Human Trafficking Today

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.” – William Wilberforce, an English politician, and leader of the movement to stop the slave trade. Human trafficking is a violation of humanity in society. It is a universal problem. It includes hiring, harboring, and deporting human individuals over the globe for uncultivated causes and slavery. Human trafficking has become more widespread around time yet the majority of the population are uninformed of it. Trafficking is a human rights concern since it affects both advanced and developing nations globally, restricting disadvantaged men, women, and children from ever obtaining true equity in modern society.

We should be genuinely concerned about human trafficking because it weaves with many other social justice issues. For example, it is connected to sex and racial inequality because at its heart is the belief that one human being is worth less and insignificant from another. I chose this topic because I always enjoyed true crime shows. That was the first place where I learned about kidnappings and human traffickings. Although it caused myself to become more paranoid about those situations, it resulted in me doing research about kidnappings and human trafficking. Educating myself of what I was paranoid about made me feel better since I became aware of what to avoid and protocols I could do if I ever encounter a scenario like that. I later recognized that the majority of people around me are not aware of how prevalent human trafficking is. This made me want to spread awareness about it by writing this paper.

The common public does not have a true awareness of the consequences of human trafficking. No matter the kinds of numerous trafficking, the number of victims is tremendous. Yet numerous of victims are usually concealed in common sight. The trafficking of humans is the following extensive criminal industry in the world. Transitioning to my question, to what extent can the common person prevent the manipulation of traffickers to reduce the rates of victims in the United States? Being able to learn the indicators of human trafficking to identify a possible victim, while also educating the people around you is very serious. You would be capable of giving a voice to victims who had it stolen due to their traffickers.

Background Information Human trafficking is the twenty-first century version of slavery. It involves fraud and force to achieve and gain some variety of hard labor or sex acts. Human trafficking affects every country in the world. Millions of men, women, and children are trafficked each year. Human trafficking is supposed to obtain billions of dollars; second to drug trafficking. The data for estimating the prevalence of human trafficking nationally are not well developed, therefore the data varies widely and changed significantly over time. According to “Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the Literature.” ASPE, 21 Feb. 2017, “The U.S. State Department has estimated that about 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked annually across international borders worldwide and approximately half of these victims are younger than age 18.” However, this does not include all the unreported cases of victims due to the fear of their perpetrator or situation. According to “Hotline Statistics.” National Human Trafficking Hotline, California has the most reported cases of human trafficking, followed by Texas and Florida. Although human trafficking is a large epidemic, most civilians are not aware of how prevalent it is.

Human Trafficking usually goes unnoticed. Who is Affected by Human Trafficking Many do not realize human trafficking exists in their community. According to Gazette, Jessica Cohen For the. “Human Trafficking Often Goes Unnoticed, Officials Say.” 29 Aug. 2018, “Trafficking tends to go unreported by victims because of the complexity of their relationships with their assailants.” A lot of the victims do not even understand that they are in a serious situation and what is happening to them. While also not having someone to rely on therefore fearing of consequences. In 77 percent of human trafficking cases, the perpetrators are family members, friends or others the victims know. This causes it harder for them to get away from trafficking.

According to Labor and Sex Trafficking Among Homeless Youth Covenant House, trafficking regularly involves the transport of victims. Due to being in foreign countries, a lot of victims are not aware of their rights there as well. Because it is a major global problem in the world today, it is important to be aware of basic facts, prevention, security and the prosecution of human trafficking. Although current stereotypes often portray the victims of human trafficking as ignorant girls who are seduced or kidnapped from their home countries and forced into the sex industry. Men, women, and children are all preyed on by traffickers for various types of labor. Certain commonalities exist between victims. Such as their vulnerability to force and fraud. How are Victims affected Human traffickers usually prey on those with few economic opportunities and those struggling to meet basic needs.

