Human Trafficking Is The World 's Third Largest Illegal Industry

Human trafficking is a prominent problem within the United States that is often overlooked. The definition of human trafficking is, “Human trafficking - the illegal practice of procuring or trading in human beings for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, or other forms of exploitation” (“Human trafficking”). People in the United States believe that human trafficking is a problem that occurs in other less developed countries compared to the United States. What these individuals do not realize is that human trafficking occurs on American soil contrary to popular belief. The United States is one of the top three destination countries of human trafficking and human trafficking is a top criminal enterprise across the world (“WEAVE, Inc.”).

Globally, about 20 to 30 million people are involved in the human trafficking system, and of those, 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked in the United States every year. Human trafficking is more prevalent today then ever before. It is the third largest crime internationally. People are abused and taken advantage of. According to the article, “11 Facts About Human Trafficking,” on average, a person is forced into the system around age 9, and the majority of victims are women and girls, with a small percentage of men and boys. In addition, the human trafficking system is a $32 billion dollar industry. Human trafficking can be defined as the selling and trade of human beings, ranging anywhere from children to adults, for the purpose of

Despite these difficulties, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center has been able to put together approximate statistics for human trafficking in North Carolina. Since 2012, there have been at least 80 cases of human trafficking reported in North Carolina each year, with the highest total number of cases being reported in 2014 (118 cases). Of those 118 cases, 86 (72.9%) were specific to sex trafficking, 19 (16.1%) were for labor trafficking, 6 (5.1%) were for both labor and sex trafficking and 7 (5.9%) were for unknown reasons (National Human Trafficking Resource Center,

What exactly is human trafficking? We have all heard of it, but what actually is it. It’s a modern form of slavery. It involves controlling a person through force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the victim for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or both. It strips victims of their freedom and violates our nation’s promise that every person in the U.S. is guaranteed basic human rights. This is a crime (Beccera). Sadly, the United States is widely regarded as a destination country for human trafficking. According to the federal reports, nearly 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked in the United States annually. That doesn’t even include the number of victims that are trafficked WITHIN the United States. If you are looking for a defined definition of human trafficking, California legislatures states it as being “ALL acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport, harboring, transfer, sale or receipt of persons, within national or across international borders, through force, coercion, fraud or deception, to place persons in situations of slavery or slavery like conditions, forced labor or services, such as forced prostitution or sexual services, domestic servitude, bonded sweatshop labor, or other debt bondage.” (Beccera) This is a crime that needs to come to an end.

Recently I learned about human trafficking and it is where organized criminals smuggle immigrants in and out of different countries for, sex, drugs, forced labor, and people even volunteer themselves to gain legal documentation. Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry and criminals profit from the exploitation of others. The facts are vulnerable people are trafficked in the commercial sex trade and labor industry every day in America. In 2014, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline received multiple reports of human trafficking cases in each of the 50 states and D.C. Stopthetraffik.org say “Our economies are affected by increasing unemployment and the number of working poor.”

Human trafficking is a serious problem in modern society. In fact, the United Nations has referred to it as “one of the gravest human rights violations of our times” (“Secretary - General Calls Human Trafficking”). It is a fast growing industry that affects millions. No gender, age, or status is spared from the cruelty that is trafficking. To stress this point again, human trafficking is not just a problem of the “world” or “United States”, in general. As previously seen, it strikes very close to home, affecting hundreds of men, women, and children of our own community. In fact, “North Carolina ranked as a top-10 state for human trafficking with Charlotte being the top destination. It is estimated that more than 1,700 girls are trafficked

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

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 79% of all human trafficking is sexual in nature. Sex trafficking is common in the United States, with vulnerable young girls and women being lured into a lucrative business for the traffickers. Young girls are allured by a mixture of romantic love and parental affection showered on them by the trafficker, leading to feelings of confusion and vulnerability. The trafficker has full control over them and they are sold for sex. It is difficult to escape - the traffickers use emotional manipulation as well as physical threats to keep their victims submissive and trapped. The American city of Atlanta is a hub for sex trafficking, with the industry bringing in nearly 290 million dollars a

According to “11 Facts About Human Trafficking,” “between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry (behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking). It reportedly generates a profit of $32 billion every year. Human trafficking victims can easily get STD’s, HIV/AIDS, untreatable diseases, cultural shock, and many more severe health problems.” Slavery also has dealt with these similar statistics and health problems. Many slaves developed dysentery, dropsy, fevers, and digestive and nervous diseases. “Slavery in the Fields” article uses similar stories and stats that Noy Thrupkaew uses as well in her video, Human Trafficking is all Around You. This

Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force through deception of debts and or payments of a “real job”. The recruiters or agents come from all types of organizations such as the mafia as well as small and large crime organizations. Statistics and research prove that trafficking of humans is on the rise in the United States. “According to a U.S State Department study, some 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States from overseas and enslaved each year.” (Bales & Soodalter, 2009, p.31) Although Human Trafficking will never be stopped, there are measures that can be taken against it. The key is awareness. “244,000- Number of American children and youth estimated to be at risk of child sexual exploitation, including commercial sexual exploitation, in 2000.” (Human Trafficking Statistics, n.d, p. 3) Take note that this was in 2000. Think about how much these numbers have probably increased since the year 2000. “Assuming a 3.5 percent growth rate for the next five years, there would be 1.48 million sex slaves at the end of 2012.” (Kara, 2009, p.37). Human trafficking also continues to rise because the profits out way the risk of being caught. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (2007-2012) stated that the profits of human trafficking are estimated at $9.5 billion by the U.S. State Department and $31.7 billion by the

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

Human trafficking is a horrendous crime that is eating away at the lives, dignity and freedom of our women and young children and lately, also our men, at a very rapid rate. It is reaping in

Human trafficking is a major problem in the world that I am passionate about. Every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims. Article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Human trafficking is one of the most dangerous crimes touching humanity. Because it violates the basic human rights to life and liberty of a significant proportion of the world’s population, of whom are socially, economically and politically vulnerable. It makes the processes of recruiting, transporting, hiding and holding, and finally receiving a person through a use of force, coercion, false promise, and monies for the purpose of exploiting them. In the article human trafficking: preventing, protecting prosecuting by Susie Johnson on page 3 there is a fact that states “through out the world 27 million people are trafficked”. These victims are used for a number of different purposing including, but not limited to prostitution, pornography,

many academics, public officials, law enforcement authorities, and the news media believe human trafficking to be among the most tragic and horrendous transnational criminal activities facing us today. Victims are typically transported from