Human Trafficking is the trade in human beings usually for the purpose of sexual slavery or forced labor. Sex trafficking also known as sex slavery is defined as the exploitation of usually women and children, within national or across international borders, for the purpose of forced sex (soroptomist.org). Sex trafficking occurs all around the world, however it is more common in poor countries. Around the world, an estimated two and a half million people are trafficked. Forty-three percent of the 2.5 million people are trafficked strictly for sex. 1.2 million of these people happen to be children. These children are generally trafficked for forced labor with little to no pay or for forced sexual labor. The sex trafficking industry brings in around thirty-two million dollars per year. Many of the poorest and most unstable countries have the highest incidents of sex trafficking. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine are among the countries that are the greatest sources of trafficked persons. Every person on the face of this earth deserves the right to live freely and we must all come together as one to stop human beings from being enslaved and trafficked, especially for sexual exploitation Sex trafficking victims can be male or female and of any age. There tend to be more children and female victims because of the high demand from customers. Eight hundred thousand women and children are said to be trafficked across international borders annually. Many trafficking victims are unseen and operate out of unmarked brothels in unsuspecting areas. An unsuspecting area would be that of a suburban neighborhood. Victims sometimes also... ... middle of paper ... ... of their beliefs. Another organization is HTAP. This organizations sole purpose is to bring awareness to the public eye in order to bring a halt to trafficking. The organization does this by empowering communities to educate and train individuals, by creating partnerships of informed communities, and by supporting research and disseminating information. These two organizations are wonderful in my opinion. Sex trafficking must come to a halt and the first step in bringing it to a halt is to make more people aware of it. If people are not educated about sex trafficking, there is no way they can help in the process of ending it. We need more organizations like HTAP and Shared Hope to support and restore victims of sex trafficking. No human being should be enslaved and we as free human beings should not be content until we know that this industry has been eliminated.
According to Van Wormer & Bartollas (2014), sex trafficking, “encompasses the organized movement of people, usually women, between countries and within countries for sex work” (p. 289). Sex trafficking is also a very lucrative business, it is estimated to make $31. 6 billion annually. This amount is estimated from the 2.5 million people who a trafficked each year. The exact number of people who are victims of the sex industry cannot be predicted accurately for all over the world. In the United States alone there is about 14,500-17,500 people trafficked each year. Human trafficking it the third biggest organized crime after drug and arms trafficking (Hodge, 2014). Young men make up about 44% of people being trafficked, while women and girls
Sex trafficking is when women, young girls, and young boys are held in slavery and forced into prostitution for the financial gain of others in brothels in the United States, Europe, and other developing countries such as Thailand and the Philippines (Sexual Slavery). It’s happened to many women and children throughout many years in many of these countries for money and more power. Often purchased or kidnapped off the street, women, girls, and boys are trafficked across international
Identifying the victims and rescuing them is the main key to preventing human trafficking, which in turn reduces costs to the healthcare system. Human trafficking is a form of organized crime. It involves a hierarchical system, which is similar to that of other criminal organizations. The traffickers represent every social, racial and ethnic group. Some traffickers are involved with local gangs, while others are members are part of nationally recognized gangs and organizations. Some traffickers are independent and do not have any affiliation with other gangs or organizations. Traffickers exist irrespective of gender. There are several women in human trafficking activities along with men. Several young girls living on the streets, engage in prostitution. Some of them are involved in nationwide organized criminal activities where the organizers of crime force these young girls into human trafficking. It is problematic to enforce anti-trafficking laws because in most of these cases, the victims do not tell the identity of the traffickers with the fear of being
In order to understand how sex trafficking affects its victims, one must first know the severity of sex trafficking and what it is. The issue of sex trafficking affects 2.5 million people at any given time (Abas et al., 2013). The form of sex slavery affects many women and children across the world. Even though both males and females are sexually trafficked and exploited, there is a deep emphasis on the sexual exploitation of women and children. This is due to gender discrimination (Miller, 2006). This is because women and children are more vulnerable and appeal to the larger populations of brothels and the so-called “clients” since the majority are men. Ecclestone (2013) stated that children as young as age three are trafficked. Sex trafficking has changed over time; “Today, the business of human sex trafficking is much more organized and violent. These women and young girls are sold to traffickers, locked up in rooms or brothels for weeks or months, drugged, terrorized, and raped repeatedly” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). It is found that many of the victims of sex trafficking are abducted, recruited, transported and forced into involuntary “sex work”. These sexual acts include prostitution, exotic dancing, pornography, and sexual escort services (McClain & Garrity, 2011). What happens to these sex trafficking victims is extremely traumatizing.
