Loophole On Slaves

Human trafficking is the act or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation, however, it is continuing to grow in the united states and is happening everywhere not just in other countries. In this essay, I want to explain how human trafficking is involved in human services and how we can help people get help after they have been a victim of human trafficking. Victims can be men or women, or children, foreign nationals or U.S. citizens, the attacker normally draws in the victim with a stable job, education, or relationships.

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

Human trafficking has been a controversial issue for many years. There are different types of trafficking, which helps makes it a widely diverse issue. In Thailand, traffickers rely on the poor desperate people of other countries as well as their own to fulfill their needs financially, physically, and emotionally. Thailand has various reasons why they use human trafficking; sex exploitation, forced labor, and obtaining their organs for an organ transplant. Sex exploitation has been used by mainly men for a long time. They choose both women and children to violate, sometimes even men. The prettier the woman is the more she is worth. All men, woman, and children could be forced into labor. This varies from what the owner wants from them. People can also choose to go and work for them because they think this is their only way of making money, but they usually do not see much of it. Finally, others purchase them just for their organs. There are very long waiting lists on some organs, by the time one comes about the person in need of the organ has already passed away. There are a number of steps and reasons that are involved in human trafficking. With all of these issues of; sex exploitations, and forced labor, and organ trafficking, the trafficked can become physically and mentally injured.

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.

Rape is one of the harsh punishments the women face. One trafficker, Tajuan, explains how she and others were forced to watch her best friend get raped as way of proving that punishment would happen if quota was not met (Calhoun 2). The same trafficker shares stories of others and herself being starved, being forced to take drugs, or being killed (Calhoun 2). In one instance, Tajuan said, “ In the next eleven years, I worked for many traffickers; I’ve been left for dead. I still have a scar where my throat was cut with a straight razor” (Calhoun 2). All of these acts violate human rights given in Article Five of the United States Constitution: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (youthforhumanrights.org). All human beings should have the right to walk away from the torture or get help for relief, but in some cases, it is not that easy. Many victims share the same story as Tajuan when asked “why can you not just walk away?” Tajuan’s reply is like many others; she could not escape because it was the only life she knew. The struggle for protection, food, and no other way to make a living is what prevents the victims from escaping the life of human trafficking. “You feel as if you have nowhere to go” (Calhoun 2).

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.

Human trafficking doesn’t happen in third world countries only. It doesn’t just happen to poor people and it certainly doesn’t solely happen to women. It is present here in the USA but it is hidden, and even worse, so are their victims. They are everywhere yet invisible. They are silently crying for our help through their eyes and smiles. According to Polaris, “…the prevalence of sex trafficking in the United States is still unknown, we do know that women, children, and men are being sold for sex against their will in cities and towns in all 50 states”. Human trafficking can happen to anyone even to Theresa Flores, the author of “The slave across the street”(“Sex trafficking” 2015). An average 15 year old American girl, coming from a privileged background and a respected family became a victim of sex trafficking and through her book, she convinces us that human trafficking doesn’t have a specific demographic.

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

“I had nowhere else to go,” confesses one human trafficking victim explaining why she returned to her trafficker. Tears fill her eyes as she looks down at the crumpled wad of tissues gripped tightly in her fist. “I went back because I didn’t know anybody and I didn’t have any other options,” she sobs as she lays her head in her hands. Sadly, many women and girls like her in Western North Carolina have the same impossible choice to make when faced with the prospect of escaping their traffickers only to sleep on the streets. Unfortunately, life on the streets and the possibility of violence or death often seems preferable to this modern version of human slavery.

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

“People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” -unknown. This quote helps explain how people are being used as if they were objects in the depths of Asia. Human trafficking has been an ongoing problem in Asia and is prevalent even today. Human Trafficking is defined as the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation. Most everyone knows that human trafficking is real, but do they know it’s depth and how real it really is? To stop the proliferative growth of human trafficking in Asia, one needs to spread

However, this topic has been very controversial since some Thai authorities do not acknowledge these Burmese individuals as victims , rather they acknowledge them as individuals who have been illegally smuggled into Thailand (Gjerdingen 699). This is one of the strongest arguments that Thailand has over not having a responsibility over those being trafficked into their country, because these people actually choose to be trafficked rather than by coercion. Trafficked victims are given assistance not because they choose to be trafficked, but because they were coerced into the system which violates their rights as free people. There is some truth to this statement, because some individuals are lured into being trafficked because of their current country’s poor economic situation (Gjerdingen 718). If a person moves to another country willingly and under illegal circumstances then they are no longer considered as trafficked victims but as illegal immigrants. Therefore they cannot claim the status of refugee and receive protection and rights. This is the only circumstance in which Thailand would not have responsibility over the victims, but it is very difficult to distinguish one from the other, that Thailand might not be able to use this argument as often as it would like. Despite this controversy, it depicts that under the Morality of State Theory there is possibility that states might have an obligation to protect victims of human trafficking, if they are given the status as

Given the scale of the causes and the international ramifications, it is no wonder that a vast range of international treaties, guidelines, conventions and local legal regulations have been established to address ‘human trafficking’ worldwide. The causes as discussed in chapter two only briefly provided examples of the complex regional issues emerging in Southeast Asia. Chapter three will discuss and explore the range of measures undertaken and the focus of multiple agencies in their attempts at dealing with varying implications with different priorities across Southeast Asia. The implications regardless of the end means, is a flagrant violation of human rights. With global attention on Southeast Asia and the rapidly growing trafficking in persons saw the United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT) recently launched a five year campaign in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2014 to work more closely with government, non-government, civil society, research and academic sources in bringing about effective change (South-South Information Gateway & Bernama, 2014).

According to the Department of State, “Thailand is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Victims from neighboring countries, such as China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Fiji migrate willingly to Thailand for various reasons, including fleeing conditions of poverty” (TIPR, 2013, p. 358). The countries that people are fleeing from are known for their poor living conditions, which help contribute to their “push” factors. . These individuals are severely affected by developmental factors like poverty, lack of education, and inequality, which serves to accentuate their susceptibility to traffickers. Thus, traffickers take advantage of their vulnerability, by

Just imagine getting taken from your home without your consent or knowledge. You don’t know here you’re going or why, but you know it can’t be good. There is a term for this, and it is human trafficking. Human trafficking is the act of stealing a person for some sort of gain, typically financial. You treat this person as a trading tool to get what you want. Thailand is the top destination for human trafficking on the planet. To understand human trafficking as a whole, this seems like the perfect place to analyze.