficking for something other than sexual exploitation. Hepburn shows that, “Forty-three percent are trafficked for purposes of...
Hobbs, Sandy. "Child Prostitution." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
Many organizations and programs are working to stop human trafficking and its insubordinate criminals. Organizations, such as the United Nations Conven...
The United States has one of the largest percentages of trafficked humans worldwide, however so many individual are unaware of this issue. As many as 17,500 individuals are thought to be trafficked into the United Stated annually, and some have estimated that 100,000 U.S. citizen children are victims of trafficking within the U.S. (Siskin & Wyler, 2010). Since many cases go unreported, these estimates may be fewer than the actual number of victims in the US. There is substantial evidence that supports the ideology that woman and children from low socio-economic status are most likely targeted (Okech, Morreau, & Benson, 2011), of all the people trafficked each year about 70 percent of women and 50 percent are children that are mainly forced into the sex trade (Human Trafficking Statistics). Among socio-economic problems, the trafficking business feeds on conditions of vulnerability, such as family conflicts, natural disasters, youth, ignorance, gender, social exclusion, political instabil...
Barry, Kathleen. The Prostitution of Sexuality: The Global Exploitation of Women. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Print.
Sex trafficking is essentially systemic rape for profit. Force, fraud and coercion are used to control the victim’s behavior which may secure the appearance of consent to please the buyer (or john). Behind every transaction is violence or the threat of violence (Axtell par. 4). Just a decade ago, only a third of the countries studied by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had legislation against human trafficking. (Darker Side, par.1) Women, children, and even men are taken from their homes, and off of the streets and are brought into a life that is almost impossible to get out of. This life is not one of choice, it is in most times by force. UNODC estimates that the total international human trafficking is a $32-billion-per-year business, and that 79% of this activity comprises sexual exploitation. As many as 2 million children a year are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, according the the U.S. State Department.-- Cynthia G. Wagner. (Darker Side, par. 4) The words prostitute, pimp, escort, and stripper tend to be way too common in the American everyday vocabulary. People use these words in a joking manner, but sex trafficking is far from a joke. Everyday, from all different countries, people are bought and sold either by force or false promises. Some are kidnapped and others come to America with dreams of a dream life and job. The buyers involved in the trade will do anything to purchase an innocent life just to sell for their own selfish profit. Many people wouldn’t think of a human body to be something you can buy in the back room of a business or even online. But those plus the streets are where people are sold most often. There are many reasons and causes for sex trafficking. The factors behind sex traffic...
Sanders, Teela, Maggie O’Neil, and Jane Pitcher. Prostitution: Sex Work, Policy, and Politics. London: SAGE, 2009. eBook Collection. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
The “Land of the free” is not so free after all. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry after illegal drugs and arms trafficking . Human trafficking is like modern day slavery; it is defined as the loss of freedom to another 's control by force, fraud or coercion. The United States turns out to be the #1 destination for child sex trafficking. I chose this topic because it interested me the most out of all other topics. When finding a topic to do research on, none of the topics left me asking myself so many questions. The fact that i barely knew anything about human trafficking, made me realize that there might be many people out there that are like me. People who probably think that human trafficking rarely happens,
"Facts On Human Trafficking And Sex Slavery | Soroptimist." Soroptimist.org. N. p., 2017. Web. 14
One reason why human trafficking is a serious crime that many people are unaware of is because it secretly takes place in the United States. Between 2007 and 2012, there were reports of 9,298 different cases of human trafficking (Polaris Project). An example of how unknown this topic is is that 41% of sex trafficking cases and 20% of labor trafficking cases were proven to have United States citizens as victims (Polaris Project). And this is only what we know so far. There are thousands of cases that we don’t know about. Many people also don’t know that men, women, and even children are also taken hostage by human traffickers. An example of this would be that out of those 9,298 cases that were reported, women were victims of sex trafficking in 85% of those cases. Men were victims of labor trafficking in 40% of those cases (Polaris Project). Approximately 300,000 children are at risk of being prostituted in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice). Children are even more under the radar than we know about. On average, one in three teenagers on the street will be lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving their home (National Runaway Hotline). For example, two female friends who were minors ran away from home and were prom...