Human Trafficking

1091 Words3 Pages

When someone hears the word human trafficking their mind can go to many places. By definition human trafficking includes using force, coercion or fraud. Human trafficking is an underground business. It is not openly public knowledge or discussed because of its nature. To give one an idea just how profitable this business is, the drug trade is the only other market that is more profitable. One may wonder why the victims do not come forward attempting to escape however, they are often in fear of their lives. As well as fearing they will be in legal trouble, or a language barrier is in place. Traffickers will look for certain people depending on what they want to use them for, therefore, Traffickers are skilled con-men looking for easy targets.
Which are labor trafficking and sex trafficking. Human trafficking often is associated with prostitution. If one can recall from the definition in paragraph one, trafficking uses force. In other words traffickers force a person into performing sex acts for their own financial gain. Another form of trafficking, is labor trafficking. Traffickers will promise immigrants money for their work. However, they are given meager wages if anything in return. Immigrants are then threatened with violence to either themselves or their family back home if they were to ask for help. There is also another form of trafficking common with immigrants which victims are forced to be domestic servants. What this means is that the trafficker will take away their legal papers and visa in order to control the victim forcing the victims to be maids or nannies. Traffickers look for the vulnerable people such as ones that are in need of money that are desperate to have an income. Often times traffickers target immigrants and will threaten the victims with violence. Women are also disproportionately targeted because of sex trafficking and simply because they are a
(Birkenthal) Victims often have mental health problems, such as PTSD. Victims that are trafficked for sexual reasons face an additional set of risks. For example, sexually transmitted diseases, damage to reproductive organs, and certain diseases such as Hepatitis B. (Birkenthal) Victims are denied an education indirectly by being forced to work 12 hour days, this leaves no time for anything other than work. The economy as well suffers from human trafficking because people that can be working are not and cannot. (Birkenthal) Consequently, since victims were denied an education in their younger years the future generations will suffer. This leads to future generations being undereducated and at a disadvantage. (Birkenthal) Trafficking also affects the global crime trends. Trafficking is linked to rapes, murders, and acts of violence. (Birkenthal) Overall, human trafficking has a devastating effect on victims mentally and physically regardless of what the victim is being trafficked

More about Human Trafficking

Open Document