Human Trafficking And Its Effects On Human Rights

Human trafficking is a criminal activity that has risen to be the second largest after drug trafficking. According to the International Labor Organization, 21 million people globally are victims of trafficking involving forced labor and sexual exploitation (Merry, 2015). There is no doubt that human trafficking is an evil that requires robust countermeasures to combat it. However, there are popular myths about human trafficking that do not only distorts a proper understanding of the problem but also hampers efforts to combat it. This paper describes two myths about human trafficking and challenges these myths with the aim of creating awareness about the truth surrounding human trafficking for better actions towards combating it.

Human trafficking, or the selling and buying of people, is a well-hidden yet prominent issue within today’s society. It is both an immoral and horrific topic that needs brought to attention and dealt with. When human beings are manipulated into work, sexual servitude, or economic hardship, human trafficking is occurring. In the year of 2006, only one individual is convicted of human trafficking per 800 victims (UNGIFT). By looking at straight statistics, reasons human trafficking happens, and the toll it has on people, it is very clear that this is a major issue that is happening in our world.

Over the last several years, the issue of human trafficking has been compared with the slave trade. This is because both are focused on taking someone against their will and forcing them to engage in demeaning activities. Yet, the practices of modern traffickers are different from slave traders. To fully understand the similarities and disparities requires contrasting them with one another. The combination of these factors will provide specific insights about the two. (Bales, 2010)

Human trafficking is in every state of this nation and in every country across the world. It’s in cities, suburbs, and rural areas; being hidden in plain view; unseen by so many. In 2015, 17,500 cases of sex trafficking were reported in the United States (Chawla). This is only the cases that were reported. It is estimated that there were about 20.9 million cases across the world that never got reported in 2015 (Lize). There are more human slaves in the world today than ever before in history (Straker). The purpose of this paper is to educate the reader on human trafficking in the United States and in the World, and prove how bad it has become.

Constant terror, abuse, long days and Isolation. These are the feelings human trafficking victims endure while being held captive and deprived of every basic human right (Behnke 15). When speaking of the term “slavery”, most would think of slaves from past centuries who were brought to North America and were abusively forced to work. However, slavery is not an issue of the past centuries. “Human Trafficking is the term that is used today for modern-day slavery” (Hart 4). Human trafficking manifests through various types of labor exploitation along with sexual exploitation and it is a rapidly increasing problem due to lack of awareness, education and law reinforcement.

A $28 billion trade is human trafficking, not to be confused with smuggling. This can take place in many forms such as modern day slavery, sexual exploitation, or even worse, organ harvesting. Human smuggling is when persons pay just to be brought into a country and do not get forced into all the terrible things that a ‘trafficked’ person gets forced into doing. Trapped with no way out many are forced to work as migrant workers or prostitutes. This is one of the fastest growing criminal activities around the globe. (Vardi, 2010). “It is estimated that 800,000 to 900,000 victims are annually trafficked across international borders worldwide and between 14,500 and 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States annually.” (2012).

A serious crime that virtually affects every country in the world is human trafficking. Human trafficking is a multi-national criminal business that’s roots are tied into “trans-criminal organizations, small criminal networks and local gangs, violations of labor and immigration codes, and government corruption” (Richard, 1999; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2006.). Typically human trafficking has been defined as trading women and children for prostitution. As of late, trafficking has grown to include other types of force, fraud, or coercion, beyond sexual exploitation (USDHHS, pg. 3). The United States Congress has defined human trafficking into

Human trafficking is a method of modern day slavery which entails the illegal trade of persons for sexual exploitation or forced labor. Each year thousands of men, women and children are victims of this suppression. Countless countries including the United States are affected by trafficking. Habitually, traffickers tend to prey on a perceived vulnerability, whether it is through a promise of money, employment, or better opportunities not normally afforded to the victim. Ultimately, the victims later find themselves trapped and manipulated and held against his or her will for the price of profit or involuntary servitude. Several organizations and governments across the globe, have implemented approaches to eradicate human trafficking. Unfortunately, the attempts to abolish this crime against human rights seems impossible to stop due to the ever-growing demand.

