Human trafficking is deemed as the fastest growing crime worldwide. Illegal transport, transfer, and abduction of people have become common in most countries. Traffickers seem to always be on the lookout for potential victims because numbers in trafficking reports continue to increase every year. Despite efforts made by anti-trafficking organizations, corporations, and law enforcements, trafficking is still a significant problem being faced by our world today.
Numerous factors contribute to the creation of vulnerable groups of men, women, and children who can easily become targets of traffickers. These factors include unemployment, poverty, family struggles, sexual or physical violence, and the desire to achieve a better life. Unemployed workers,
…show more content…
And in some cases, an individual might be fighting for survival and also turn to such actions to receive money in order to keep living. Many more factors come into play when it comes down to the causes of human trafficking, and it’s important to keep in mind that age, gender, or race does not play …show more content…
However, forced labor is just beginning to be included in anti-trafficking statistics. Therefore, the above number and percentage are not exactly that accurate, but it is a close representation. Apart from labor, humans are also trafficked for commercial sex purposes, especially women and children who are known to be the most vulnerable to this exploitation.
Figure B
As seen in Figure B, the most common type of trafficking reports are about sex trafficking. Women and children become victims to the sex trade no matter where they’re from or what age they are. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), it is estimated that “there are 50,000 women and children trafficked each year throughout the US for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation” whether this is for prostitution, pornography, live sex, etc. (Hepburn and Simon).
Figure
27 million people all over the world are currently being forced into human trafficking or modern day slavery, 161 countries including the US will be affected by human trafficking. 1 million children will be exploited by the commercial sex trade each year. Sex trafficking began in the 1700s in the United States. It hasn’t been stopped because it continues to increase over the years. Even though the law enforcement and people around the world could be strong enough to stop human trafficking, I believe this situation needs to be more focused on and stopped as soon as possible. Because Human Trafficking is increasing rapidly and Oklahoma is a cross-way for sex trafficking due to the interstates such as I-35, I-40 and I-44.
Psychological aspects generally play a huge role in these cases, and victims are often verbally and emotionally abused.... ... middle of paper ... ... 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.
Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation and provision of a person for the purpose of commercial sex. American trafficking victims are estimated to be between 100,000 and 300,000. Most of these are from the million are so children that are thrown out of their home or they have run away usually to escape abuse and/or sexual violence. (Shelley, pg. 230) The law says that a person under the age of 18 has to have been defrauded, forced or coerced into the sex trade against their will. Sex trafficking venues are wide and vast. Victims of sex trafficking can be found in brothels, strip clubs, esc...
In today’s society, where there is political and civil instability in the nations of the world, many citizens become subject to human trafficking. Human trafficking has rapidly grown into a transnational issue. Transnational crimes are often a result of an organized criminal group. These criminal groups quickly exploit the citizens of an unstable country and will send them to other countries while using upgraded technology and the rise of global trade to their advantage. Aside from human trafficking, it also can involve the movement of firearms, vehicles, drugs, or human body parts. Many believe that human trafficking is slavery of the modern-day. Many nations have come together to work on ways to prevent and protect those subject to trafficking.
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).
Most of the human trafficking in the world takes the form of forced labor, according to the International Labor Organization estimate on forced labor. Also known as involuntary worker, forced labor may result when employers take advantage...
Sex trafficking is a term that covers a range of activities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines it as “a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years” (The Campaign 1). Victims of sex trafficking may be forced to do any number of activities to earn money for their traffickers. These include “prostitution, pornography, stripping, live-sex shows, mail-order brides, military prostitution and sex tourism” (10). Wherever there is demand for the sexual exploitation of a certain type of individual, such as teenage girls, young boys or children, traffickers will find people to meet that demand. Unfortunately, this puts innocent people in situations where they are taken advantage of.
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.
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...
In this paragraph I am going to tell you how human trafficking works. First the people who are trafficked are often those who are in debt or living in poverty. Traffickers exploit these types of situations, and trick these individuals into believing that they will sponsor them to get a good paying job somewhere abroad. Next, upon arrival to the destination, these individuals are often shocked to realize that they are not given the work that they were promised and instead, are forced to work in conditions that they did not agree to. Traffickers also take away passports and any other means of identification of these people so that the police will not be able to help them. Finally, victims are often told that they must now work until they pay back their debt, and can also be sold to va...
One of the main causes of human trafficking is vulnerability. For example, children are more vulnerable to trafficking because of their lack of understanding and experience. Additionally, in certain societies, women are less empowered than men thus resulting in gender inequality both at home and in the workplace. Gender inequality then leads to easy exploitation through the use of force or threats. Human trafficking can be curbed by combating the underlying causes that make people vulnerable.
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.