Solutions to Child trafficking in Romania
The Guardian describes the story of Marinela, A seventeen year old Romanian girl who was kidnapped and sold as a sex slave. The British newspaper shared that “[Marinela’s] Daily shifts lasted twelve hours, 10pm to 10am, seven days a week.” She was later discovered and arrested for prostitution in England. It was also reported that, “Her first day in custody was the first time since her arrival in England six months earlier that she had not been forced to have sex.” (Townsend). Unfortunately, Marinela’s story is not unique, she was discovered with at least one hundred other Romanian teenage girls, and she is one of an estimated four million victims of human trafficking each year (Moju Project). Romania’s
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1 This is a population pyramid of Romania. The massive population boom (in now middle-aged Romanians) is evident of how destructive Ceausescu’s population laws were (Central Intelligence Agency).
The combination of food insecurity and these utterly insane tactics drove the infant mortality rate in Romania up to 83 deaths out of 1000 births (“Over-planned Parenting”). Since many women were unable to feed themselves, let alone all of their children, a large majority of infants were abandoned to grow up in state- run institutions. Romania is infamous for these inhumane and abusive establishments, and they have become a symbol of communist oppression in the country. Since the fall of communism and assassination of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, conditions for women have improved drastically, but the country is still reeling from these laws, and mistreatment of women has taken a new form. Romania’s past of discrimination towards women has inspired a lack of self-worth and confidence, especially for their institutionalized population. These factors have contributed to why Romania is one of the largest sources and transit countries in the world for human trafficking
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Awareness is an instrumental weapon in the fight against human trafficking. Other than the bloody coup d’etat that took place in Romania late in 1989, the world knows very little about the Eastern European country (Smith). Romanian’s take pride in their country and how they reclaimed it from Communism; if they were aware that their reputation in the West involved forced prostitution and corruption, the problem would most likely be more ardently combatted in their country. In order for this to happen, awareness must be raised, inside and outside of Romania. An example of one significant way awareness can be raised is by spreading the first-hand accounts of women who have escaped or survived ordeals as Romanian sex
Sell, Louis. Problems Of Post-Communism. 1999. ""Slobodan Milosevic." ." Academic Search Premier,, November : 6: 12.
The significance of this publication is to promote awareness on the issue of sex trafficking.
This is an interdisciplinary paper, which focuses on the trafficking of young women and children into prostitution. It starts with a brief description of what is human trafficking and how it works as a business. Then, it focuses on the sex trafficking part of it and how young women and children are more vulnerable to victimization and exploitation. Many victims of human trafficking are under this idea of debt bondage, which is sort of the commitment that victims have with their traffickers. Victims are forced to work until they pay their debt, which most of the time is unpayable. Public corruption is one of the many reasons why many traffickers can transport their victims within or out of the country, which can make it harder to help the victims,
Merlan, Anna (2014, January 30). Just in Time for February, the Myth of Sex Trafficking and the
Human trafficking has been entwined into the structure of governments, arms trade, drug trade, and even spreads as far as terrorism. For many years it has been a fact that the money that has been made by selling other humans to the highest bidder. It is also known that the organized crime operations generate one of the most profitable resources to the organization. These organizations use this money for theirs or other’s crime and end up in the hands of drug lords. Drug lords, in order to promote their own business give money to support terrorist groups and activities. Security after September 11, 2001 has recognized human trafficking as a national and international security risk.
Communism was a strong standing form of government in Bosnia, lasting for almost 50 years. However, the fall of communism was shorter, spanning 3 years, from1989 to 1992. The fall began with the end of the long lasting Cold War, along with the deconstruction of the physical barrier that was a sign of separation - the Berlin Wall. Tearing down the walls of communism in countries around them led to the break up and the collapse of Y...
Everyday men, women and children are trafficked in and out of Moldova; some are transported willingly, others are tricked, and some are kidnapped. Hundreds are daily losing their freedom and becoming slaves to the will of their exploiters. While the trafficking of persons can be for forced labor, a study from 2000 reports that one fourth of global trafficking is for sexual purposes. Sadly, in Moldova trafficking for the purpose of sex constitutes 80% of the total trafficking in the country and a 10% of the Moldovan population has been trafficked. Today in Moldova a human being can be purchased for as little as $150 (US dollars). This is a true crisis of human rights. What is the cause of this crisis? According to Kligman and Limoncelli, “the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 has since provided new resources – geographical and human – for the sex trade and traffic.” Is this true? Did the dissolution of the USSR play a factor in this violation of human rights or is it a simple matter of chance? In the following pages we will take a look at the collapse of communism and the lasting effects of its breakdown. I believe that the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the economic downfall in Moldova, as well as the militarization of the surrounding area, which has expanded the magnitude of the sex trade in Moldova.
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.
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,
Hungary experienced not only Soviet occupation, but also political oppression and economic decline. Many were critical of Hungary’s problems due to Soviet control, especially political oppression. Hungary developed into a communist state under the severe, dictatorial rule of Mátyás Rákosi. During Rákosi’s control, the Security Police began a series of eliminations, starting with...
Sex trafficking is a global issue that involves a form of coerced sexual exploitation, which is not limited to prostitution. Victims of sex trafficking are stripped of their basic human rights and forced to live a life of modern slavery. The U.S. State Department (Stop Child Trafficking Now, 2012) has stated that human trafficking is “one of the fastest growing crimes in the world.” It it hard to put a number on how on many people are living inside the sex trafficking industry for many reasons, one being that not all victims come forward. It is estimated by the U.S. State Department (Stop Child Trafficking Now, 2012) that every year “600,00-800,000 people will be trafficked across international borders, 80% being women and children.” This
One difference between the Hungarians and the Czechs was the effects of nationalism on the uprisings. Rooted in their history from 1848 Revolution against the Habsburg Empire, the Hungarians sought independence with the death of Stalin. Matyas Rakoski, a Stalin protégé, came to power as General Secretary of the Hungarian Worker’s Party in 1949. Using his authority as General Secretary, Rakoski oppressed the people of Hungary including purging political dissidents and killing 2,000 people of the total population. He used the State Protection Agency to carry out the purges bringing in an administration of absolute control and fear to the people of Hungary. But, the Hungarians would not completely abandon their nationalist hop...
Human trafficking is one of the most heinous and overlooked crimes in our growing society today. There are more slaves in American homes today than there ever were during the American Civil War (Bales & Soodlater 2010). Human trafficking is the third most profitable illegal business behind the illicit trade of narcotics and weapons trading (Shelley 2010). Over 27 million people are ensnared in “modern day slavery” some of these people are used for sexual exploitation and others are used for slave labor. Most of these victims are simply tricked into this underground world and brainwashed into not leaving their enslavement. Sadly, out of these 27 million human trafficking victims around 50% of them are children under the age of 16 (Polaris 2012).
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...
Human trafficking is the act of coercing someone into working against his or her will. Anyone can be a victim, especially young girls who are vulnerable to the captor’s lies. Victims have been found anywhere from driving ice cream trucks to touring boys’ choir. In her talk, Noy Thrupkaew shares several examples about how people are deceived and coerced into coming to the United States and being forced to work for someone else. She focuses on how close to home human trafficking really is and how the victims don’t necessarily need saving but solidarity. In Noy Thrupkaew’s speech about human trafficking, she not only shares her own story but also the different situations regarding how the crime functions. Because the speaker