For the vast majority of youth, economic factors made them more vulnerable to trafficking. According to “Labor and Sex Trafficking Among Homeless Youth.” Job Training Covenant House, “19% of all youth interviewed had engaged in survival sex solely so that they could access housing or food.” This shows that people with more economic disadvantages are more vulnerable to human trafficking since they are desperate for basic needs. Victims of human trafficking are more bound to the emotional effects of trafficking trauma such as anxiety, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and/or substance abuse. Human trafficking is a complex problem because the victims experience physical and psychological harm. The traffickers use physical violence to dominate and control their victims. In addition to PTSD, victims of human trafficking have been found to suffer from other anxiety and mood disorders including panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder.

According to “Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the Literature.” ASPE, 21 Feb. 2017, “Individuals with traumatic histories of physical and/or sexual abuse have also been found to be at increased risk for the development of dissociative disorders.” How do Traffickers treat their Victims According to Currie-McGhee, L. K. Human Rights in Focus: Human Trafficking. ReferencePoint Press, 2018. The author, Currie-McGhee, L. K. writes about modern day slavery and how to understand it. Modern day slavery exists in every part of the globe. This is when individuals are either forced or pressured into positions where they become the object and property of individual criminals or entire organizations. Traffickers use brutality, intimidations, distortions, and other manipulative tactics to compel people to work for free or engage in the commercial sex trade. Victims must do whatever their traffickers demand, or suffer harsh consequences. Human trafficking oftentimes involves transporting victims from one place to another, but this does not occur in all human trafficking cases. If a victim is required to comply with a trafficker’s request, the crime can be classified as human trafficking.

Traffickers often prey upon disadvantaged poor people. However, human trafficking is not just an issue with poverty induced areas. It takes place in nearly all countries. Including wealthier places like the United States. Human trafficking is slavery and involves stripping away and violating the basic rights of a human being. Traffickers view their victims as their products. Traffickers constantly tell their victims that they are worthless, insignificant and forgotten. Victims are exposed to high levels of emotional distress induced by constant threats, fear, and phycological abuse. Victims are repeatedly told they have no control over their lives. Those who are trafficked into foreign countries are continually reminded they are in a foreign country where they have no papers, passport, and family. Essentially saying they have no other options. Victims are made to believe that they are helpless and cannot survive without their traffickers. The victims are drawn into a sense of lost identity and a sense of dependency upon their traffickers. According to PressReader.com, “Connecting People Through News”, “ Traffickers threaten to report their victims.” Trafficking victims are in abusive situations where escaping is difficult or dangerous. Traffickers know that the victims may be terrified of being arrested, and they use this to their advantage by repeatedly assuring victims that the police will not be on their side if they expose their traffickers.

The strategies of traffickers are continuously evolving. It is an ever-present challenge to identify and destroy new ways traffickers seek to engage in their activities while avoiding exposure. As such, actions that on their face may appear legitimate can merely be fronts that disguise trafficking. Law Enforcement with Human Trafficking On top of the already little to no comprehension that society understands about human trafficking is that the vast majority of trafficking survivors remain to be constantly criminalized and revictimized, following identification. While this is partly a responsibility of neglected assistance provision, in some cases survivors are also often seen as less than reliable witnesses, given their experiences, which can be influenced by drug use, immigration status, and the very same sex work that they were involved with. This means that even though the victims have left their traumatic situations, it still affects them after they leave.

It is more difficult to become reaccustomed to society while also facing the difficulties of trying to get the support needed to overcome their traumatic experiences. Therefore the effect of traffickers on victims is a long-term problem. When victims of human trafficking are being helped, law enforcement can create a sense of safety by establishing and treating the individual as a victim despite their previous arrests and ensuring that they will not be required to perform exploitive acts. Law enforcement officers have a chance to show themselves as dependable for a victim to open up to, express their emotions and talk about their experiences. In many situations, victims are not cooperative and do not trust law enforcement. Some do not believe that they are victims and others simply refuse to serve law enforcement because of the lies their trafficker has ingrained in their belief system. Law enforcement can lighten some of those situations by maintaining communication, abstaining from expressing an opinion or judgmental remarks and keeping their word.

