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. …show more content…
Since human trafficking is a lucrative business there is big money to be made. The women victims are not making the money, it is the pimps and the prostitution industries that are seeing high profits. According to Sexual Trafficking, it is a different type of profit than the profit a drug seller would see because that profit is dependent on the drugs which are sold and used once. The women become dependent on their source to provide for them food, clothing and shelter on a continuous basis. Human traffickers seek out the most vulnerable individuals. They look for the women who are in poverty, socially deprived, illiterate and even with physical disabilities (Hodge, 2008). The lure is that they are providing for them a better life. Many women are coerce by employment opportunities, modeling and marriage agencies and once in they accumulate debt by being passed from organization to organization. This is termed “debt bondage”, they have to repay debt accumulated out of future earnings because traffickers paid for them transportation and other fees necessary to get them established (Hodge, …show more content…
“There is 12.3 million victims of human trafficking and forced labor worldwide at any given time according to Hepburn and Simon, 2010, and the highest number is for sexual exploitation (Hepburn & Simon, 2010). The kidnapping of 200 Nigerian girls by the militant Islamic group called Boko Harem in 2014 is a form of human trafficking. Human trafficking disguises itself in different ways to entrap victims. Human traffickers can operate through various businesses that blend into communities and look legitimate but are actually human trafficking hubs. Some of the frequent places are massage parlors and strip clubs. In society today the brothel owners, pornography producers and pimps know the high profit that women and children generate and place these orders for traffickers to fill (Hodges, 2008). They are transported in similar ways guns and drugs are smuggled into the United States. The majority are trafficked through Russia, Germany, France and Canada and in up in the United States where they are threatened, beaten, and forced drugs to cooperate. Also you have those who are runaways, or families might have sold them for money in their country, and then you have some who come by the way of mail order brides (Potts,
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,
“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).
Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar illegal commerce that enslaves millions of people. Astonishingly, third world countries are not the only victims to this modern-day slavery, but all countries, including the United States, are home to traffickers and slaves. Few people in the United States know that slavery still exists today and that there are more slaves today than at any other point in history. Consequently, the ignorance countries have on the perilous situation leads to millions of people living in slavery. School children should be aware that slavery still exists, they should know the signs of people being trafficked, and they should know how to avoid being enslaved.
According to Rijken (2009) any activity that involves the recruitment, transportation, or receipt of a person using coercive or deceptive means with the intent of exploitation is defined as Human Trafficking. If the victim is under 18 the coercive or deceptive means in unnecessary to call such conduct trafficking (p. 212). There are 12.3 million victims of human trafficking worldwide at any given moment (Hepburn & Simon, 2010; Nack, 2009). Statistics show that 43% are forced into the sex trade, 32% are used in forced labor, and the remaining 25% are trafficked for mixed or undetermined reasons (Hepburn & Simon, 2010). In the United States alone, 15-18,000 women, children, and men are trafficked annually. People of all genders, races, and ages are at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking. We can’t simply prosecute our way to social justice. Of course people who exploit people should be punished. But definitions of trafficking often cast a wide net, encompassing all sex workers. While law enforcement has the biggest role to play, the quest to end modern slavery must have other champions. Forced labor and sex trafficking is the second most profitable criminal enterprise, and the fastest growing. Yet the level of awareness within the United States is not commensurate. To truly confront this most egregious of crimes, civil society must be a lead proponent. Organizations already exist that help in a variety of ways, such as providing training to those who could identify victims. (Ergas, Y.; "Online Journal - JIA SIPA.")
