The Pros And Cons Of Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is the trade in human beings usually for the purpose of sexual slavery or forced labor. Sex trafficking also known as sex slavery is defined as the exploitation of usually women and children, within national or across international borders, for the purpose of forced sex (soroptomist.org). Sex trafficking occurs all around the world, however it is more common in poor countries. Around the world, an estimated two and a half million people are trafficked. Forty-three percent of the 2.5 million people are trafficked strictly for sex.

Sex trafficking is essentially systemic rape for profit. Force, fraud and coercion are used to control the victim’s behavior which may secure the appearance of consent to please the buyer (or john). Behind every transaction is violence or the threat of violence (Axtell par. 4). Just a decade ago, only a third of the countries studied by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had legislation against human trafficking.

Victims of human trafficking are people of all backgrounds and ages, no one is safe from the dirty hands of human traffickers. Every year thousands of men, women, and children are forced into human trafficking the public needs to be informed, enhance penalties for violators, and raise awareness to finally put a stop to these horrible crimes that are happening right end our noses. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry followed behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking (“11 Facts” pg. 2). The International Labour Organization estimates that women and girls represent the largest share of forced labor victims with 11.4 million trafficked victims compared to 9.5 million men ( ).

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.

Child trafficking happens in every single country, including the United States. When people think of trafficking of people, most think of women, but children are also being sold as slaves all across the world. Children who are most likely to become victims are those who come from low income homes, have limited access to education and are struggling to survive. 2a. General Information Each year, more than 1 million children are victims of child sex tourism (CST) around the world.

According to the article, “Human Trafficking: USA”, more than 2.5 million people are trafficked in the U.S (HumanTrafficking). About 1.2 million children are also involved in human trafficking. This accounts than 50% of the human race today. These statistics and percentage are horrifying. This is not just a game to be trading people, but a serious problem that no one considers to prevent.

Assistant secretary of state for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Harold Hongju Koh states that traffickers “views its victims as objects, chattel to be bought and sold as needed” (Potts, 2003). Every year there is over one million young women and children forced into sexual exploitation through human trafficking. There is no age or gender immune to human trafficking, and in the United States, about 50,000 women and children are trafficked into this country and placed in pornography, massage parlors, strip clubs and other sexual abuse situations (Potts, 2003). Human trafficking has reached epidemic heights and is to continue to grow (Hodge, 2008). Charlotte North Carolina ranks 8th in places where human trafficking takes place.

Today, human trafficking is used for the purpose of sexual abuse, removal of organs, forced labor, and slavery. Woman and young children are the main victims and as of January, 2012, over 27 million people have fallen victim to this illegal trade. “Over 160 countries across the world are known to be affected by trafficking” (Shukla). Survival stories and statistics reveal the dire reality of human trafficking and how it is becoming a rising problem around the world. To begin with, there are many causes that lead to human trafficking.

Some of the victims are forced into prostitution and the Department of State (2004, 2006) estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 people— adults and children—are trafficked across international borders around the world annually. About 90 percent of the victims are females and over half of the traffickers are believed to be trafficking for sexual exploitation. On October 28, 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) became law in the United States (Public Law 106-386). To protect the right that we have and to keep people protected and most social workers are familiar with the issue on human trafficking. There have been limited evidence on people's health consequences of human trafficking like having sexual health problems including HIV , risk of physical and mental problems among the trafficked people.

Human trafficking is a rising global issue and is a dark human behavior that has been happening since the beginning of recorded history. These victims experience both mental and physical effects that are damaging to their lives, stripping their identity as individuals. Millions of women and children go through these traumatic experiences and have psychological consequences that need to be addressed but get little attention. This literature review suggests steps to be taken in order to treat these patients with the proper medical care by responding to the following questions: 1. What is human trafficking?