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. The Super Bowl is one of the most exciting events of the entire year. Each year, fans spend hundreds of dollars to be able to travel to the city is hosting the Super Bowl and even more money to purchase any available seats. Companies spend millions of dollars to try to buy the best advertising slots available during this game. Yet, no one talks about the dark secret of what is happening behind the scenes, and what is happening at the Super Bowl after the parties. According to reporter Jideobi Ezeonu (2014), “girls and women from all over the country have been stripped away from their families, and taken to completely foreign places so that they can make a profit for their “bosses,” (para. 3). Ezeonu (2014) also makes a statement about the women kidnapped and forced to work as sex slaves, saying, “these girls who are kidnapped are forced to go to cities hosting these events and from that point, the simple idea of supply and demand comes into play,” (para. 7). There have been several women who have been able to escape from their captors and get help to recover from the traumas they endured. According to reporter, Naomi Martin (2013), “Clemmie Greenlee, a former victim of sex tr... ... middle of paper ... ...Ezeonu, Jideobi (2014, February 13). Media ignore important issues for trivial amusement. Retrieved from www.edinborospectator.com/?p=1927 Martin, Naomi (2013, February 1). Former Sex Trafficking Victim Shines Light on Dark Underworld of Super Bowl. Retrieved from www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/02/former_sex_trafficking_victim.html Merlan, Anna (2014, January 30). Just in Time for February, the Myth of Sex Trafficking and the `Super Bowl Returns. Retrieved from bogs.williagevoice.com/runninscared/201/just_in_time_fo.php The National Center for Victims of Crime (2012). Human Trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.victimsofcrime.org/library/crimeinformation-and-statistics/human-trafficking United nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2014). Human Trafficking. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html?
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,
The significance of this publication is to promote awareness on the issue of sex trafficking.
The book Renting Lacy: A Story of America’s Prostituted Children by Linda Smith addresses the topic of the underground world of child sex trafficking. Unfortunately, it is a topic that has been purposefully neglected in our society for many years. The author presents every chapter with a real story of a sexually exploited child. The stories are intense, powerful but especially touching which makes the reader feel frustrated, desperate, and vexed. After every chapter, Smith tries to include commentaries that presents a deeper understating about human trafficking. It seems that the purpose of her commentaries is to make the reader think deeper about the problem of sex trafficking and accumulate desires to act towards this issue as they continue
In the article “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the United States,” Kimberly Kotrla discussed the disheartening facts of what’s going on in the United States under our noses. Today more and more people are finding out about this sad industry. In Alaska my brother goes out in the streets to help save these girls in sex trafficking. Knowing my brother is doing something to end this made me feel proud while reading this informative essay.
These issues must be brought to light so that more efforts can be made to put an end to this terrible trade. Works Cited Kara, Siddharth. A.P.S. & C.P.S. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia UP, 2009. 5.
Human Trafficking is a form of modern slavery that exists throughout the United States and Mexico. In Prayers of The Stolen, there are plenty of examples in Mexico where women and young children were being taken. Some women who have been taken never return back to see their families. They have known to start trafficking along the U.S. Mexico border. This is where human trafficking is developing and experts have said that the U.S. government is trying to police and control the nation’s borders to put a stop to human trafficking.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (Declaration of Independence, ).” In the media there have been many movies, documentaries, articles, television broadcasts that centered on raising awareness for human trafficking. It has been going on for far too long and many don’t realize or recognize that is going on strongly in America and to Americans; as well as, surrounding countries. Human Trafficking by definition is the trade in humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or for the extraction of organs or tissues, including surrogacy and ova removal. It is modern form of slavery that strips victims of their freedom and violates our nation’s promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights. It is also a crime. Approximately three out of every 1,000 persons worldwide were in forced labor at any given point in time between 2002 and 2011. Victims of human trafficking include not only men and women lured into forced labor by the promise of a better life in the United States, but also boys and girls who were born and raised in here in the United States. Human trafficking and its relationship with the media/news will be discussed throughout the remainder of this paper, focus will be placed on how they present the topic, whether or not enough awareness is being raised toward the topic and is it making a difference. The news job is to inform the public of events that occurring around them. The paper will be focusing on new...
Bowen & Shannon Frontline Consulting. (2009). Human Trafficking, Sex Work Safety and the 2010 Games: Assessments and Recommendations. Vancouver: SISWAG
“Teen Girls’ Stories of Sex Trafficking in U.S.” ABC News. 1-4, 2006. Web. 20 Jul 2010. .
First, Kristof, Nicolas D. author of “What about human trafficking in US?” mentions a question we all might have thought about which is: Why don’t human trafficking victims escape?...
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...
The “Land of the free” is not so free after all. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry after illegal drugs and arms trafficking . Human trafficking is like modern day slavery; it is defined as the loss of freedom to another 's control by force, fraud or coercion. The United States turns out to be the #1 destination for child sex trafficking. I chose this topic because it interested me the most out of all other topics. When finding a topic to do research on, none of the topics left me asking myself so many questions. The fact that i barely knew anything about human trafficking, made me realize that there might be many people out there that are like me. People who probably think that human trafficking rarely happens,
"Facts On Human Trafficking And Sex Slavery | Soroptimist." Soroptimist.org. N. p., 2017. Web. 14
In hindsight, many people have no clue and don’t have the slightest idea that human trafficking is even occurring in the entire world, let alone the United States. It is a shame and a shock that this happens right beneath our noses. Even when we are conscientious about human trafficking, we neglect and ignore it. We try to bypass the thought of this huge crime happening in our own country and fail to realize that it happens everyday. Human trafficking is a serious crime that many people are unaware of; it secretly takes place in the United States; it secretly ruins many lives; it secretly goes by to be never discovered or punished by government officials.