Sexual exploitation exploits women and provides a vehicle for racism in a “first world” country like America, where victimization rates are disproportionately higher with “third world” women (O'Connor & Healy, 2007). Goodson is an anti-trafficking activist, is director of international programs for Shared Hope International which is an organization who works with victims of sex trafficking. From her experience, many victims are poor and are sexually abused children and young adults who are swayed by the promises of a better life. Once they reach the United States, the victims are psychologically and physically abused. In the United States, victims of international sex trafficking come primarily from South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa through states such as Florida, California and New York (Goodson, 2006). The U.S. Department of State estimates that about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked across national borders annually. Furthermore, it is estimated that 17,500 to 20,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S. annually, with Florida receiving a high percentage of those victims. Although the people who enter the United States are often not legally permitted to enter the United States, Lagon asserts that it is important to note the difference between human
Human Trafficking is basically the trade of humans for sexual slavery, being forced to work, or for commercial exploitation. It happens all over the world, and it is also known as a form of slavery even though slavery is banned in most of the countries where it is practiced. It even affects children. The worst forms of child labor affect an estimated 126 million children around the world (Healey, 2012). I wonder why it affects this many children around the world if it is banned in the countries that is being practiced. Are the people with power not paying enough attention to this crime in order to stop it or at least keep it at a minimum. In places like Australia, and almost every country in the world Human Trafficking is being under-reported and it happens to people of certain descents.
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).
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.
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. (Darker Side, par.1) Women, children, and even men are taken from their homes, and off of the streets and are brought into a life that is almost impossible to get out of. This life is not one of choice, it is in most times by force. UNODC estimates that the total international human trafficking is a $32-billion-per-year business, and that 79% of this activity comprises sexual exploitation. As many as 2 million children a year are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, according the the U.S. State Department.-- Cynthia G. Wagner. (Darker Side, par. 4) The words prostitute, pimp, escort, and stripper tend to be way too common in the American everyday vocabulary. People use these words in a joking manner, but sex trafficking is far from a joke. Everyday, from all different countries, people are bought and sold either by force or false promises. Some are kidnapped and others come to America with dreams of a dream life and job. The buyers involved in the trade will do anything to purchase an innocent life just to sell for their own selfish profit. Many people wouldn’t think of a human body to be something you can buy in the back room of a business or even online. But those plus the streets are where people are sold most often. There are many reasons and causes for sex trafficking. The factors behind sex traffic...
Traffickers use many different ways to capture victims, especially women and young girls, because they use them to get something at the end, such as money. Trafficking may be easy for some people, but for the victims they suffer from a variety of health issues such as “depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and physical injuries such as bruises, broken bones, head wounds, stab wounds, mouth and teeth injuries and even death” (cite). Victims of sexual trafficking are at a high risk of “sexually transmitted infections” such as HIV (cite). Women involved are likely to get pregnant, so they end up getting an abortion, but since they cannot seek health care, this leads them to health problems. According to the cite, “women may not be able to pay for care.
Trafficking in humans is a massive underground industry throughout the United States as well as close to home, mainly Chicago and it’s suburbs. “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, 9.5 billion dollars of profits are generated from trafficking humans worldwide. “Persons do not have to have been transported internationally to be considered victims of trafficking” (Facts about Human Trafficking).
One reason why human trafficking is a serious crime that many people are unaware of is because it secretly takes place in the United States. Between 2007 and 2012, there were reports of 9,298 different cases of human trafficking (Polaris Project). An example of how unknown this topic is is that 41% of sex trafficking cases and 20% of labor trafficking cases were proven to have United States citizens as victims (Polaris Project). And this is only what we know so far. There are thousands of cases that we don’t know about. Many people also don’t know that men, women, and even children are also taken hostage by human traffickers. An example of this would be that out of those 9,298 cases that were reported, women were victims of sex trafficking in 85% of those cases. Men were victims of labor trafficking in 40% of those cases (Polaris Project). Approximately 300,000 children are at risk of being prostituted in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice). Children are even more under the radar than we know about. On average, one in three teenagers on the street will be lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving their home (National Runaway Hotline). For example, two female friends who were minors ran away from home and were prom...
The worst part of prostitution is that some of these women or men are used as human traffickers. The best-known form of human trafficking is for the purpose of sexual exploitation, hundreds of thousands of victims are also trafficked for forced labor, domestic servitude, child begging or the removal of their organs. The many different types of human trafficking means that there is no single, typical victim profile (UNODC, 2016). There were many methods for laundering money, there was the bulk movement, use of financial institutions, use of nonfinancial and commercial business and the movement through the underground banking system. Traffickers use several of these methods to integrate the drug money into the economy as licit profits (Lyman & Porter, 2015, p. 175).