Human Trafficking Contribution to Society Human trafficking is a manifestation of a larger issue: the collapse of society. Torn and corrupt homes, damaged communities, and nonfunctional practices all contribute to developing the circumstances for exploitation to grow. If we want to approach the concern of modern day slavery, then we require the background knowledge that compounds issues of starvation, prejudice, homelessness, exploitation, and inequality. Human Trafficking cannot be stopped without acknowledging the fugitive crisis and the implement of sufficient care for immigrants. It is extremely difficult to “correct” human trafficking without fixing any other damaged foster care policy. Nor can you end exploitation if there are still people in our communities who have limited political or economic power because of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. However, that is a tall order to overcome. What is Being Done about Human Trafficking There are organizations working to reduce the risks that children will be marketed by traffickers and help ensure that young people around the world have a brighter future. An example of an organization is ChildFund.

They work with governments and local partners around the world to resist the abduction, trafficking, and trading of children. Great unemployment percentages and debt are just a few of the factors that put people at risk. For example, in India, over 100,000 children are being kidnapped and sold each year (U.S Global Leadership Coalition). These children are later required to work in cotton fields or other labor inducing work. Usually, this is called in debt bondage to repay back the money that their families would owe. To fight against this, ChildFund is working to strengthen five local organizations to protect these children as well as families and community leaders. However, a human-rights based analysis is now key to our understanding trafficking in terms of a violation of human dignity, liberty, and freedom, as well as an abuse of power. Along with feminist analyses, it enables an examination of the intersections of sex, race, and class that make some people more vulnerable to abuse than others. There is substantial and compelling evidence that commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States are serious problems with immediate and long-term consequences for children and adolescents, as well as for families, communities, and society as a whole.

Efforts to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States are essential but largely absent. Efforts to identify and respond to the sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States are emerging, with some noteworthy examples, but efforts to date are largely undersupported, insufficient, uncoordinated, and unevaluated. Efforts to address commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States need to confront demand and the individuals who commit and benefit from these crimes. While there are many worthwhile agencies and organizations around who do valuable work spreading the word and helping victims of Human trafficking, the continued governments cut to funding force these charitable to appeal to the general public for help with financial aid. This subsequently causes society to become immune to such appeals and perhaps this is partly the reason for the public’s lack of awareness of Human Trafficking.

Human Trafficking touches every country and countless industries worldwide, and while there are many individuals and organizations working globally to combat this problem, it may take time before it is fully realized just how huge this issue is. What We Can do to Help As comfortable as it is to grasp onto the understanding that tells us we are not a part of the issue unless we immediately provide to it. An example is our consumption practices would say contrarily. The troubling fact is that the coffee we drink and the food we consume, the garments we wear and the electronics we use day to day may possibly be tainted by slave workers. You can participate in the restoration process by buying survivor-made products. Financially promoting high-quality anti-trafficking organizations may not feel exciting, but it is one of the most impactful ways you can help. Reconciling in human trafficking is about more than working programs and the construction of shelters. It’s about raising people up, particularly those living in helpless situations. When we attend to members of our society to have a power of worth, strong relationships, and access to schooling, employment, and solid housing, we are able to help in the fight against human trafficking.

Conclusion

In conclusion, human trafficking is today’s most relevant and gainful form of illegal trade and has thrived in different parts of the world. The business activity involves the exploitation and molestation, sexual exploitation, and forced labor of people. This kind of trade is brought about due to poverty, corruption in the government systems, grounds that are offered to the victims and parents who have enormous debts. The activity has been damaging to the victims who have both physical and mental health problems; some die as a result of the activity while others have permanent physical injuries. Therefore, most nations have realized a need to control this kind of illegal trade through the establishment of political moral conviction.

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