Man On The Market: Human Trafficking In The United States

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.”).

Each year about 17,500 individuals are brought into the United States and become victims of human trafficking. Every country has this problem and it has become the 3rd largest illegal industry worldwide.

Human trafficking is a worldwide problem. From California to Australia, it happens. “161 countries are reported to be affected by human

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 has been in existence in several states for many years. It is a form of slavery where people can be transported from one place to another for exploitation in farms, being forced into criminal activities such as terrorism, forced marriages, sexual abuse, prostitution among other forms of illicit activities (Butler, 2015). The trafficked individuals are often oppressed through violence, threats or coercion which forces the individuals to be involved in various things which they could not be willing to conduct. Majorly, members of the African continent have been widely bound to human trafficking. However, the ordeal has expanded even to trafficking within members of the same state.

According to dosomething.org, there are approximately twenty to thirty million people that are stuck in human trafficking. In addition, according to the United Nations, there is about 32 billion dollars in human trafficking.  Also in the United States, according to the Human Trafficking Center, there is a net worth of 2.5 billion dollars by sexual exploitation or forced labor. In continuation, about 21.5 percent of trafficking is sexual exploitation, 67.9 percent is forced labour, and 10.5 percent is state imposed forced labour.

Human trafficking is one of the most horrifying forms of organized crime and violation of human rights in Europe. Trafficking diminishes and violates rights, therefore inciting corruption. It also undermines international security and development and creates vast revenues for perpetrators. This global situation has led to an increase in forced labor, where the victim ‘accepts’ their situation because of the lack of choices and ways out of poverty. Human trafficking in Eastern European countries has recently attracted the attention of authorities, activists and scholars around the world, although it is a relatively stable and older issue. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, increasing globalization, accompanied by population increases,

Human trafficking is an important problem in world politics that is not currently receiving the attention that it should. This is a terrible practice that involves the exploitation of workers, violation of human rights, and the encroachment onto the body when human trafficking turns sexual.

According to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year. More than 70% are female and half are children (1). Human trafficking is now the modern-day slavery, where the victims involved are forced, intimidated and mislead into labor and sexual exploitation. Most human trafficking victims are lured into the trade by untrue possibilities made about job opportunities a good life that 's better than the one they live. Also many women from third world countries are tricked into this trade with the bait of false marriages. Furthermore, many of the victims are forced either directly with violence or indirectly with psychological blackmail into the trade. Human Trafficking is a worldwide issue people must stand up and fight against the traffickers and the issue itself needs to be brought to the attention of everyone, make a plan to stop trafficking of humans, and aid the victims. The effect of human trafficking is disturbing and even though the impact of it is faced by the victims; people globally suffer as a whole. But at the same time there are many ways to stop human trafficking and it is important to get involved and be a voice for those who have none.

Human trafficking is the forcing of people into being transported within or to another country for purposes of exploitation. Seventy-Nine percent of people trafficked are used in the sex trade. Unfortunately, trafficking isn’t just an international issue. According to The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services every minute someone will be forced into this modern day form of slavery (Coorlim and Ford). Many

Intro: Human trafficking is one of the most prevalent and shameful crimes that occurs globally and it affects the lives of millions of people around the world today. It is also a common form of modern day slavery that is a clear violation of an individual's rights as a human being. Because human trafficking is an issue that occurs globally, there are no particular demographical characteristics or features that this may affect. Despite the fact that most people are aware of this significant issue, human trafficking remains to be one of the most unseen and neglected issues in our society.

Human trafficking is a real threat that can be come from many different aspects. Each year roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders. About 80% of those people are women and children, especially girls. This is becoming a nationally recognized problem with 192 different countries participating. Human trafficking is a fast growing criminal enterprise with revenues totaling approximately 9.5 billion dollars per year. There is a high demand for human trafficking due to the cheap labor and sexual exploitation, meaning the victims make less than one per 15 hours of work. There are many different people working in this trade to keep the business running proficiently, such as organized crime, different types of government officials, and police officers.

Human Trafficking is a worldwide problem; it’s the third largest international crime industry behind illegal drugs and illegal arms. There are about 20 to 30 million slaves in the world today which makes a profit of $32 billion every year. Of that number, $15.5 billion is made in industrialized countries (11 Facts About Human Trafficking). There are many different kinds of human trafficking such as sexual exploitation, exploitation through the harvesting of organs, forced-labor trafficking, and many more. Forced- labor trafficking is the number one type of trafficking, being three times greater than that for sex commerce which is 2nd on the list (Simon). Selling and trading people, or human trafficking, is a enormous issue today, even though it has been around for a long time.

Typically, when people think about global issues, some of the first things to come to mind are immigration, poverty, and hunger. However, there are much larger issues that can lead to these kinds of circumstances, or even be seen as a function of these problems. Taking a closer look at an ongoing issue highly prevalent in our world today, it is easy to see that other issues feed off it, and can contribute to the issue at hand. The issue I want to focus on is human trafficking. This type of criminalization is often one that is overlooked, most people believing that it is some sort of “myth,” or that this type of action happens to very few, and is only part of developing countries. However, the truth of the matter is that human trafficking occurs everywhere in the world, even the most successful countries. Human trafficking can occur in many different forms, however, there are very few laws implementing protection for those who fall as victims, and even with these laws, the problem still happens every single day. The why, of the matter, the influences of the issue, and the outcome of the actions, is what drives human trafficking to still be one of the biggest crimes in our world today.

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