The standard way of thinking about human trafficking has been that it is a problem of undeveloped countries. Lamentably, human trafficking it is an alarming issue in our nation, states, and cities. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) acknowledges that last year (2014) 21,431 phone calls, 1149 emails, and 1482 online tips were made to report human trafficking in The United States. The same report presents that Washington is listed in the top 15 for human trafficking cases reported by state for 2014. In order to understand this scourge it is important to know that human trafficking “is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control victims for the purpose of engaging in commercial

Human trafficking has been around since the early beginnings of human civilization. Many simply called it slavery. The first cases of modern human trafficking victims were first discovered and made in to a publicized issue over 100 years ago. This began a movement to stop what was called, “white slavery,” prostitutes from European nations that were sent to brothels throughout the Western empires. This movement led to a series of four separate treaties in effort to combat this form of human trafficking. In addition to human sex trafficking, the late 1980’s brought forth to light the exploitation of migrant workers through forced human labor trafficking (Karmen, 2013). As time has passed, human trafficking has increased. According to the Polaris Project, an agency dedicated to the aid and rehabilitation of human trafficking victims, human trafficking is now a problem that occurs 365 days.

Many women and young girls dream of having a better life. They are willing to travel across the ocean to other countries that would offer them better opportunities. One of their main goals is be able to provide for themselves and their families financially. However, in their lifetime they could never imagine that their dreams would be shattered by a horrendous act called human trafficking. Every year, these unfortunate victims are either lured, sold, or forced against their will into a black-market of human trade known as human trafficking.

Human trafficking is an extremely tragic and serious crime. Not only does human trafficking exploit innocent individuals, but it also hurts society. It violates our fundamental rights as individuals and strips victims of their rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Human trafficking is referred as modern day slavery and victims are taken advantage of and left scarred physically, emotionally, and mentally. Human trafficking affects almost every country in the world, and as a nation that has upwards of 600,000 people that are trafficked across international borders on an annual basis, we need to ensure that we take a strong stance against it. Human trafficking is crime and should be treated as such; we cannot allow this practice to go on.

The practice of human trafficking is one of the oldest in the world; it has been occurring worldwide since the earliest known civilization. Even today, despite the fact it is illegal in most places, it occurs all around us without us even noticing. Human trafficking is “the illegal recruitment, transportation, and trading of humans for sexual exploitation, forced labor, or the removal of organs.” (Fundukian) The modern system of human trafficking is derived from the colonial patriarchy, and today anyone in the world can be a victim of trafficking. Many experts estimate that there are more slaves in the world today than there have even been, and they are cheaper than ever. The average cost for a slave today is close to $90. Battling the horrific industry of human trafficking is a difficult task due to it’s size but it can be accomplished by educating people of the risks and signs of human trafficking, educating young teens on how to avoid being roped into trafficking, and being vigilant in attempting to identify people who could potentially be in trafficking situations.

When most people hear the word “slavery”, they envision an outdated practice of the past, the idea of publicly buying and selling humans for means of labor. What most do not realize is that this concept is not as archaic and dead as it’s preached to be. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are ripped from their homes and are forced into countries around the globe as a result of human trafficking. The United Nations defines human trafficking as the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor or sexual exploitation”. Just about every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, shipment, or final station. Offenders prey on individuals with high vulnerability and levels of psychological damage. Victims of this injustice usually stem from areas of socio economic adversity, political chaos, and/or natural disaster. Routes of human trafficking tend to commence from an underdeveloped country to a more developed country. Human trafficking is an abuse of human rights and a crime against humanity; one that international law has struggled to combat for years.

Human Trafficking is a very serious crime, many men, women, and children of all ages fall into trafficker’s hands every day. To me this topic is not stressed about enough, which is why I chose to write about this. There are several things that take place for a human trafficker to do, for instance, “The Act”, which person will commit the crime of taking innocent people from their families, also there is the “The Means”, this is the travel they’re willing to take to ruin someone’s life. How are you getting them from place to place? How are you tricking them? Is it by threat? force? or payments? . There are many more ways people are tricked into trafficking. Usually when someone commits a crime there is a purpose, and for these people its money, sex, manual labor, slavery or similar practices, this is why human trafficking is considered to be modern day slavery. (Liam.MCLAUGHLIN.”United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.”) Do these people ever get caught? And what happens when they do? Yes, they eventually do get caught, in one story, this young woman’s uncle was actually her trafficker too, and he promised her an education in the United States, he enslaved her for five years, the torture she went through physically and mentally was even unbearable to read. He was turned in and spent 11 ¼ years in federal prison. (Human trafficking victim tells her story of family betrayal and abuse.” ICE,www.ice.gov)