The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking in out Backyard

Often victims pay to be smuggled into the US and are told that they would have legitimate jobs. Once they arrive, however, they are forced into prostitution such as what occurred in April when people were arrested (30 of which were from Winston Salem) for sex trafficking (Hinton). Law enforcement officers discovered a brothel that formed part of an organized prostitution ring that moved women and girls

A primary location for human trafficking is at truck stops. According to Lieutenant Kimberlin, there are 25 or more truck stops that can hold 20 trucks overnight in Oklahoma. There is a considerable presence at these truck stops. “But it is difficult to detect since the drivers generally assist in hiding the girls.” (Kimberlin2) Love’s Travel Stop, a well-known chain of truck stops, is also working toward the cause to stop human trafficking. Love’s is planning to sponsor a group called Truckers Against Trafficking later in 2014. Love’s plans to teach workers of their truck stops about trafficking through a training video. This video will show common signs of human trafficking. The purpose of Truckers Against Trafficking is to help the trucking industry recognize that human traffickers are taking advantage of the trucking industry with their trafficking efforts.

The second part of The Slave Next Door, is a lot different than the first part. The second part is more about the ways in which human trafficking can come to an end or ways to prevent it from occurring. One of the main things that the second part talks about is on the need for more drastic state and federal laws to discontinue human trafficking and to hold the government accountable for the persecution of perpetrators and the assistance for victims. Besides the need of more state and federal laws, the authors motivate the readers to act towards this issue.

However a majority of the girls are abducted or forced while many are attracted in other ways. Fake agencies sometimes posing as massage agencies lure in women into the trafficking industry. These women are offered money, free transportation to these agencies to work, with an agreement that the costs will be paid back through the woman’s earnings for her work (Hodge, D. 2008). Other girls are lured in through brothels, escort services, hostess clubs, and strip clubs (Kotrla, K. 2010) where they are abused, manipulated, and have been forced to participate in sexual acts against their will.

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.

Over two hundred thousand of the American youth are reported to be at great risk, especially for sex trading. Cho (2015) argues that the majority of the victims come from the vulnerable populations, the poor, marginalized individuals, and the migrants; approximately eighty percent of them being women and children. The victims are often identified by race. However, it is reported that others fell into the activity by will, while others become lured into the inhuman affair. It has expanded to several parts of the states and there is the need for government intervention. The government need to focus on human trafficking now move than ever. Our country seems to be biased on this because it seems to affect more African Americans than other races. The government focuses on what will benefit other races instead of the

Recalling the first time hearing about human trafficking, I remember sitting with my mother during the church service. As the pastor explained the brutality of human trafficking, an image began to form in my head of a young prepubescent girl forced into compromising positions. Then, the pastor stated something that broke my heart, the majority of these girls were not captured, but sold. They were sold by their fathers, or other members of their families.

“Owners” of Women in human trafficking are beyond brutal. Survivors say they will beat you till you admit something even when you know nothing of the incident. They do not tell the traffickers where they are. If they know where they are they may be able to get help. Traffickers have no rights. 90% of the time they have no cell phone, no contact to family, and are under monderting at all times. They are beaten for not working hard enough. These victims experience abuse that no one should ever have to experience. It is an unimaginable situation that is a reality to too many women. According to the FBI services here is what Human Trafficking means “People are being bought, sold, and smuggled like modern-day slaves, often beaten, starved, and forced to work as prostitutes or to take jobs as migrant domestic, restaurant, or factory worker with little or no pay.” This is a hard situation to think about living in but yet women are forced to.

Human trafficking can take many forms, as well as many victims. One form of trafficking is slavery. Slavery is having a worker who is unpaid and who works by force using coercion, fraud or threat of bodily harm. “According to the United Nations, there are between 27 and 30 million modern-day slaves in the world (Jesionka, “Human Trafficking: The Myths and the Realities”).” “By 1860, the nation’s black population had jumped from 400,000 to 4.4 million, of which 3.9 million were slaves.(Henry Louis Gates).” That means there are nearly ten times more slaves today than there were in the late 1800’s.

Human sex trafficking is often considered a form of modern-day slavery. Marie Leonard said, “Individuals are forced to provide services which becomes a violation of civil rights.” In the heart of Houston there are massage parlors next to daycare 's, across the street from bars, and even on the streets we drive going to and from our daily routine. Victims, which are mostly women and teenagers, get told they are going to do an honorable job until they unknowingly end up in a brothel. Suspects wind the victims in by threatening to call immigration, or by taking their documents so the individual

According to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year, of which 80% are female and half are children (Hernandez). Human trafficking is the practice of illegally transporting people from one country to another for forced labour or sexual exploitation. The article, “The Hidden World of Shadow Cities” uses examples that most people are familiar with to explain human trafficking. “This weekend’s Super Bowl is likely to transform the entire city of Houston into one huge party, yet it’s also considered the largest human trafficking event of the year by victim advocates”, said Sam Hernandez, a non-profit devoted to ending sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. The Super Bowl “increases

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

Human trafficking of U.S. citizens and foreign nations persist and thrive for various reasons, one is the low risk involved. This is when the community is unaware of this issue, when the government/community institutions aren’t properly trained to respond, and the biggest reason yet is when law enforcement does not investigate and prosecute the crime, human traffickers perceive little risk or deterrence to affect their criminal operations. The next reason why human trafficking is so successful is because the high profits; when individuals are willing to buy commercial sex, they create a market and make it profitable for the traffickers to sexually exploit children and adults. (“Why”)

Many Americans remain ignorant of human trafficking within the United States, believing that this inhumane act only occurs in third-world countries. No one likes to believe that it can be happening in our own country let alone in some of our own states and cities. Society rarely takes the time to understand these women and what lead them into trafficking and what factors contributed to them staying in trafficking. This study seeks to voice the ability to raise awareness, enhance penalties for the traffickers/violator’s, and offer rehabilitation for the victims.

Slavery is a modern, pervasive problem. Human trafficking has been found in every state in America (humantrafficking.org). It seems that most Americans likely live within a comfortable drive of someone who is being exploited through human trafficking. There is a growing trend in human trafficking toward sexual exploitation (Bennetts, 2011). The Information Age has helped to create new opportunities for sex trafficking to flourish.