Human Trafficking Victims Report

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 one of the many faces of organized crime. Human trafficking is a broad term which contains trafficking for the purpose of sex along with the exploitation of labor. Currently, there are 20.9 million victims of sex slavery (Stacy.j.cecchet 2014 482) whom have or are suffering suffer inhumane circumstances and consequences. Sex trafficking is one of the largest criminal activities in the world (Stacy 249). Vulnerable women and children are taken advantage of and thrown into sex slavery, yet there is no explanation available as to how women and children are taken and thrown into the industry within countries such as Canada and the United States of America (482 Stacy j Cecchet 2014), which have human rights protection. Sex slavery leaves everlasting mental and physical effects on the abused women and children being trafficked. Even though sex trafficking is a crime it is also, for a lack of better words, an industry which would cease to exist if it was not for the supply and demand for women and children.

Sex Trafficking has been a key component in “ degradation of human and women's rights” because they believe that these people are only good for sex (Deshpande Para 1). Often victims who come back, if they ever can, have a hard time adjusting back to normal life. These girls have trust issues towards men, and sometimes even women. They also could have numerous health problems ranging from STD’s to unplanned pregnancy or even worse “ broken bones, concussions, bruises and burns” can all be found on these victims of sexual assault. These girls could also have mental issues, such as anxiety toward older men and women, fear of going outside ever again and social issues. The saddest thing about this is not only are these victims going through a horrible amount of sexual abuse, they also have been ripped away from what they know and may love. Some people believe that women and some men are just objects and they are the ones that are often pimps in the sex trafficking, but this is a completely skewed way of thinking of people.

Human trafficking, commonly known as modern day slavery, is a secretive crime that has generated billions of dollars worldwide and currently enslaves more than twice the total number of people involved in the 350-year African Slave Trade (Bates & Soodalter, 2009 cited in Richards, 2014). Approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders and 14,500 to 17,500 of those individuals are being trafficked within and across the United States border annually (Richards, 2014). Trafficked individuals experience many health issues and nurses are one of the first health professionals to be in contact with trafficked individuals during their captivity and upon their release (Holland, 2014). The researchers are gathering information to educate nurses on evidence based practice for victims of human trafficking and the key health assessment techniques. Providing community resources and patient and family education are topics that will be discussed pertaining to the nurse’s role in intervention. With the assistance of the Colorado Human Trafficking Council, the researchers were in contact with a local registered nurse involved and human trafficking advocate. The findings will be discussed.

Human trafficking has received increasing global attention over the past decade. Trafficking of women and girls for forced sex work and, to a lesser extent, domestic servitude, were the sole focus of advocacy and assistance. There is recognition in today’s society that women, children, and men are trafficked into many different forms of labour, and for sexual exploitation. In her article, “Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Women”, Cathy Zimmerman and Heidi Stockl focus on the commonality of human trafficking and how evident it is in everyday life. They bring in the health effects and possible solutions to human trafficking to help validate their opinion and argument. In the solutions they offer, Zimmerman and Stockl shine a light on policy-makers/decision-makers, health-care providers, and researchers/funders and what each of these groups of people can do to help combat the issue of human trafficking. In a quote from their article, Stockl and Zimmerman say: “Health care providers and organizations involved with trafficked persons should increase their capacity to identify and refer people in trafficking situations and provide sensitive and safe services to people post-trafficking”. This quote shows how Zimmerman and Stockl believe human trafficking should be combated by caring and talking to those affected by the issue but how they also believe awareness should be made about human trafficking so as to allow people surrounding the issue to identify and help victims of this issue. Zimmerman and Stockl’s view on the ways human trafficking should be combatted relate to those of Soroptimist due to the fact that the two groups of people are focused mainly on helping women and girls who have been trafficked and trying to get them to a better life after getting out of the trafficking situation. Both groups focus on helping men as well, providing options to help them such as raising money and awareness, and getting educated on being able to identify victims of human trafficking.

The problem with sex trafficking is that it is not only illegal, but the lasting effects it has on the victim are detrimental. Sex trafficking has been shown to increase the chance of sexually transmitted infections, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, unsafe abortions, malnutrition, and sexual violence (Konstantopoulos et al., 2013). There is an estimated 4.5 million people that become victims of sex trafficking; 98% of those are women and young girls (Konstantopoulos et al., 2013).

Since there is bare minimum medical care provided, many women suffer from pregnancy complications due to sexually transmitted diseases. While some women are allowed to continue their pregnancy, a large number undergo abortions also with limited medical care. Addiction is another health condition many captives of trafficking suffer with. Some use addiction to cope with the realities of the lifestyle, while for others their addiction is the cause of trafficking. The substances that are typically abused are: alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin , and opioids (Stoklosa, MacGibbon, & Stoklosa January 2017 26). Mental illness is a health condition that could be the cause or the result of a captive being trafficked. The AMA Journal of Ethics reports there are studies that prove a person with schizophrenia is more likely to be physically abused than a person without (Stoklosa, MacGibbon, & Stoklosa January 2017 26). As a result of the abusive nature of trafficking captives can develop high rates of depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, and attempted suicide (Stoklosa, MacGibbon, & Stoklosa January 2017 27). As expected there are bodily injuries as a result of physical abuse, rape, and the use of drugs.

