Human Trafficking Is The Third Largest International Crime Industry

Human trafficking is a public health problem within the United States and Internationally. The victims subjected to the lifestyle of human trafficking can have sexually transmitted disease, HIV virus, and AIDS. It is an estimated 30,000 victims of human sex trafficking dying each year from abuse, disease, torture, and neglect. According, to U.S. government an estimates, of 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders annually, and up to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year (Hodge, 2008). “According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over the past 30 years, over 30 million children have been sexually exploited through human trafficking” (Random Facts, 2015, para. 24).

Human Trafficking is in America, it’s in backyard and most don’t even know it. Many Americans believe that this horrible action only takes place in countries such as China, Japan, India, and Ghana but no; it happens in the United States also. The definition of human trafficking is the “illegal practice of procuring or trading in human beings for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, or other forms of exploitation” (dictionary.com). Slavery was abolished in 1865 in the 13th amendment in the constitution but it sad to say, it still exist. “60,000 people in America in November 2013 could safely be called modern day slaves” (Slavery isn’t a thing of the past). Today human trafficking is counted as immigrant workers who are smuggled into the country and forced to work under the threat of violence. And also men and women, forced to sell their bodies for sex and give all their money to their pimps (Slavery isn’t a thing of the past). Pimps are the ones who usually run the human trafficking business. Approximately75-80% of human trafficking is for sex (55 little known facts about human trafficking). Many believe that only adults are being worked but children and teens are too, matter of fact the average age is between12 and 14. The number of human trafficking in the United States will continue to increase because it is too difficult to find and prevent.

This past year in the United States, there were an estimated 21,431 calls made to authorities concerning potential human trafficking situations and yet, the average American does not know that forced labor and prostitution is even a problem. (Melissa) Second to drug dealing, human trafficking is the largest criminal industry in the world today, and is growing fast. (Human Trafficking – Exploitation…) This modern day form of slavery takes victims captive against their will by using violence, threats, deception and other manipulative tricks. Even though each trafficking target has a different story, they all have similar experiences because they lose their freedom. In the United States, the First amendment protects all people citizens or aliens with basic freedoms. Therefore, human trafficking goes against ones American civil rights; human trafficking is major issue in the USA that needs to be stopped.

Modern Slavery involves all sort of ancient slavery acts including people being kidnapped from their families and homes, losing their identities and freedom, and being forced to work against their will with no pay under the threat of continuous beatings and sufferings which eventually led to the early death. The most common form of Slavery in the 21st century is the human trafficking, in which human beings are exploited for the purpose of forced labor, sex, forced children begging circle and the removal of their organs. Although being the first-tier country in the United States’ Trafficking in Person Report of 2017, an annual report issued by the US State Department to monitor and combat trafficking

Human trafficking is on the up rise; therefore, we have an increasing opportunity for greater interventions within our community. Human Trafficking is one of the biggest forms of hidden organized crime in the world. It is a world we hardly ever hear about. Human trafficking is the fastest increasing criminal industry in today’s world, coming second only to illegal drug-trade. Collin states in the article, “Sex Trafficking on the North Shore,” that sex trafficking does not only happen in other countries and it affects the North Shore here in Duluth, Minnesota every day. Native American women are one population that are deeply affected by human trafficking. One study found that nearly 350 Native American women and girls were victims to sex trafficking over the past 4 years. The author states, that the statistics only include the survivors that have spoken out. Another study found that one and three Native American women will be raped in their lifetime. (Study Mode. “Human Trafficking.”)

Human trafficking can take many forms, as well as many victims. One form of trafficking is slavery. Slavery is having a worker who is unpaid and who works by force using coercion, fraud or threat of bodily harm. “According to the United Nations, there are between 27 and 30 million modern-day slaves in the world (Jesionka, “Human Trafficking: The Myths and the Realities”).” “By 1860, the nation’s black population had jumped from 400,000 to 4.4 million, of which 3.9 million were slaves.(Henry Louis Gates).” That means there are nearly ten times more slaves today than there were in the late 1800’s.

In 1949, once trafficking had become a big enough issue and the UN was ready, the “Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others” Act was passed. This gave the world its first legal document against human trafficking. It established restrictions and punishments against human trafficking; and also sparked the movement of other countries to create laws of their own (Stephenson, 2014).

