Child Trafficking “The global market of child trafficking is at over $12 billion a year with over 2 million child victims” (“Stop Child Trafficking Now” 1). This statement from the article “Stop Child Trafficking Now” describes how serious this crisis is nationwide. Child labor, illegal adoptions and child prostitution are the three forms child trafficking typically exists as (“Riverkids Project” 1). There has been a rising number of Cambodian children being trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor because of poverty, unemployment and lack of education; however organizations such as the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT) are trying to raise awareness of this crisis. There is a rising number of Cambodian children being trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Human trafficking is a major crisis that is rapidly growing, affecting many young women of Cambodia. In just one year the number of young women involved in prostitution grew from 6,000 to 20,000 trafficking victims (“No Trafficking” 3). In 2006 it was estimated 30,000 Cambodian children had been exploited in the sex trade (“Global Crime Case: The Modern Slave Trade” 1). Studies have shown although not all sex workers are human trafficking victims 1 in 5 women and girls working in brothels have been trafficked (“SSF Cambodia” 1). It is estimated 50 percent of Cambodia’s population comprises children younger than 15 years of age (“No Trafficking” 4). End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) reports as many as one third of the trafficking victims in prostitution are children (“Human Trafficking” 2). There are around 158 million children aged 5-14 engaged i... ... middle of paper ... ...n Trafficking Data Sheet” 2). There are many organizations within the nation that are gaining awareness for child trafficking. Child trafficking is a rapidly growing crisis forcing young women of Cambodia into sexual exploitation and child labor. This issue is cause by many factors including the lack of education and high levels of poverty; however, there are many organizations such as the Somaly Mam foundation trying to gain awareness of this crisis. Citizens of the United States can help bring awareness to child trafficking by teaching young women of this issue. As stated by the article “Child Labor-Killing the Age of Innocence,” “Thus, one should be careful when saying that the future of the country lies in the hands of children, for the very hands holding the key to growth are clamped down in the innocence phase” (“Child Labor-Killing the Age of Innocence” 2)
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,
Human trafficking is one of the most heinous and overlooked crimes in our growing society today. There are more slaves in American homes today than there ever were during the American Civil War (Bales & Soodlater 2010). Human trafficking is the third most profitable illegal business behind the illicit trade of narcotics and weapons trading (Shelley 2010). Over 27 million people are ensnared in “modern day slavery” some of these people are used for sexual exploitation and others are used for slave labor. Most of these victims are simply tricked into this underground world and brainwashed into not leaving their enslavement. Sadly, out of these 27 million human trafficking victims around 50% of them are children under the age of 16 (Polaris 2012).
Awareness of child sexual trafficking can be viewed as a balanced scale, with one side representing the country’s population that is fully informed of the issue, while the other side is either unaware or unattached to the issue. The public needs to have more involvement with this affair based on multiple concerns; first, the act of child sex trafficking itself is a serious crime that violates human rights (Fong & Cardoso, 2010). Second, various negative health repercussion including transmittable sexual diseases, physical damages, mental disturbance, post traumatic stress disorders, and other illnesses plague many victims (Fong & Cardoso, 2010). Third, sexual trafficking is responsible for generating poverty as a result of obstructing economic, and social development (Reid, 2012). Child sex trafficking proves to be a global dilemma affecting numerous countries
Human trafficking is prevalent throughout the world, especially in Asia and more specifically in China but the government and non-governmental organizations (NGO) are taking measures to put an end to it. Human trafficking involves exploitation of human beings; either sexually or by coercing them to work in unfavourable conditions for little pay or nothing at all. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defines human trafficking as “the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.” Women and children, especially girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty constitute the majority of victims of human trafficking. “China is a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking; the majority of which is internal trafficking” (www.humantrafficking.org).
According to the United Nations, thousands of people are smuggled across borders worldwide, and it now has reached an estimated 800,000 victims (“Human Trafficking Statistics”). By letting this continue, the numbers will only grow and continue to keep growing. Of the 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children who have been trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls (“End of Human Trafficking Now”). The United Nations should be more proactive in both preventing and eliminating human trafficking because 161 out of 192 countries are involved with human trafficking (“Human Trafficking Statistics”) and the leaders of every country need to come together to end this phenomenon.