Social service professionals work to address the problem of human trafficking in a number of ways. Social workers are unique in their approach to this issue because they can address it from a number of angles. For example, social workers concentrate on both the individual victim as well as their social and economic situation which distinguishes it from other professions such as counseling (Palmer, 2010). Social workers meet the needs of human trafficking victims according to the principles outlined in the National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics. (Palmer 2010). Nancy Palmer (2010) notes, that despite some similarities, human trafficking victims have “more complex and wide-ranging service needs” than those who suffer from related criminal acts. (p.48). Education is an important aspect of a social workers job not only to be aware of the problem and of the appropriate standards of action but also to recognize potential victims. Stotts & Ramey’s (2009) research shows, “it is entirely possible for a counselor to come in contact with a victim of trafficking without knowing it. Situations in which counselors are most likely to come into contact with a potential victim include homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, or crisis hotlines” (p.44). Social workers who suspect a possible victim can confirm through the National Trafficking Resource Center as well locating local services available to sufferers. If the victim is in immediate danger then social service workers notify local law enforcement (Stotts & Ramey, 2009). Once victims are identified, then social workers turn to meeting their physical and psychological needs by providing mental and health care to individuals and groups. Studies indicate that victims e...
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,
An estimated 20.9 million people are currently being trafficked worldwide (The Polaris Project, 2014). According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, reauthorized in 2013), sex trafficking is defined as, “A commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, and/or in which the person induced to...
Sex trafficking generally possesses most of the same characteristics all over the world, although here in the U.S. individuals appear to be working willingly, independently, and out in the open, but in fact they are victims of sex trafficking. They solicit on the streets, hotels and truck stops, and advertise on the i...
“Injuries of human dignity and Human rights of a globalized society. Nobody may be held in slavery or peonage; Slavery and slave trade are in all forms forbidden”. These are the words of the Universal declaration of human rights (United Nations, 1948).Human trafficking is just another name for modern-day slavery, where the victims involved are forced and deceived into labor and sexual exploitation. Exploitation referring to using others for prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, or the removal of organs. The numbers are scary. Almost 600,000 to 800,000 women and children are annually trafficked across national borders. This does not count for the numbers that are trafficked within their own countries. Human trafficking is very much hidden and accurate data and the extent of nature of human trafficking are hard to calculate. Trafficked victims are often in dangerous positions and may be unwilling and too scared to jeopardize their lives to report or seek help from authorities. Victims live daily with emotional and physical abuse, inhumane treatment, and threats to their families, like they are going to torture...
What is human trafficking? Human trafficking, according the dictionary.com’s definition, is the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. However there are many different forms of human trafficking and one that has caught my eye is the form called sex trafficking. This is very important because many young teenage girls around my age are affected by it the most and they grow up being a sex slave. Although majority of the victims are young girls, human trafficking affects everyone: male, female, young, and old. There are very few people out here hearing their cry. We are very blind to this topic in the United States because its not very well-known and also because it’s such a big
Sex trafficking is a global issue that involves a form of coerced sexual exploitation, which is not limited to prostitution. Victims of sex trafficking are stripped of their basic human rights and forced to live a life of modern slavery. The U.S. State Department (Stop Child Trafficking Now, 2012) has stated that human trafficking is “one of the fastest growing crimes in the world.” It it hard to put a number on how on many people are living inside the sex trafficking industry for many reasons, one being that not all victims come forward. It is estimated by the U.S. State Department (Stop Child Trafficking Now, 2012) that every year “600,00-800,000 people will be trafficked across international borders, 80% being women and children.” This
Not only is human sex trafficking slavery but it is big business. It is the fastest-growing business of organized crime and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world (fbi.gov). While the U.S. Department of State estimates that 800,000 – 900,000 people are trafficked across borders annually, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and many other organizations taking the lead to eradicate trafficking put the number above 2 million (feminist.org). On average one in five victims of human trafficking are children. In third world countries the number is even higher. Children are more wanted especially in the work force because of their small hands for working on machinery and untangling lines and nets.
One of the largest targets for sex traffickers is a child. Since children are considered vulnerable they are easily coerced or kidnapped and made to perform sexual acts for others and live in debt to their owner or pimp. “Sex traffickers frequently target vulnerable people with histories of abuse and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage,
Human trafficking is a form of slavery, forcing victims to engage in sexual activities and labors against their will. These activities can be taken place through force, fraud, or constraint. Human trafficking is not just affecting one group of people, it is a worldwide issue, affecting all different ages, genders, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds. Human trafficking is such an immense problem, apprehending the true size, knowing how to help, and how to keep the issue from reoccurring. Human trafficking is and is still becoming such a serious issue that something needs to be done about.
Human trafficking is a worldwide problem. From California to Australia, it happens. “161 countries are reported to be affected by human trafficking by being either a source, transit, or destination count. Out of the 161 countries, 56% of those are in Asia and the Pacific, being the number one place it occurs” (UNGIFT). Trailing far behind with 10% is Latin America and the Caribbean” (UNGIFT). No matter the location or the state of the economy, human trafficking is always in progress. “People are reported to be trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries, affecting every continent and every type of economy” (UNGIFT). “The majority of trafficking victims are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old” (UNGIFT). Just because those are the most common ages, doesn't mean that it only happens to them. Children are also affected by human trafficking. “An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year” (UNGIFT). So many people think that it is just teens and adults that get stuck into the trafficking business, but it is also small children.