When people hear human trafficking they immediately think of places outside the United States. They think of the unfortunate souls that are sold into slavery all around the world. Most people will feel pity for these victims, but that emotion only lasts for a mere moment, the next second that pity will be gone with and with that the persons focus will shift to something more interesting, funny, or heartwarming. Sadly, this kind of focus not only trivializes the topic of human trafficking but also ignores the real and present danger that human trafficking poses to the average American citizen. Human trafficking is a real and prevalent issue both at home and abroad and that’s exactly why it needs to be addressed. In order to effectively fight …show more content…
Once all this is accomplished then the United States can effectively create a safer environment at home and influence other countries abroad to make similar changes to effect human trafficking both at home and abroad. Human trafficking is an issue in the United States. “The United Nations defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor or sexual exploitation.”() Children and Adults are often times taken from their families and sold into different forms. Moreover thousands of people are smuggled into the United States to also be sold into different forms of slavery. However more often than not these victims are not reported about. No one tries to find them and they simply become lost. The first way that these can be found is to begin shinning a spotlight out into the night looking for them. That will be done by educating the citizens of the United States of how prevalent human …show more content…
Nonetheless it seems that instead of society trying to help them these victims are left in the dark and seen as broken, or damaged. In order better help them both in the long and short term we as a society need to change the way we see them. As Dr. Archer of Psychology Today notes “We are in denial as a society. It's easier to think of a prostitute as a beautiful, happy hooker while the John is a wealthy gentleman who looks like Richard Gere. Or conversely we think they are drug addicts who have chosen prostitution to support their habit.”() This type of thinking is so engrained in the fabric of what our society is that often times people forget to even consider, “the third possibility, that they have been kidnapped against their will and brutally forced into prostitution.”() That is the problem. Until we as a society begin to address human trafficking on a human level there is no hope that change will ever occur. Proponents of the status will quo will look towards programs like former President Obama’s Blue Campaign which attempted to “[unify] the DHS components to more effectively combat human trafficking through enhanced public awareness, training, victim assistance, and law enforcement investigations.”() While this seemed like a good idea in theory it failed to work due to lack of cooperation with actual victims of human trafficking, in order for there to be real sustainable
Country to country, person-to-person, human trafficking is becoming a bigger and bigger issue all across the globe, including right here in the United States. Human trafficking is said to be a form of modern-day slavery, subjecting its victims to commercial sex, debt bondage, and forced labor through force, fraud, or coercion. There are often no easily identifiable victims as they come in all ages, genders, and races. There are said to be at least 2.4 million victims of human trafficking across the globe at any given time, leading to profits of $32 billion for the criminal masterminds behind such trafficking operations, making it the second most lucrative criminal industry behind narcotics. Despite the abundance of victims, it is estimated that fewer than 30% of all countries report at least 10 trafficking convictions a year, and 20% of countries do not even have an offense for trafficking. An additional 20% of countries have an offense for trafficking but still report no convictions of the offense. Without an organized coalition to help prevent such atrocities, it is left up to national governments to come up with solutions for their respective nations, and many governments do not possess the know-how or effort needed to combat these crimes.
If communities work towards this goal, they can brand trafficking as bad and they can work to end it together. Some governments still don’t have any laws that ban this evil and it is not good for people who suffer from it as it runs rampant in those countries. The places that need the government's help with this the most, have governments that are failing to protect them. The UN Chronicle says that the only way to end sexual trafficking and give these victims the closure they deserve is the “prosecution of traffickers and protection of victims”(UN Chronicles).
Human trafficking is an issue that no one really wants to talk about. The media portrays this horrible crime as something that only happens in foreign lands. Americans do not want to believe that something so heinous could happen on our own soil. However when survivors of human trafficking come forward, people are forced to confront the reality that this issue is not that far from home. Some individuals still choose to deny that this is a real issue. However the facts make it extremely hard to deny that human trafficking happens on American soil.
There are so many American based organizations with the fight against modern day slavery in third world countries, but yet the issue seems overlooked in the U.S. Whether it be a matter of turning a blind eye or simply not knowing human trafficking takes place every day, in every state in the United States of America, home of the free. These issues must be brought to light so that more efforts can be made to put an end to this terrible trade.
