Human Trafficking Essay

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Human trafficking is an illicit trade of the buying and selling of people within their own countries and across borders, who are controlled to work for others (MTV EXIT, n.d.). Human trafficking is becoming more serious and threatens the nations of the world. It is estimated that approximately 30 million people are currently living in modern slavery (Global Slavery Index, 2013). These victims, who are vulnerable with the dream of a better life, are frequently hunted by traffickers. Their subjects may be men, women and even children from developing countries. They are deceived into different kinds of slave traffic. For instance, they are typically forced by using violence, deception and coercion to be laborers, prostitute themselves, or sell …show more content…

It is estimated that 21 million victims are forced into labor exploitation worldwide; or in other words, three out of every 1,000 persons are subjected to involuntary servitude (ILO, 2012). They are exploited long hours a day for meager or no remuneration in extremely hazardous conditions such as mining, construction sites and quarrying. In addition, not only adults but children are also forced labors, namely 1.2 million children are enslaved per year (Kwon, 2009). In Ghana, Mark Kwadwo who was leased by his parents just for $20 a year was not conscious of the reasons why he had to do it. He was forced to work “14 hours a day, seven days a week, in a trade that even adult fishermen here call punishing and, at times, dangerous” in Lake Volta. “I don’t like it here”, he whispered (Lafraniere, 2006). At that age, children deserve to go to school, make friends and have fun rather than work. Human trafficking dispossesses victims of the fundamentals of human rights and exhausts …show more content…

According to ILO (2012), 4.5 million people are victims of sexual exploitation across the world, and women make up around 98 per cent of these victims. The primary reason is that traffickers have no difficulties to recruit female victims, who are vulnerable and easy to abduct. Moreover, they are abused and kept in captivity in slavery-like conditions. Kolab, who is a Cambodian victim of sex trafficking, was forced to sleep with 50 men per day; if she did not give the pimp money, she was beaten ruthlessly until she fainted (Equality Now, n.d.). In this case, the victims trafficked for sexual exploitation suffer not only physical pain but also mental pain. Chastity towards women and girls, especially Asian women, is crucial, and somewhere consider it as a moral standard of women. Thereby, they may be in serious shock when they are forced to sleep with men. In addition, they have to face sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. We find it difficult to compute accurate figures of the victims of HIV/AIDS, but it is estimated that “30% of sex workers aged 13-19 are infected with HIV” in Cambodia (United Nations, 2001). At that age, they are lack of awareness of safe sex and HIV’s danger. Thus, trafficking for prostitution is a threat against the victims in particular and society in general. It ruins their lives, and confronts them with death due to HIV

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