Human Trafficking Essay

Here in Michigan, Michigan state police and Michigan state attorney general say some of their cases of human trafficking happen on Mackinac Island. Human trafficking--mainly labor trafficking--has occurred in this area right here in our own homeland; human trafficking can happen anywhere and affects those that are most vulnerable. Although human trafficking is a complex social problem that preys on society 's most poor and vulnerable, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act hopes to address prosecution of traffickers and justice for the trafficked. This paper will explore the economic, political, ideology, social movement 's, and history of human trafficking and how the TVPA can relate and is working towards change.

Annotated Bibliography including five citations in APA documentation format, each with a brief summary paragraph: in your own words, write a two-three sentence summary the source’s main point and identifying key expert views or evidence which will help support specific points in your outline.

Out of the thousands of people that have been human trafficking victims each year, only an insignificant amount of them is actually reported. Imagine being in 8th grade. Having all sorts of hopes and dreams. Now flash forward to dreams being taken away by a pimp that lures people into human trafficking. In short, this is true for Holly Austin Smith, a survivor of human trafficking. The punishment for the pimps that ruin the lives of these young girls is not severe. Therefore, there is not much help for the girls after they get rescued from this tragedy. A realization Holly had soon on and explains, “...Although I was soon recognized to be a victim, the specialized aftercare needed for a trafficking victim did not yet exist... Twenty years ago, there were no anti-trafficking laws in place. This pimp, who raped and lured a child into prostitution, served only 365 days in jail” (Smith). This young girl had recovered from this horrible incident all by herself. Many other girls in her position have gone through similar experiences and have been hurt by their pimp. In addition, the pimp will not receive much punishment. A sad story repeated across America and is very prominent in other countries. In America, most of the time victims are the ones that usually serve time in jail since in some cases it’s considered prostitution, even if it was forced by the pimp. In most cases, the pimps stay uncovered and if the victims of trafficking come forward as to who their pimp is, they

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

World wide slavery is a thirty-two billion dollar industry. There are more than twenty-seven million slaves. But sex trafficking in the U.S. alone is a $9.8 million industry. Nearly 100,000 of those slaves are youth that are trafficked in the U.S. annually.(Donley-Hayes, 1.) In order to solve this problem people need to be aware of the extent of the problem, along with causes and effects before a solution can come about.

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 sex acts or labor services against his/her will. (“Human Trafficking.”) Differing definitions of sex trafficking in state laws make it difficult to know if the studies on sex trafficking are including consensual, adult sex workers, who are not victims of trafficking under federal or international law in their numbers. Vulnerable Native American women and youth are targeted by traffickers more than any other ethnic group. The data collected for the “Shattered Hearts” report from 95 Native women and girls suggest that the trafficking of Native girls into prostitution is a significant, though rarely discussed as a problem. Still, the studies do suggest that sex trafficking of Native women and girls, specifically, is present in the United States. (“Shattered Hearts.”)

“43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98% are women and girls” (UNGIFT). Women and girls are ensnared in sex trafficking in a variety of ways. Some are lured in with offers of real and legal work in restaurants, massage parlors, or anything else. Others are promised marriage, education and a better life. Still others are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbors or even parents (SOROPTMIST). Many of the girls and women are also forced into pornography. With all of the types of sexual exploitation comes abuse. Sexual, physical, and emotional are all types of abuse put onto females in human trafficking. Many people traffic others in hopes of getting money, work done, or just pure pleasure.

In today’s day and age human trafficking is a serious problem that is only getting worse as we become more technologically advanced. It is easy to transport human beings across the border, on ships, and into foreign countries. Women, children, and even men are the victims of these individuals. These poor souls stolen for the sex trade or for physical labor as a slave in modern world. As our enemies become more sophisticated in their evil craft, so must our law enforcement and investigation agencies. In order to stay up to par with the enemy these organizations make sure they stay up to date with the most advanced programs, tools, and systems in order to not only catch those responsible for mayhem, but to give a sense of justice to those who were wronged in the first place. We begin with a history of what human trafficking is, some current cases that were followed by the world, and way we fight the enemy and counteract their form of terrorism.

