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.
Here in Michigan, Michigan state police and Michigan state attorney general say some of their cases of human trafficking happen on Mackinac Island. Human trafficking--mainly labor trafficking--has occurred in this area right here in our own homeland; human trafficking can happen anywhere and affects those that are most vulnerable. Although human trafficking is a complex social problem that preys on society 's most poor and vulnerable, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act hopes to address prosecution of traffickers and justice for the trafficked. This paper will explore the economic, political, ideology, social movement 's, and history of human trafficking and how the TVPA can relate and is working towards change.
This past year in the United States, there were an estimated 21,431 calls made to authorities concerning potential human trafficking situations and yet, the average American does not know that forced labor and prostitution is even a problem. (Melissa) Second to drug dealing, human trafficking is the largest criminal industry in the world today, and is growing fast. (Human Trafficking – Exploitation…) This modern day form of slavery takes victims captive against their will by using violence, threats, deception and other manipulative tricks. Even though each trafficking target has a different story, they all have similar experiences because they lose their freedom. In the United States, the First amendment protects all people citizens or aliens with basic freedoms. Therefore, human trafficking goes against ones American civil rights; human trafficking is major issue in the USA that needs to be stopped.
Traffickers continue to be in this cruelest method of oppression because human trafficking remains highly lucrative. The United States efficiently fight against the global as well as the country’s slavery by providing legal protection and post psychological development to the victims. This modern human right issue in the United States was made illegal when it passed the Trafficking Protection Act (TVPA) in October 2000, and later under reauthorization, Congress established a private right of action for victims of human trafficking into or within the United States to bring a civil action against their perpetrators. It is designed to combat human trafficking in America and abroad and through it, human trafficking victims qualify for governmental protection and services (Pierce). This enables the victims to sue and collect damages from
Through reports from two different states – California, and Florida, I further analyzed the efficacy of the TVPA and if it has been a strong foundation in combatting human trafficking.
millions and “Human Sex Trafficking” has been termed the most common form of “modern-day slavery” (Leary). It is an industry that is “woven into the fabric of everyday life”. (Leary) The reasons for human trafficking range from forced prostitution, pornography, forced labor, organ harvesting and drug smuggling. In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the “Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)” (Gouty) and as defined in this act of legislation, human trafficking does not require transportation of victims from one location to another and it does not require the crossing of an international border (Gouty). President Obama signed the latest
A significant feature to the VTVPA is that the United States will penalize countries if they do not comply with the VTVPA (Holman, 2009). This is an imperative feature and I think that it should be implemented throughout every single piece of legislation that deals with trafficking. Countries should be held accountable if they do not comply. The only way that sex trafficking can be officially over is if every single country complies with all the legislation. The United States looks at six different factors when deciding if they have met the criteria for eliminating trafficking. The United States looks at whether the country has investigated and prosecuted severe forms of trafficking, if they protected the victims, educated the public,
Human trafficking exists in several nations all around us. No nation, including the United States is exempt from human trafficking. There may be factors that create unique anti-trafficking issues and obstacles for each nation, but the characteristics are all the same or very similar worldwide. These characteristics are how the trafficking is conducted, how the victims are kidnapped, the percentage of victims, the gender of the victims, and the percentage of each gender in different trafficking situations. The situations include children, adults, male, and female victims. The situations the victims fall into are pornography, forced labor, sex slaves, prostitution, child sex tourism, and many more. These are the issues and key points made by the authors to persuade the reader to agree with their position.
Furthermore, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was best known for providing the framework to respond to human trafficking (Feldman, 2011). Likewise, it also helped for the redesigning of the laws in the United States by making sex trafficking an individual crime and allowing the government to focus on the victims. Even though this law has been reauthorized in 3 years the latest time, 2008, is the one that actually strengthens protections for the victims as well as, improves the protections for the victims. While this law already helped to develop people to prohibit the crime, the reauthorization of it, created a new set of criminal tools to reach unscrupulous labor recruiters (Feldman, 2011). Although the revisions of this law
TVPA was the first bill to truly address the full magnitude of human trafficking. The act put several measures into action in order to prosecute traffickers, safeguard victims of trafficking, and to stop human trafficking altogether. The act made human trafficking a federal crime and assigned strict penalties to anyone convicted of trafficking. TVPA also created the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons as a way to prevent human trafficking. Furthermore, the act created the T visa. The T visa allowed victims, and their families, to become temporary residents of the United States as a way to safeguard the victims. The T visa also allowed the temporary residents to become permanent citizens of the United States after they lived in the US for three
Human trafficking is in every state of this nation and in every country across the world. It’s in cities, suburbs, and rural areas; being hidden in plain view; unseen by so many. In 2015, 17,500 cases of sex trafficking were reported in the United States (Chawla). This is only the cases that were reported. It is estimated that there were about 20.9 million cases across the world that never got reported in 2015 (Lize). There are more human slaves in the world today than ever before in history (Straker). The purpose of this paper is to educate the reader on human trafficking in the United States and in the World, and prove how bad it has become.
Thesis: Human trafficking in the United States seems to be overlooked and not taken very seriously. Close to 20,000 women and children are trafficked in the US yearly. There seems to be nothing that can be done about it. Most times the victims are never heard from or seen again leaving very little of their known
Even in the land of the free, there are millions of people oppressed through human trafficking. The problem has not been addressed properly to citizens of America, and tends to be overlooked by many. This article will educate one on a variety of topics, regarding human trafficking in America through peer-reviewed research evidence. The first topic focused on is about who the victims are, how to identify international and domestic causalities, and what types of obstacles one may face, when trying to identify a potential victim. Next, one will learn how victims become involved and the common types of human trafficking. Moreover, the plethora of services for victims, eligibility for assistance, and issues for providing help will
I echo the words of President Obama and say to them: We hear you, and we will do all we can to make that dream come true. In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about how to break up human trafficking networks and help victims recover in safety and dignity. In years to come, we will apply those lessons relentlessly, and we will not rest until modern slavery is ended. Obama created President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) – have brought together leaders from government, the private sector, advocates, survivors, communities of faith, civil society, law enforcement, and academia to strengthen our nation’s collective efforts to combat human trafficking. In implementing this ambitious agenda, the Obama Administration has focused on four priority areas: rule of law, victim services, procurement and supply chains, and public awareness and outreach.Where as Bush continues to advance the fight against trafficking in persons, which is a modern day form of
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.