Most American citizens, if asked, would say that sex trafficking is an issue that happens on foreign land, not here in America. Many American’s believe that slavery was abolished years ago, but modern day slavery is happening in this country and internationally every day right under our noses. The startling fact, is that sex trafficking happens within our borders, and in our very own towns at a much higher rate than anyone would imagine. Sex trafficking occurs when people, usually women and children, are coerced into the sex trade against their will (TVPA, 2013). Many traffickers target weak, vulnerable people who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and have a history of abuse; however anyone can potentially be trafficked (The Polaris Project, 2014). Many traffickers lure their prey in with false promises of love, money, or security, and then the victims are instead faced with lies, debt bondage, violence, physical and mental manipulation, and abuse (The Polaris Project, 2014). In today’s world many of our social issues, such as human trafficking, are made worse by the general lack of education, resources, and information available to the public and to victims. I propose a policy that will help 180 Turning Lives Around provide comprehensive and much needed services to victims of sex trafficking, as well as educate the community and law enforcement officials in order to help end modern day slavery in America.
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...
Summary: We see that there are many different aspects and types of human trafficking that everyone should be made aware of. As a whole human trafficking is a lucrative industry raking in $150 BILLION globally. The impact that this industry has on its victims is
“Human trafficking coerces and persuades their victims to cross national borders in search of new jobs and better opportunities and after that they are forced into some sort of labor bondage” (At Issue: Human Trafficking 1). Even though trafficking is a problem in almost every country; poorer countries have a bigger problem with it because they are more desperate for work. Just in 2000, the U.S. enacted their first federal anti-trafficking law, called the Victims of Trafficking Protection Act (At Issue: Human Trafficking 1). Trafficking has just begun to receive notice on how big of a problem it actually is. “Proponents of strict anti-trafficking initiatives say that laws and prevention against trafficking are necessary in order to stem the growing tide of large scale organized crime that profits off of smuggling and trafficking” (At Issue: Human Trafficking 1).
Many people are astounded to hear that human trafficking is not just a complication outside of America’s borders and that it is flattering more of an American drawback as intervals go on. Human trafficking has converted into creation's second leading criminal industry, transforming the individual, their dignity and rights as a human being, and humankind. The United States of America is mainly a transfer for trafficking in persons. It is assessed in The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, “that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually.” This act augments pre-existing illegal disadvantages, offers new defenses and makes accessible certain welfares and aids to victims of trafficking. The Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices estimated that from at least 127 countries have found to be harnessed in 137 states. In the United States, for instance, more than 15,000 individuals are enforced into the present day counterpart of slavery every year. An estimated one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand Americans are forced into this each year, as predicted by the national police department. But the collision of human trafficking goes beyond individual victims; it undermines the safety and security of all nations it touches. The U.S. has aided states to enact anti-trafficking regulation, educated law enforcement officials, DAs, border guards and judicial officers, and impeaching traffickers, and protecting targets.
The products of human trafficking cannot be ignored. Human rights are being violated, diseases are being transmitted, and the current laws are ineffective in preventing human trafficking and protecting its victims. Although there are many victims now, it may increase exponentially in the future, creating bigger problems. Before the number of victims increase and before more people start to lose faith in the U.S. government, it is imminent that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act be amended.
Human trafficking, a form of modern day slavery, affects more people than you could imagine. The United States is known for freedom, human rights, and the pursuit of happiness; however, there are many victims of human trafficking that have been stripped of their rights and freedoms. The Victims of Trafficking andViolence Protection Act (VTVPA) of 2000 defines human trafficking as, the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery (Kotrola 8). Human trafficking is a devastating issue many Americans have problems addressing;
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,
Trafficking in humans is a massive underground industry throughout the United States as well as close to home, mainly Chicago and it’s suburbs. “Human Trafficking is the recruiting, harboring,moving or obtaining a person by force, fraud or coercion, for the purposes of involuntary servitude, debt bondage or sexual exploitation( Human Trafficking in Illinois ).” Human Trafficking is one of the largest and is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Annually, 9.5 billion dollars of profits are generated from trafficking humans worldwide. “Persons do not have to have been transported internationally to be considered victims of trafficking” (Facts about Human Trafficking).
In hindsight, many people have no clue and don’t have the slightest idea that human trafficking is even occurring in the entire world, let alone the United States. It is a shame and a shock that this happens right beneath our noses. Even when we are conscientious about human trafficking, we neglect and ignore it. We try to bypass the thought of this huge crime happening in our own country and fail to realize that it happens everyday. Human trafficking is a serious crime that many people are unaware of; it secretly takes place in the United States; it secretly ruins many lives; it secretly goes by to be never discovered or punished by government officials.
Human trafficking, or the selling and buying of people, is a well-hidden yet prominent issue within today’s society. It is both an immoral and horrific topic that needs brought to attention and dealt with. When human beings are manipulated into work, sexual servitude, or economic hardship, human trafficking is occurring. In the year of 2006, only one individual is convicted of human trafficking per 800 victims (UNGIFT). By looking at straight statistics, reasons human trafficking happens, and the toll it has on people, it is very clear that this is a major issue that is happening in our world.