This article provided an overview of relevant issues surrounding contemporary sex trafficking, including risk factors. The article estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and child are sex trafficked every year. It also explains three main factors that play into sex trafficking: human rights, migration, and security. This article exemplifies women’s lack of agency in relation to their bodies. Although there are male sex workers, there are many more female workers, further exploiting women’s sexuality. This aids in the fear women grow up and live with; the fear of being sold.

Those who have been trafficked may suffer from serious physical and mental abuse, physical exhaustion and starvation that may occur out of the whole process. Trafficking victims often suffer from serious physical abuse and. Typical injuries can include broken bones, concussion, bruising or burns, as well as other injuries consistent with assault. Some of these serious injuries can cause lasting health problems and may require long-term treatment as trafficked women are prone to multiple abuses over a broad period of time, similar to those who suffer health consequences of prolonged torment. Secondly, the women who are addicted to illicit drugs are more likely to be pushed into prostitution and human trafficking (Goldstein, 1979). The Bill did not clearly mention any health consequences that service providers may face during their operation. Service providers who work with victims should be aware of the severe and interrelated health consequences that result from

Situations of human trafficking victims’ vary to a large degree. Many are romantically involved with a trafficker at first, then find the intention of the relationship to be altered once the subject of performing acts of a sexual nature is introduced. Others are victimized when they believe they are being hired to work as a dancer, model or nanny, when they agree to move to a distant location, only to find the job was never real. In nearly every instance, one or more methods of coercion are put into play by a

The mental and physical health issues surrounding survivors of human trafficking (HT) are as complex as their trauma. With a disturbingly high occurrence of exaggerated levels of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and other coexisting mental and physical disorders, past research illustrates how many professionals fear their training may be inadequate to treat the complexities of trauma present in adult and youth survivors. The authors also highlighted the fact that “trafficked survivors are seeking and receiving mental health services (Domoney et al., [2,4]). A lack of established, system-wide, Trauma-Informed Approach resources and training to provide survivors with the consistency in care required to heal has been recorded through two different research papers. Researchers have found assessment and treatment measures for complex trauma problems,

Almost half of all participants said that they had been sexually or physically abused or both. Methods of violence were often extreme. Many of the participants reported being beaten up, dragged around, cut with a knife and shot at”{Poon} numerous people could be mental scared by this for the reason of thinking back to how scared they were, or if it would ever happen again, or just the fact that it happened at all. “In terms of mental health, more than 60 percent of the people interviewed showed signs of depression. Around 40 percent reported anxiety and 38 percent had PTSD”{Poon} depression can cause distance from people and the real world, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, not eating, or eating too much, and all of those could cause health problems.”People who survive human trafficking come out traumatized, Kiss says. ‘They show a range of physical and mental health symptoms that need to be addressed before they are re-integrated into their communities’”{Poon} these mental scars make it difficult to live in the real world therefore they have to get

As you may be aware, sex trafficking is a widespread problem for which there are no preventative measures. According to Dawn McBane, “Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children” (Focus on the Family). The reason for sex trafficking is to satisfy the physiological needs of many people who are addicted

They have been exposed to a tremendous emotional experience and have resigned themselves to living in survival mode. (Reid, Jones) The long term emotional scares of living under conditions of forced prostitution and being trafficked against their will are quite substantial. The ability to identify and address these needs is imperative. More so than just simple counseling, the victims need to be reunited with their family. Victims that have been set free from their time being trafficked would benefit from preparation and long-term care with a case manager to monitor progress and assist with ongoing needs. (Busch-Armendariz, Nsonwu,

“Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/ or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour” (Public Safety Canada, 2015). It is also called a modern form of slavery. According to one estimate about 2.4million people around the globe are trafficked annually (Golbya, Sian Hsiang-Te & Zacharias, 2015). In Canada alone, currently, 56 human trafficking cases, including at least 85 offenders and 136 victims, are present in the courts. Sadly, about 26 victims out of 136 were less than the age of 17 at the time of the alleged offence (Public Safety Canada, 2015). Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights. During the captivity, these victims experience different kinds of abuses, such as physical, psychological and even sexual, which have negative impacts their physical and mental wellbeing. Therefore, they might use different health services providing an opportunity for a health care provider to support and refer to an appropriate support system. On estimation, 28 % to 50 % of trafficked individuals will get medical consultation during their captivity (Golbya, Sian Hsiang-Te & Zacharias, 2015). As a frontline health, nursing professionals have a duty to identify and to take the right action to assist the victims of trafficking. To increase my awareness about Canada current position about human trafficking, I, a student