Individuals all over the world are at risk of being abducted and sold into some form of human trafficking or forced prostitution. Worldwide, human trafficking is the second largest form of organized crime. This is especially true in Oklahoma. Interstate Highways Forty, Thirty-five, and Forty-four all three run through Oklahoma, stretching from coast to coast, and from Mexico to Canada. These highways make Oklahoma an ideal crossroads for human trafficking. Because of these highways, new cases of this epidemic emerge in Oklahoma every day. For example, in June of 2015, five residents of Oklahoma City were indicted by a federal grand jury for operating an escort service, providing underage females to men in exchange for money (Justice News). Everyone is at risk of becoming a victim of human trafficking, especially females. I am particularly concerned about this ever-increasing trend for the safety of my wife and other members of my family. There are steps, however, that we as Oklahomans can take to protect ourselves, and those we care about to reduce this despicable crime. The first step we must take is to increase public awareness of the problem. Like so many other problems, people assume that such a tragedy could never happen to them. Second, Oklahoma State Legislature must increase the penalty upon conviction of human trafficking. Finally, Oklahoma Legislature must prohibit gentleman’s clubs statewide. The society we live in views females as

There has been a war on drugs for decades, and part of that battle is to stop drug trafficking, but what if I told you that there was a trafficking crime that was just as bad if not worse? This, however, doesn’t involve any illegal narcotics, but the transportation of actual human beings. Trafficking in persons refers to the illegal trade or "sale" of human beings for sexual exploitation or forced labor through abduction, the use or threat of force, deception and fraud. Human trafficking is one of today 's most egregious human rights violations. The lives of the twenty-one million victims of human trafficking all around the world ca never improve if we as a society choose to become silent about the matter. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking is the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprise and is already tied with arms dealing as the world’s second largest illegal industry.

Sex-trafficking is the second largest illegal industry in the world. When a community produces generations of pimps, who can supply prostitutes with impunity from the law, this can be a recipe for disaster. For the city of Tenansingo (in the state of Tlaxcala Mexico), pimping and acquiring prostitutes has become a way of life for this small community. Pimps have mastered the art of tricking women into prostitution, which feeds the transnational sex-trafficking industry and impacts the international community. In Tenansingo, sex-traffickers have the funding to influence the local government officials and they sponsor local religious events that win the hearts and minds of people (Lakhani 2015). It all goes for an effort to continue commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. The relatively small community is the central supplier of prostitutes that gets trafficked into the United States. Urban cities, such as Queens in New York, fracking mines in Texas, and agricultural farms in Vermont, provide services to U.S. citizens and illegal immigrants who work on the farms and live in the shadows (Forest 2016). The Global Slavery 2016 Index shows “The city of Tenancingo, Tlaxcala is dubiously dubbed the sex trafficking capital of the world, with often poor, uneducated and indigenous girls duped into 'love relationships ' with local men, who essentially trap them into forced prostitution. Others are trafficked across the border into the USA. Some serve clients in New York

The impact of human trafficking on its victims can be very great or very minor. For example, a victim could be trafficked for three months and in that time frame develop a drug addiction. When she is freed from being trafficked, she may have no psychological issues, only a drug issue. She may not need all of the services another victim may need. Another victim could have been trafficked since she was a prepubescent child and at 25 years old, she is scarred for life and there may not be enough treatment in the world to make her feel "normal." A third victim could need multiple types of treatment which can include psychological treatment, substance use treatment and physical treatment because she was infected with multiple STD's and was forced

Human trafficking is the trade of humans by force, mainly women and female children, for the purposes of sexual slavery, sexual exploitation, and domestic labor. Global human trafficking has often been labeled as modern- day slavery; however the history and causes have been identifiable just as the causes of traditional slavery have been. What causes human trafficking? In this present paper, the hypotheses on the primary causes of global human trafficking will be identified. There are three major themes that cause human trafficking: a nation’s economy, political and legal factors, and social factors that enable the continuance of human trafficking. According to previous research indications of historical influence and social hierarchy have the greatest impact on the causes of human trafficking; these topics will further be elaborated upon during the discussions of political influences and social factors that impact human trafficking.

Although the physical health consequences of trafficking are substantial, the mental health needs are likely to be even more profound due to the intense psychological damage inflicted by traffickers on victims who are often extremely vulnerable (Zimmerman et al, 2011). (Hodge, D.R., 2014)

Human trafficking is a major international policy concern that remains widespread and deeply entrenched in many Asian countries, one such as Vietnam. Through education and providing resources such as programs to help the poor or allowing people access to technology, along with government intervention and awareness, human trafficking can be dramatically reduced. Yi Wang, who is a Program Analyst for Oxfam-Quebec’s Anti-Human Trafficking Program stated in her research that:

More specifically then human trafficking, there is child trafficking. Child trafficking is today’s version of slavery that involves transferring a child for the purpose of abuse or illegal activities. According to the U.S. Department of State, “Child/Human Trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world and is the world’s second largest criminal enterprise, after drugs. Child trafficking happens in every single country, including the United States. When people think of trafficking of people, most think of women, but children are also being sold as slaves all across the world. Children who are most likely to become victims are those who come from low income homes, have limited access to education and are