Young Woman Who Are Hoping For A Better Life Essay

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

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).

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.

Central American women are at an even greater risk of experiencing sexual abuse and other types of violence during their migration to the United States, especially in recent years, because of the spreading of gangs. In 2015, “nearly 110,000 people fleeing worsening gang and other violence in Central America’s northern triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras sought asylum abroad.” Many times, Central Americans are attempting to escape the possibility of being sexually assaulted by gangs. However, not everyone has the time to apply for asylum because they are in immediate danger. For example, Sara Rincon, a college student from El Salvador testifies: ““He said no woman had ever turned him down, and if I refused to be his girlfriend, he would kill me and my family. I didn’t want to leave home but after that we couldn’t stay; we left for Mexico in the middle of the night.” Because Rincon and her family had to leave spontaneously, they are most likely going to be traveling undocumented, just like many other immigrants attempting to escape gang violence in Central America. Therefore, they must migrate through Mexico with the possibility of even more traumatic events ahead of them.

Both Human Trafficking and Violence against Women can be caused by a number of things, yet let’s look specifically at the causes in the United States. Human trafficking is lucrative business, earning “$32 billion in 2005”, is fueled by the kidnapping of women and children before being coerced in to the sex trade and forced labor (Fiengold,2005). While human trafficking is an equal opportunity crime unlike gender-based violence, the root causes can be divided into three different parts including economic, social, and politics based on area in which the individual may be lacking or has had a void. Economicaly, “traffickers often deceive their victims” by luring them under false pretenses of vast and abundant economic opportunity, creating new “routes of trafficking from less developed countries to developed” ones like the United States (Clawson,Dutch,Soloman,Grace,

Scamming these victims by promising them a better life and telling them this job will be a great opportunity is another way the traffickers pull women into their business; this act of fraud seems to be the biggest way traffickers are able to get their victims to come work for them. The last way to get women to fall prey to their business is coercing them into it. The victims who enter these types of jobs are often told they have a debt that must be paid off and while they are there working for these people the debt continues to raise because of the money the owners use to feed, transport or give them security. Even though these fake businesses are taking place in the United States it does not mean that the workers being forced to stay there are American citizens; most of the time they are immigrants. since the workers sometimes are immigrants that gives another advantage for the traffickers and business owners to use against the victim, telling them that if they do not work for them then they will be shipped back to their country where they will then again have to struggle for work.

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.

Having a criminal record makes problematic to leave abuse, poverty and prostitution. This causes victims to stay in their situations. Victims outside the sex industry such as agricultural industry trafficked are also victims of the criminal justice system. If these workers resist their unspeakable treatment, they risk deportation. In many cases, employers of the victims threaten to call law enforcement to suppress and or deport their trafficked workers. Even if these trafficked victims ran away, they would be apart of undocumented workers that are subject to the whims of local law enforcement. Although the criminal justice system and war may seem to be the most important causes of human trafficking, the real primary current cause of human trafficking is triggered by the victim's economic

Mexico is a Tier 2 source, transit, and destination country. It’s primary forms of trafficking are sexual exploitation and forced labor. Men, women, and children are trafficked, but the most vulnerable populations are indigenous peoples, migrants, mentally and physically disables, and LGBT individuals. Victims are forced into labor in the agriculture, domestic, manufacturing, food processing, construction, begging, and street vending services. Many victims are lured by fraudulent recruiters, possibility of romantic relationships, extortion, debt bondage, and the possibility of harm to family members. Women’s shelters and rehabilitation facilities become agencies for traffickers into forced labor and sexual exploitation. Child sex tourism flourishes and tourists come from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Many Mexican citizens and families exploit children into the commercial sex trade. Organized crime is actively involved and make men, women, and children engage in illicit activities, become assassins, aid as lookouts, and help in the production, transport, and sale of drugs. Government officials at every level either actively participate of are complicit in human trafficking. Many law enforcement, judges, immigration officials extort bribes, partake in sexual services from women and children, falsify documents, facilitate movement across borders, threaten victims if they choose to file a formal complaint, operate and patronize brothels, and refuse to respond

People are promised a good job with good pay with room and board provided. They fall for the trap and answer to the ad without knowing it is a trick. When they are brought to the place, traffickers already stole the immigrants' passports and everything they own, making it impossible for the immigrants to go back home. Instead of the good job and pay they were promised, they end up working 12+ hour shifts, with basically no pay, and have bad living conditions. Men have been overlooked as potential victims of trafficking. Even when signs of exploitation that would sound alarms with women - such as confiscation of travel documents - are clear, immigration officers or assistance groups often classify men as "migrant workers" and send them on their way. In addition, men often don't want to admit that they were trafficked because this signifies weakness or "failure."

Females who are deceived into being trafficked often do so in order to become employed. Through its offering of better opportunities, neoliberalism promotes a breeding ground for human trafficking.

Some trafficking prevention programs broadly assume that, no matter the local context, the key vulnerability factors are poverty and lack of knowledge about human trafficking (United). That is, trafficking prevention interventions often move forward with poverty alleviation programs coupled with awareness raising, without first investigating whether the key drivers of human trafficking in the given area truly are household income or lack of understanding about trafficking and safe migration (United). It is very hard to depict whether it is something deeper than having problems fitting into the new surroundings and we as a society do not know how to help efficiently those in

And this is the source of human trafficking; gullible, poverty stricken ethnic Chinese people. To prove this, United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) reckoned “the number of female migrants is also rising rapidly, most of whom are young girls aged 17-25” (www.no-trafficking.org).

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.

We can all probably think of a time we watched a movie that depicted the ominous and illustrious circle of human trafficking. Movies like the blockbuster hit Taken dramatized the storyline in order focus on Liam Neeson’s character who is a father and a retired CIA agent that utilizes his skills to get his daughter back from the possession of sex traffickers. Although the movie is an exaggeration, the reality is that many victims fall into the vicious circle of human trafficking, which does not just include sexual exploitation. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), human trafficking includes “exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs.” In an event hosted at the United Nations Headquarters, the president of the General Assembly, Mr. John W. Ashe addressed human trafficking issues in the modern world stating that the,” annual profits as high as $36 billion per year, it ranks as the world’s third most profitable crime after illicit drug and arms trafficking.” The profit made by human trafficking involved not just girl and women but it also involves boys and men as well. Many make generalization that naïve girls are the victims to this organized crime; however, the case is that boys and men make up the population of millions of individuals who are victims to human trafficking.