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
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
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.
The Trafficking of children and women for sexual mistreatment has become a key worry for nearly all governments as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) not overlooking the media. Up to date, accounts in the United States regarding human trafficking for sexual exploitations have shown that the matter is a national problem that is on the rise (Wheaton & Schauer, 2012). A projected 60,000 women and children are trafficked each year in the United States. These women and children come generally from the Latin America, South East Asia and some countries of the former Soviet Union in Eastern and Central Europe.
Human Trafficking is a global problem that affects the lives of millions of people in almost every country in the world, and which deprives them of their human dignity. As one of the most infamous crimes in the world, human trafficking is misleading and makes victims in women, men and children from all corners of the world every day and causes them to be exploited. Although the best-known form of human trafficking is sexual exploitation, hundreds of thousands of victims are also trafficked for the purposes of forced labor, forced labor as domestic servants, child begging and organ removal (Shelley, 2010). On the other side, “human trafficking is both a global problem and a domestic problem” (Jones, Engstrom, Hilliard, & Diaz, 2007, p.108-109)
With the growing number of countries with child exploitation and young girls and women selling their bodies unwillingly, there becomes an issue when crossing country boarders and the laws that those countries have established. There are serious definitional and methodological differences within the worldwide studies. There is no sure way to measure and document the actual extend of sexual exploitation of children because research only can go so far, many children and women go unnoticed or fly under the radar. Many countries have differences in defining what constitutes as a minor and what constitutes as an adult in the separating figures on children from figures on adults within the sex trade industry. “There is also the issue of illegal versus legal uses of children for purposes of sexual exploitation. For example, in some countries, child prostitution is technically legal, making it difficult to separate what is outlawed from what is tolerated.”(Flowers) Another major limitation in the measure of international child exploitation is the lack of cooperation between countries and the researchers in those countries gathering information. The big question is where do we go from here? “The Demand for prostitution, both in the United States and abroad, creates one of the most profitable markets for organized crime in the world: global demand for human trafficking generates $32 billion annually, $27.8 billion of which is generated by sex trafficking alone.”(Makatche, 2013) There obviously is no sign of slowing down for the sex trafficking industry but there are major corporations that are getting involved. “In December 2011, Google made several grants totaling $11.5 million to anti-trafficking organizations to support new initiatives utilizing technology to combat human trafficking. These technology-focused initiatives include projects with Polaris Project, Slavery
"An ounce of cocaine, wholesale: $1 ,200. You can sell it only once. A woman or child is
The Australian government cooperates with other countries in the fight for human trafficking through anti-human trafficking agreements. Additionally, the government is co-founder of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons, and Related Transnational Crime, which builds awareness. Cambodia’s traffickers are reported to be organized crime criminals, parents, relatives, intimate partners and even neighbor (HumanTrafficking.org.). Women and children are used for sexual exploitation and men are used for forced labor. As it can be seen in these three countries, human trafficking is a major problem. With these problems comes the implementation of law against human trafficking.
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.
Since the mid 1990’s there has been an alarming upsurge within the human trafficking community. In the country of Bangladesh, women and young girls are sold into the trafficking industry by ones close to them. The price of their life is looked upon as a way to pay off debt or simply because their families are incapable of raising them. You rarely hear about Bangladeshi boys being sold because in their country a boy is seen as more valuable than a girl. According to a documentary directed by Michael Glawogger, attempts to prevent this from occurring because “[t]he outside world pushes us out of the way to make room. Those people are our clients” (Whores Glory). Society knows that these girls are better off living in a brothel, a house where men can visit prostitutes, than on the street. Bangladeshi laws go unenforced and trafficked victims are unprotected; whatever happens behind closed doors stays behind closed. Within the brothel the new girl is assigned to a madam, which acts like a pimp. Due to the governments low measures of protection families are able to sell their female members to traffickers who then sell them to a brothel, a house where men can visit prostitutes. The Bangladeshi government fails to have an organized system that can protect trafficked victims because they are clueless on how to identify current victims; “In a country where less than 10 percent of children are registered at birth, it is difficult to track whether children’s rights are being protected” (UNICEF). The most ironic thing about the government’s incapability to identify current victims is a sham since government officials participate in receiving pleasure from these victims instead of trying to help them.