Human trafficking is a form of slavery in the modern world. By definition, human trafficking is any “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by means of the threat…or other forms of coercion…for the purpose of exploitation” (4). The act takes away freedom from about twenty million innocent people, (3) and is an industry that is worth about a hundred and fifty billion dollars worldwide. (3) The people suffering include primarily women and children, who are forced to work in the sex industry or in labor services. Victims span all demographics and walks of life, but homeless or runaway youths, and sufferers of domestic violence or social discrimination have a higher susceptibility to victimization. Often, in foreign …show more content…
The United States of America’s government has implemented policies in order to encourage victims to come forward and prosecute after their suffering. In the year 2000, under President Clinton, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) was signed. The law established human trafficking as a federal crime, as well as established the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report which ranks countries by their efforts to combat human trafficking. The TVPA has been reauthorized in 2003, 2005, 2008, and just recently in 2013 under President Barack Obama (11). Other countries around the world have also started an initiative to aid in the end modern slavery through government restrictions. The Mekong subregion of Asia, which includes China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and human trafficking hub Cambodia, for example, signed a joint statement dedicated to end human trafficking in 2012. The statement, known as the Memorandum of Understanding against Trafficking in Persons, committed the governments to implement the international standards of prevention of human trafficking, as well as acknowledged the need of multilateral, and bilateral cooperation to aid in the efforts (7). Governments and alliances worldwide are creating laws and restrictions to make the act of human trafficking more difficult for the perpetrators. But these legal efforts are not solely enough to …show more content…
Health care professionals are one of the few individuals who will come into contact with victims, as they will need to seek medical health. Due to the small number of reports by human trafficking victims, doctors, nurses, and other professionals are one of the few lines of defense against perpetrators and one of the only sources of detailed information on the crime. However in the United States, as well as worldwide, the knowledge on protocol to deal with prospective victims is minimal if at all. There has been a recent movement in the medical world to begin educating and training physicians on human trafficking. This movement has been headed by various medical organizations including American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association–Medical Student Section, the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (6). In response to these requests, the United States Department of Health and Human Services created a pilot initiative called SOAR. This program attempts to educate health care professionals on how to identify and treat victims. It was launched this year, and is a free two hour course on training (10). Before this training there was a minimal amount of literature available on human trafficking prevention and care. A study was conducted to
Between 2007 and 2010 there were around 118 countries and 136 different nationalities that fell victim to traffickers (united nations publications, 2012). If we want to continue successful globalization patterns, we need to crack down on punishment for those who commit these crimes. In his article “A Decade in Review…” Luis CdeBaca states that prevention, protection, and prosecution are the key to stopping this global trend (CdeBaca, 2008). All three need to be implemented together and will not work independently. Preventing trafficking begins with prosecution of criminals. But often, prosecution can’t occur without witness testimony. This makes protection of victims essential in ending human trafficking. This along with more government involvement in labor law enforcement, we can bring justice to more victims. Government can check more into checking labor recruiting companies and potentially making more restrictive visas that allow people to cross borders more easily (CdeBaca,
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.
According to the Office for Victims of Crime, crimes committed against human trafficking victims can lead to the destruction of basic life assumptions; that one is safe from harm, one is a good and decent person, and the world is meaningful and just (Office for Victims of Crime, 1998). Working through the psychological trauma experienced by trafficking victims can require long-term, comprehensive mental health therapy (Briere & Scott, 2014). The health care response to trafficking victims in the United States differs greatly from efforts made by governments and health care entities. The health care response to trafficking victims in the United States differs greatly from efforts made by governments and health care entities in developing countries. In many developing countries, governments have allocated no financial support for programs to combat human trafficking, or for programs to provide medical care to victims. Lack of funding, trained medical staff and the stigmatization placed on many victims once back in their home countries can make access to appropriate health care virtually
In 1865 the United States passed the thirteenth amendment of the constitution which formally abolished the practice of slavery in the United States. Over a century has went by since this day, and yet somewhere behind the mask of freedom that our country holds with such pride lingers a hidden trade. This is the trade of modern day slavery that remains prevalent in our country. Despite the freedoms we are granted as a citizen of the United States,- human trafficking is an enormous issue that is often overlooked. In fact very little light is shown on this topic, but the awful reality is there. Every day women, children, and even men are kidnapped, taken from their families, and forced into free labor and sexual exploitation.
“Human Trafficking appears as the most common form of modern day slavery, the fastest growing business of organized crime, and the third largest criminal enterprise in the world” (2014).
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).
In order to understand how sex trafficking affects its victims, one must first know the severity of sex trafficking and what it is. The issue of sex trafficking affects 2.5 million people at any given time (Abas et al., 2013). The form of sex slavery affects many women and children across the world. Even though both males and females are sexually trafficked and exploited, there is a deep emphasis on the sexual exploitation of women and children. This is due to gender discrimination (Miller, 2006). This is because women and children are more vulnerable and appeal to the larger populations of brothels and the so-called “clients” since the majority are men. Ecclestone (2013) stated that children as young as age three are trafficked. Sex trafficking has changed over time; “Today, the business of human sex trafficking is much more organized and violent. These women and young girls are sold to traffickers, locked up in rooms or brothels for weeks or months, drugged, terrorized, and raped repeatedly” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). It is found that many of the victims of sex trafficking are abducted, recruited, transported and forced into involuntary “sex work”. These sexual acts include prostitution, exotic dancing, pornography, and sexual escort services (McClain & Garrity, 2011). What happens to these sex trafficking victims is extremely traumatizing.
Human trafficking can be defined as the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking has become a global threat and is an injustice that affects millions of people every year, and in every continent in the world. According to the United Nations agency that deals with global labor issues ’21 million people are victims of human trafficking worldwide’, and within that 4.5 million are trafficked for the sole purpose of some sexual exploitation. The effects of this trafficking on the individuals can be catastrophic. Trafficking has a direct effect on the mental, and physical wellbeing of the victim. In the process of trafficking victims are often
Trafficking in Persons Report (2007) discusses many different tiers in relation to a counties response to human trafficking. Tier one consists of countries whose government fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards, for example Australia, Uk, Germany and Norway. In tier two the countries whose government do not fully comply with TVPA’s minimum standards but making efforts to bring themselves up such as Japan, Romania, Peru and Rwanda. And finally tier three are governments that do not full...
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;
It is the world’s fastest growing global crime. It is also the world’s second largest source of illegal income after drug trafficking. According to the United Nations Office on drugs and crime (2012),”Women account for 55-60 per cent of all trafficking victims detected globally; women and girls together account for about 75% and as many as 161 countries are affected by human trafficking.” It is also believed that the victims arguably come from the poorest countries in the world. 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
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, 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.
The key aspects discussed in this paper will center around human trafficking and the need for nursing advocacy. Chapter 87, which is entitled “Human Trafficking: The Need for Nursing Advocacy” gives insight and defines the meaning of human trafficking but also lends the role of the nurse in the fight against such a heinous crime. Human trafficking is defined “as a serious crime of forced labor” (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw & O’Grady, 2016, p. 680). Unbeknownst to many, human trafficking is not restricted to just women, this crime can involve young children and also does not discriminate gender or ethnicity (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw & O’Grady, 2016).