Just days ahead of the 2014 Super Bowl, a multi-million “one-stop shopping” drug and prostitution ring was busted in New York City. Some of the women involved claim to have been forced into the prostitution ring - an alarming indicator of possible instances of human trafficking. With thousands of spectators expected to visit New Jersey and New York for the big game, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie tweeted “If you do try it, expect to be caught. And when you are caught, expect to be prosecuted”. Governor Christie’s tweet is a reminder of not only the prevalence of prostitution and its clients, but also human trafficking in our own local communities. Human trafficking agencies such as the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking as well as Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution (SOAP) recently took matters into their own hands, training volunteers to hand out bar soap with a hotline number near motels and hotels in the Super Bowl area to help victims of human trafficking escape.
Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, in which individuals are being exploited for profit. When most of us hear human trafficking, we instantly conclude that a person is being held against their will to perform sexual acts and someone is profiting. In reality, there is also labor trafficking, where an individual is forced and threatened by employers to work against their will. There is an immense amount of victims of human trafficking not only in the United States, but also globally. Bringing awareness to communities is vital to help individuals who are victims of human trafficking to seek help, but also allow those to help rescue victims. By doing so, it is key to provide information on the rates of human trafficking, recruitment,
When the words “human trafficking” are heard, most people have mental images of young girls and women being beaten and abused (Walker-Rodriguez and Hill, 2011). Often times people’s mental images automatically assume that these victims of human trafficking are from Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa (Walker-Rodriguez and Hill, 2011). Unfortunately, human trafficking is a global issue (Jac-Kucharski) and happens everyday in the cities and towns surrounding us. Unfortunately, human trafficking isn’t as easy to recognize as other crimes and requires law enforcement officials and the public to understand what types of signals to look for in a victim.
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...
Globally, about 20 to 30 million people are involved in the human trafficking system, and of those, 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked in the United States every year. Human trafficking is more prevalent today then ever before. It is the third largest crime internationally. People are abused and taken advantage of. According to the article, “11 Facts About Human Trafficking,” on average, a person is forced into the system around age 9, and the majority of victims are women and girls, with a small percentage of men and boys. In addition, the human trafficking system is a $32 billion dollar industry. Human trafficking can be defined as the selling and trade of human beings, ranging anywhere from children to adults, for the purpose of sexual slavery or involuntary labor, but Faith Alliance against Slavery and Trafficking (FAAST) is working to provide relief and hope for people involved in the system (“Child Trafficking”).
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.
2010. Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.). And The United States is widely regarded as a popular destination country for human trafficking as federal reports estimate that between 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States every year. That doesn’t even include the number of victims who are trafficked within the United States each year ("WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?" State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General. State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General). Most women trafficked to the U.S. are forced to work in the sex industry (including strip clubs, peep and touch shows, massage parlors that offer sexual services, and prostitution). They are also trafficked to work in sweatshops, domestic servitude, and agricultural work. (Skinner, E. Benjamin. 2008. A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery. New York, NY: Free Press.). In the U.S. human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and in some U.S. territories. (”International Human Trafficking.” FBI. November 23, 2009. Accessed: December 23,
Slavery is a form of human bondage, in which people were forced to follow the demands of whoever owns them. Although it was abolished in the 19th century, slavery has been resurrected and has taken the form of human trafficking, a form of modern-day slavery, in which thousands of foreign people are smuggled across national borders as forced labor in factories, farms, and brothels. The way human traffickers persuade foreign women into coming to their country is forcing them against their will or falsely promising them the American dream. The threats that human trafficking present are that it deprives people of their human rights, it is a global health risk, and fuels the growth of organized crimes, like sex crimes. The United States has tried their best to abolish human trafficking with harsher prison penalties, more power to police and prosecutors, and more emergency shelters for victims, however it still is a huge problem in certain parts of the United States. Through the research that has been conducted in this particular crime, one can understand how human traffickers smuggle foreigners across national borders, what they put their victims through, and the stories victims live to tell about how they escaped. Human trafficking has many deep dark secrets that most people in the United States have not taken the initiative to analyze the situation.
The epidemic of sex trafficking has become bigger than some ever knew. Most people are unaware that this horrific way of life is so prevalent not only in other countries, but right in their hometown. Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline has received reports of 14,588 sex trafficking cases inside the United States. These numbers have increased in the past few years and it is shocking how those who are in the industry are still getting away with it. Many social problems line the streets and neighborhoods in the United States. Most often those social problems are visible to the human eye as one simply walks down the street. Sex trafficking is unique in the unfortunate reality that it can so often happen without people
All around the world human trafficking is ravaging many homes and destroying lives, even here in the United States. Every year 1078 young women between the ages of 12 and 17 are estimated to be trafficked into the sex trade in Ohio alone. Over 100,000 U.S. children are estimated to be trafficked into the sex trade all around the United States in 2009, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. There are many factors for human trafficking; poverty level, social environment, age, gender, running away from home, language barriers and a lack of formal education are the most prominent factors leading to a person being targeted. My proposal is mandatory education for all medical professionals to help end human trafficking.