When we think about slavery, we think those days are long behind us. We think about the 19th century when people used others to do their labor in exchange for shelter and food. What we don’t realize, however, is that the act of slavery is still a very prevalent issue today, under the name of human trafficking. Human traffickers are those who victimize others in their desire to profit from the existing demand. People of all ages, even children, are recruited and taken from all around the world and forced into acts such as prostitution, war, and extreme labor. Many people are not aware of these events occurring at all, and more awareness needs to be brought to this topic. Human trafficking exists for a few reasons. …show more content…
Labor trafficking may also occur in agriculture. Children as young as five or six years old are forced to harvest crops, raise animals in the field, and pack plants, orchids, and nurseries. Many children and teens immigrate to the U.S. and become involved in the agricultural industry to help support their parents. These victims are forced to work long hours in the sun, and beaten and threatened when they attempt to take a break. Many traffickers threaten to deport their victims back to their country if they try and object. Like factory labor, agriculture labor becomes trafficking when forced and lies and threats become involved.
Another less common but still active form of trafficking is war trafficking. The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers estimates that there are tens of thousands of children exploited in conflict all around the world. Although most of the children are abducted for war purposes are thrown into combat, some may also be unlawfully made to work as porters, guards, cooks, guards, messengers, or spies. These children are forced to commit physiologically scarring crimes against their family or community. Many child soldiers are severely injured and when they return from war to their home, they are often rejected. Most of these children, male or female, are sexually abused and are at risk for STDs.
Lastly, humans may be trafficked for their organs, most popularly kidneys. In many countries, the transplant waiting list is very long.
Human trafficking contains three main types of trafficking. Sex trafficking, forced labor, and child labor. Within forced labor, 18.7 million people are subjected. There are also 4.5 million people who are exploited each year for sex. Sex trafficking is committing a sexual act with an individual whom is under the age of eighteen. For example, a victim being held captive and forced into prostitution. Forced labor is when an individual is forced to do a service against their will by intimidation, violence, or in order to pay off debt. For instance, a family gives up a child and is sold to a sweatshop owner who forces him to sew garments. Children under the age of eighteen are used in the armed forced, used as cooks, messenger, spies, or sexual purpose (Background). For example, a fifteen-year-old boy or girl runs away and is seduced by a pimp. The pimp coerces him into participating in prostitution and the pimp would control the cost of how much the boy or girl would receive. Around the world, there are 168 million child laborers; 85 million are in hazardous conditions. Other forms of human trafficking include domestic servitude, agricultural work, debt bondage, manufacturing, and prostitution (Human Rights Commission). An example of debt bondage is if a possible victim needs to pay off her debt, she is brought to a house and the to be a housekeeper to pay of the cost and is threatened that if she does not she will be killed. Victims are mostly female
Human trafficking is defined as a recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, of receipt of persons, by means of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, or abuse of power of a position of vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation (Human Trafficking Information). Today human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, has been one of the controversial issues in the United States and nationwide. In fact, it is now considered as the fastest growing multi-billion-dollar business form of organized crime. Also, Human trafficking is affecting the lives of millions around the globe and robbing the victims of their pride. As a matter of fact, Traffickers deceive men, women, and young children from around the world to force them into unspeakable
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.
Many organizations have formed to establish several resolutions for combating the issue of human trafficking , both locally and nationally. I chose to investigate two existing social awareness campaigns located in Ohio. The reasons I decided to explore these two organizations is because of the obvious, that my classmates and I are in the state of Ohio but overall, it is due to the fact that this state rank's number five in the nation for human trafficking. There are explanations behind the ranking of Ohio for this issue. The first explanation is due to the inner city centers and country counties, which included a big immigrant population. The second explanation is due to five main highways located throughout Ohio. These highways make it convenient for human traffickers (Ohio State Bar Association, 2014).
27 million people all over the world are currently being forced into human trafficking or modern day slavery, 161 countries including the US will be affected by human trafficking. 1 million children will be exploited by the commercial sex trade each year. Sex trafficking began in the 1700s in the United States. It hasn’t been stopped because it continues to increase over the years. Even though the law enforcement and people around the world could be strong enough to stop human trafficking, I believe this situation needs to be more focused on and stopped as soon as possible. Because Human Trafficking is increasing rapidly and Oklahoma is a cross-way for sex trafficking due to the interstates such as I-35, I-40 and I-44.
Imagine being taken from the comfort of your house and family. Then envision that you are forced to either inject or ingest as drugs to give sexual pleasure to one person while the other reaps financial benefits. You are experiencing such atrocity at the same moment in which your loved ones are mourn your loss. Eventually, you are unrecognizable and affected by traumatizing experiences. The effects that you frequently feel are numb and now you are suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This is the reality that many endure on daily basis. It is caused by the constant practice of human trafficking.
Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking that has been a worldwide issue since ancient times, but regularly forgotten, due to it being almost an impossible to fix dilemma. Since the dawn of mankind sexual exploitation and slavery has been occurring, dating back to ancient times. Various forms of trafficking occur including, sexual slavery where victims are forced into performing sexual actions including prostitution and pornography. Another form of human trafficking is slavery where the victim is forced into unpaid work which they undertake harsh life threatening conditions. Another form of human trafficking is the trafficking of human tissue, cells, and organs. This is where humans are illegally stripped of their organs,especially kidneys. Due to countries long list of needed transplants, criminals take that opportunity to make quick money by stealing humans and performing dangerous operations to sell the victim 's organs. The thing all trafficking groups have in common is their lust for fast easy money. By using humans to sell sex,work, and organs these pimps can accomplish these goals with little
Fifty years ago, the abomination of slavery seemed like a thing of the past. But history has a way of repeating itself. Today, we find that human slavery is once again a sickening reality. At this moment, men, women and children are being trafficked and exploited all over the world. The Thirteenth Amendment did not abolish slavery completely, in fact, human trafficking is now the modern day slavery and is a problem in countries all over the world. Sex trafficking, illegal child labor, and illegal immigrant trafficking are all examples of human trafficking. A global underground problem, it is not only happening in the third world countries but civilized countries as well. Very seldom do victims of trafficking ever escape the vicious crime and
India, China and Indonesia are just a few of the countries with documented cases. One would ask, why would someone want to traffic organs? The answer is simple, the demand for organs is extremely high. There are hundreds of thousandths of men, women and children that are or organ donor lists areound the world. Desperate times call for desperate measures and people are willing to pay top dollar or these organs, especially if it means they can bypass that list altogether. Trafficking for organs is actually broken down into three categories. There are instances where the victim is forced or tricked into giving up and organ. There are also cases where the person may be treated for an ailment, whether true or not, and unbeknownst to them and organ is removed. And lastly, the victim may have agreed to give an organ for payment but the end result is them giving up an organ and not being compensated. Groups targeted are mainly homeless and illiterate persons that are vulnerable. Kidneys and livers are amongst the most commonly sought after organs but any organ can be subject to illegal removal and trade. In 2013, a Georgia teen died at school and his death was quickly assumed to be an accident by the local authorities. The teen’s parents however, we not convinced. After the young man’s body was exhumed and an autopsy performed, it was found that his body had been stuffed with newspaper. The boy’s brain, heart and lungs had all been removed and his death was actually caused by blunt force trauma. The reality of organ trafficking is not only scary but often times
In conclusion I think that human trafficking is a topic that is not talked about a lot and it need to because is very important its a huge topic back then in the slavery year it was a big topic now all you see in the new is touristy attack or global warming which are very important topics but their not the only topics that are important and need to be heard by the public people need to know that slavery still exists.So what would you do if you were being stripped of your freedom and you were practically a slave what would you think knowing your family or your close friend were a victim and still is a
Sex Trafficking is a global phenomenon defined most often as the trade in women and children using force, fraud or coercion to cause a commercial sex act. Prostitution, pornography and sexual performance that is committed in exchange for money, drugs, shelter, food or clothes is defined as a commercial sex act. Sex Trafficking has a firm grip as a multi-million dollar production, recently skyrocketing with the modern era of technology that allows the business to become even more elusive and harder to track. We’ve all heard of the terminology, but how many of us actually know what sex trafficking entails? January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention
Trafficking is also driven by armed groups in two main ways: armed groups recruit or abduct children to use them as combatants. In conflict zones, armed groups recruit or abduct women and girls for forced marriages, domestic work and sexual slavery. Similarly, they recruit or abduct men and boys for forced labor (such as extracting natural resources), and as soldiers or for slavery.
There are several factors to why human trafficking exists: poverty, governmental instability, natural disasters, addiction, and organized crime are just a few. Although there certainly are men victimized into trafficking (particularly forced labor), women and children are the most vulnerable to trafficking. Generally, those who become prey to traffickers are poor, weak, ill-educated, or isolated woman (3). Some recruiters befriend teens and adults with the intent of exploiting them. Deceived with the promise of a better life, young women travel with them into unknown territories. Once they reach their destination, traffickers burn their passports and immediately force them into sexual labor. Raped and beaten, girls are chained to beds and are repeatedly forced to serve up to forty men a day. In several low income communities, fathers and mothers will sell their children due to an overwhelming amount of
The children are enslaved as free labor and are of the victims of sexual abuse as well. According to Andrea Bertone and Christina Arnold, founders of the organization Prevent Human Trafficking, “Work for trafficked victims consists of exploitation, debt bondage, low to no wages, excessive hours, unsafe conditions. Often victims see themselves as being no worse off than if they had stayed home” (Arnold 31). Despite the horrible conditions most victims don’t even realize the gravity of their situation and fall into a sense of appeasement.
Also known as involuntary servitude, forced labor may result when unscrupulous employers exploit workers made more vulnerable by high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict, or cultural acceptance of the practice. Immigrants are particularly vulnerable, but individuals also may be forced into labor in their own countries.(U.S. Department of State, 2008). Labor trafficking targets all, but mainly women and children due to their relative lack of power compared to men, but men can also be victimized. Traffickers may use false promises of a high-paying job or exciting education or travel opportunities to lure people into cruel working conditions. While the victim may realize that what they received is not what they were promised, often they are subjected to physical and psychological control. At when having traveled, their money and passports may be taken away from them, causing the victim believes they have no other choice but to continue working for that employer.Female victims of forced or bonded labor, especially women and girls in domestic servitude, are often sexually exploited as well. Many children are forcibly abducted put to work domestically for certain businesses or forced to be child soldiers and sex slaves for soldiers. Both male and female child soldiers are often sexually abused and are at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.(U.S. Department of State, 2008)