Human trafficking is not just a part of our history; it is continuously growing around the world today because of traffickers who are using it as an easy way to make a profit. Victims of human trafficking feel as if they have no way to escape because they have limited ways to survive or make a good enough living to support themselves along with their families outside of the sex industry. Women, children and even men from time to time are taken before they get the opportunity to receive little if any education, at all. Therefore, many who could’ve gotten out of the sex industry chose to stay out of fear to return back home after years to be discriminated against by their own families and communities, knowing getting a job would be nearly

Human Trafficking is a horrendous crime that takes advantage of people through the illegal trading of human beings for purposes of forced labor, and commercial sexual/child exploitation. Traffickers tend to prey on the vulnerable, those who want a better life, have little or no employment opportunities, very unstable, and have a history of sexual abuse. With this being popular in society, anyone can easily become a victim. By being an undocumented immigrant, runaway and homeless youth, and a victim of trauma and abuse, you have already put a target on your back. The most popular victims are the undocumented immigrants due to the lack of legal status, language barriers, limited employment options, and social isolation. ("The Victims.")

Human trafficking is a serious global issue that needs the awareness and attention of the world. The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes identifies human trafficking as “an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion, or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them” (UNODC). According to the book Trafficking in People by the policy analysts Clare Ribando Seelke and Alison Siskin, this exploitation can include forced prostitution, ”forced labor and services, slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs” (Ribando Seelke and Siskin 4). Human Trafficking is a violation against fundamental human rights. But even 63 years after the United Nations Universal Declaration

Slavery is a modern, pervasive problem. Human trafficking has been found in every state in America (humantrafficking.org). It seems that most Americans likely live within a comfortable drive of someone who is being exploited through human trafficking. There is a growing trend in human trafficking toward sexual exploitation (Bennetts, 2011). The Information Age has helped to create new opportunities for sex trafficking to flourish.

When we hear the word slavery our mind paints a picture of colonial America down in the South with big plantation houses harvesting wheat, with workers being unpaid and unfairly treated. At this time in our county we were struggling with the idea of equality for all. America has come a long way from those days but not with out a fight. Abraham Lincoln, the Civil Rights moment and free and public education has been addressed. Today, we face a new conflicts and a different type of slavery. Slavery and sex trafficking is occurring not just abroad but at home as well. In 2004, “800,000 to 9000,000 men women and children are trafficked across international borders every year, including 18,000 to 20,000 in the US. Worldwide slavery is in the

“The global market of child trafficking is at over $12 billion a year with over 2 million child victims” (“Stop Child Trafficking Now” 1). This statement from the article “Stop Child Trafficking Now” describes how serious this crisis is nationwide. Child labor, illegal adoptions and child prostitution are the three forms child trafficking typically exists as (“Riverkids Project” 1). There has been a rising number of Cambodian children being trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor because of poverty, unemployment and lack of education; however organizations such as the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT) are trying to raise awareness of this crisis.

Human Trafficking is one of the many horrors that occur across the world that is not spoken about enough in society. Human trafficking can include organ trafficking, prostitution, child pornography, forced labor, debt bondage, child labor and child soldiers. In all cases of human trafficking, human beings are controlled and exposed for profit the most common type of profit being money. People who are victims of human trafficking can be found working in a myriad of places such as massage parlors, sweatshops, brothels, fields, online escort services, and even in private homes. This horrific crime occurs all over the world. Many people never know that this is highly prevalent in the United States as well. Traffickers often have a separate language that they use when discussing their “business”. For example, some words can include bottom, cathouse, daddy, circuit, branding, pimp, trap queen, seasoning, john, madam, queen pin, stroll and trick.