Human Trafficking: A Global Issue Human trafficking is arguably one of the most profitable transnational crimes today, destroying thousands of communities all around the world in many of its forms. Furthermore, the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, labor, and organs. Every year, thousands of men, women, and children are affected by trafficking in countries all around the world, including Canada. Additionally, studies show that human trafficking produces billions of dollars of profit each year, making it the second most profitable form of trafficking. Specifically, the exploitation of humans can be highly profitable for organized criminal groups. An estimate of profits from trafficking is about …show more content…
In fact, human trafficking is oftentimes characterized as an insignificant risk activity, considering the fact that the crime is so secretive, it is difficult to perceive and detect because victims rarely come forward to seek help due to the fear of traffickers and law enforcement, thus resulting in the significantly low prosecution rates worldwide. First, sex trafficking is one of the most common types of human trafficking operating worldwide. It is the illegal business of recruiting, harboring, transporting, obtaining or providing a person and especially a minor for the purpose of sex (4). While human trafficking can involve forced labor and illegal drug sales, the victims of sex trafficking are often forced into prostitution, to appear in pornographic materials, and work as exotic entertainers. Each year, an estimated 800,000 women and children are trafficked across international …show more content…
The illegal organ trade is a form of widespread organized crime, which consists of inner organs being illegally obtained and traded for transplantation. Victims are often forced or deceived to give up their organs. According to the World Health Organization, the search for organs has boosted around the world because of an increase in illness like kidney disease, there are not enough available kidneys to save all patients. Thus, the illegal organ trade has increased significantly over the past years. For example, Sadi Ahmed, an Indian citizen, was held hostage for three months be an organ trafficking gang in Pakistan after being lured into, what he thought was a business organization. Sadi explained that, like him, other victims were lured to Rawalpindi, a known city in Pakistan, in the hope of getting jobs. In fact, he said, “the gang was creating a paper trial to provide a cover story in court” (9). The victims were asked to get tested because the traffickers wanted him to give up his kidney for 300,000 rupees. After Ahmed told the traffickers no, he said that he got beaten up and wasn’t allowed to go out until the process was complete (9). Undeniably, this case clearly demonstrates the inequality and lack of humanity within the society today. There are millions like Sadi, who are tricked into transporting to a whole new country, and then held hostage to remove their organs, against their will. All in
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.
Human trafficking is among the fastest growing categories of crime in the world right now, rivaled only by the drug and weapons industries. A 32 billion dollar global enterprise annually, its effects are far reaching and highly damaging to all involved. In reality, “human trafficking” is essentially a politically correct term for slavery. Through books, articles, and interviews, the two phrases are used interchangeably and are used to mean the same exact thing. There is an endless list of myths and misconceptions in regards to human trafficking, but I plan to keep all the information here very clear and concise. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Human trafficking is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.” (1) This means that innocent people are taken from their homes and families, kept in secret and forced to work for their captor or whomever they are sold to. This work may be physical labor and it may be sexual in nature. The living conditions are usually harsh, and it is not uncommon for the captor (or
As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,
According to Van Wormer & Bartollas (2014), sex trafficking, “encompasses the organized movement of people, usually women, between countries and within countries for sex work” (p. 289). Sex trafficking is also a very lucrative business, it is estimated to make $31. 6 billion annually. This amount is estimated from the 2.5 million people who a trafficked each year. The exact number of people who are victims of the sex industry cannot be predicted accurately for all over the world. In the United States alone there is about 14,500-17,500 people trafficked each year. Human trafficking it the third biggest organized crime after drug and arms trafficking (Hodge, 2014). Young men make up about 44% of people being trafficked, while women and girls
To begin, human sex trafficking is an enormous industry. The sex industry makes up approximately 75-80 percent of human trafficking (“55 Little Know” 1).
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
Sex trafficking is when women, young girls, and young boys are held in slavery and forced into prostitution for the financial gain of others in brothels in the United States, Europe, and other developing countries such as Thailand and the Philippines (Sexual Slavery). It’s happened to many women and children throughout many years in many of these countries for money and more power. Often purchased or kidnapped off the street, women, girls, and boys are trafficked across international
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.
According to estimates, more than 700,000 people are trafficked every year for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. They are transported across borders and sold into modern-day slavery. Over the past decade, trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune. Clawson (2009) discusses how the search for work abroad has been fueled by economic disparity, high unemployment and disruption of traditional livelihoods. It recognizes neither boundaries nor borders. Consequently profits from trafficking feed into the casket of organized crime. Trafficking is fueled by other criminal activities such as document fraud, money laundering and migrant smuggling. Because trafficking cases are expansive in reach, they are among the most important matters. (Clawson 2009)
In today’s era of technological advancement and scientific discovery, Man’s greed for power and fame has grown exponentially. We live in a world where we have accepted man’s absolute control over each and everything. The unjustified trade and enslavement of human beings in the current age represents a fallen civilisation. A civilisation that is advanced in technology and science, but backward in ethical values. So much so that personal greed comes before the value of a person’s life. Human trafficking is one of the most significant problems faced by the world today. It portrays a picture of inequality among equals with no regard for the right of every individual. Human trafficking is basically the use of human deception to exploit the vulnerable and the needy. According to Koettl (2009), “Human trafficking, as it is defined by international law, subsumes all forms of non-consensual
Sex trafficking is a form of contemporary slavery that induces and forces people into a commercial sex trade against their will. Many factors contribute to the sex trade and the exploitation occurs mostly to women and children. Through the age, gender, class, and race many are trapped in a never-ending cycle of coercion and abuse in order to survive in the corrupt society around them.
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 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 9.5billion dollars of profits are generated from trafficking humans world wide. “Persons do not have to have been transported internationally to be considered victims of trafficking(Facts about Human Trafficking). Men and women are often times tricked into servitude by “johns” a term used for traffickers and pimps. “Johns” use fraud, deception, coercion, and threats to the victim and or loved ones of the victim, to transport, harbor and or obtain people for sexual exploitation, or labor and slavery(¨Human Trafficking¨).
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.
With the proper regulations, a legal organ market could prove to be beneficial for patients, donors, and the economy. As Robyn S. Shapiro (2003), a lawyer who works primarily with medical cases, expressed “the strongest argument in favor of permitting the sale of human organs is that it would generate an increased supply of a scarce and lifesaving resource” (p. 19). At the same time, even if a legal organ market is not implemented and no other solutions are applied, illegal actions to obtain organs for life-threatening medical procedures and transplant tourism will still occur. For instance, “The United Network for Organ Sharing has estimated that each year, 200 to 300 Americas buy organs from the desperately poor in Third World countries” (as cited in Shapiro, 2003, p. 20).