Category: Human Trafficking

Abstract

Human trafficking is a major societal issue in the current global set up. Complications of labor and competition in businesses have ensured that human trafficking is one of the most widespread crimes in the world. According to some scholars, it is considered as a form of modern-day slavery given that people are traded like commodities and forced to engage in activities they do not endorse  in essence, they are denied the right to personal autonomy thus making the whole practice unethical. Many issues surround human tracking, and they can be viewed from multidimensional perspectives such as ethics and morals.

To understand the issues that encompass human trafficking in the contemporary setting, this research will provide a comprehensive and holistic meaning of human trafficking. Further, this research conducted an in-depth and extensive study of the ethical theories breached by human trafficking. More importantly, germane interventions and solutions to this problem were considered, and this will be discussed in the course of this research paper.

Introduction

Human trafficking has been defined as the transportation, transfer or recruitment of human beings, by use of deception, abduction, coercion, and fraud. Many times, human trafficking is enhanced by a position of vulnerability especially with financial rewards in sight (ASEAN ministers, 2017). Towards this end, exploitation includes but is not limited to all types of sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery and activities related to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs (Human Trafficking, n.d).

Nagle (2008) argues that globalization and regional integration have equally contributed to the fast growth of human trafficking. Additionally, it is the third most widespread crime in the world after drugs and weapons smuggling. Several things have led to the fast growth of human trafficking. Many of the victims are turned into slaves, working in manufacturing and construction industries. Further, many victims have been absorbed into sex tourism. The research paper focuses on the common types of human trafficking, the ethical issues involved, and the possible solutions that can be implemented to reduce human trafficking cases.

According to National Human Trafficking Hotline (2017), there have been 4,460 human trafficking cases in the US in the past one year. The stated number has reduced due to several mitigation exercises by governments and other stakeholders. Interestingly, areas that are near a coastline have higher frequencies of human trafficking compared to areas that are not near large water bodies. It can be argued that the stated premise is correct due to the ease of transportation. Indeed, a majority of victims are transported to different countries via sea. The stated phenomenon paints a negative picture of the efficacy of US coastline officials.

Types of Human Trafficking Cases

Sex Trafficking

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (n.d), sex trafficking is the most common form of human trafficking not just in the US but globally too. Statistics estimate that 79% of human trafficking cases reported worldwide are sex-related. Sex trafficking involves forcing women and men to have without their consent. It can be considered a risk factor for the high cases of sexually transmitted diseases. In most of these sex trafficking cases, women are the most affected as opposed to men. In 2017 alone, there have been 5,593 reported cases of sex trafficking in the US. Common areas where sex trafficking thrives include:

• Hotels and motels, where 588 of the cases were reported
• Illicit massages and spa establishments, which contributed to 561 cases
• Online advertisements and unspecified venues recorded 411 instances
• Residence-based commercial sex exploitation had cases amounting to 366
• Unspecified places recorded 261 cases (National Human Trafficking Hotline, 2017).

Labor Trafficking

Labor trafficking is the exploitation of peoples skills through the use of force, threats, and coercion. It is the second most common type of human trafficking and contributes to 18% of the human trafficking statistics annually.

Estimates put labor trafficking cases in 2017 at 1,064 which is a slight reduction from the previous year. One of the most used justifications of labor trafficking is that the labor provided is cheap and thus helps reduce the operational costs of the companies involved in some of the rackets. Child labor is one of the leading forms of forced labor worldwide, and it is more prevalent in developing countries. Some of the venues where this kind of human trafficking is commonly reported are industrial areas, farms, restaurants, and other menial jobs.

Ethical Issues Facing Human Trafficking

It is important to note that consent should be put at the center of the moral argument in an attempt to consider the ethical issues that surround human trafficking. In these human trafficking cases, the affected persons often have no will of their own; they are denied the ability to consent or not to consent to the activities being shoved down their throats. Through the egoism model, it can be argued that each person has the right to make decisions that would ensure the maximum benefit of their own. The premise implies that since the victims are denied the ability to make decisions for their interest, the whole concept of human trafficking becomes unethical.

Further, the utilitarianism ethical approach states that the result of an action determines whether the act is moral or immoral (Hollander, 2016). Most human trafficking cases that go unreported mainly end in murder, suicide, permanent physical injuries, or contraction of infections. From the utilitarian facet of the ethical prism, this renders human trafficking unethical and immoral.

Solutions to Human Trafficking

Currently, there are limited solutions in the fight against human trafficking. The most common stance against human trafficking globally was the UNODC trafficking protocol of 2010. Other means that can be employed to fight this scourge are:

• Facilitation of human trafficking awareness which will improve response to such cases when reported and the level of documentation which at the moment is not entirely desirable
• Encouraging formation of volunteer groups within the community
• Promoting conscientiousness, morality, and inquisitiveness among consumers as some of these products might have been manufactured with the help of forced labor
• Creating an awareness campaign of the human trafficking hotlines (National Human Trafficking Hotline, 2017).

Conclusion

Human trafficking is a serious contemporary issue, and the numbers involved are alarming. From a statistical perspective, these cases are not reducing which implies the methodologies being applied are currently not adequate or efficient enough. Therefore, countries, especially those with a coastline, need to be more vigilant and invest more effective interventions that could reduce this societal moral cancer. Human trafficking is unethical and immoral by all means as it defies all the principles of humanity and ethics. Finally, perpetrators of these human trafficking case and their accomplices should be subjected to strict and harsh prison sentence which will act as a form of rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence.

References

ASEAN ministers, senior officials to foster greater cooperation vs transnational crimes. (2017). Web.

Hollander, S. (2016). Ethical utilitarianism and the theory of moral sentiments. Adam Smith in relation to Hume and Bentham. Palgrave Macmillan & Eastern Economic Association, 42(4), 557.

National Human Trafficking Hotline (2017). Web.

Nagle, L. E. (2008). Selling souls. The effect of globalization on human trafficking and forced servitude. Wisconsin International Law Journal, 26(1), 13-28.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (n.d). Web.

Introduction

China is regarded as a major source, destination, and transit country of human trafficking. This illegal activity takes the form of marriages, sex, and labor that are done by force, including human smuggling and the sale and adoption of babies. The practice is further fueled by the undocumented immigrants status of defectors from North Korea, who are easy targets for abductions, kidnappings, forced marriages. Despite these human trafficking issues being serious, the Chinese government has failed to institute appropriate laws to mitigate them (Zheng 171). There is a need for the Chinese government to replace their current approach and form partnerships with womens groups and grassroots organizations to identify victims of trafficking and provide legal redress to those engaged in forced labor, sex work, marriages, and the sale and adoption of babies.

Historical Background

Before the Peoples Republic of China was established in 1949, it was among the leading markets in the world that traded with human beings. This period dates back from the Han Dynasty to the early 20^th Century when the Nubi people were bought and sold as enslaved people by the Chinese (Zheng 171). The Nubi was engaged on contracts stipulated they could only earn their freedom if they worked to pay back a set amount of money to their master.

In the 19^th Century, most enslaved people from China were sold to other lands like America and Britain as prostitutes and laborers. Imperial families in China owned state slaves, mostly criminals and war prisoners, while merchants and wealthy landowners purchased slaves. The Chinese society was populated with slaves at all levels to meet domestic needs and provide child-rearing and reproductive services. The buying and selling of people were a practice that was tolerated and facilitated by community networks as a solution to social issues such as marriage, diminishing food reserves and frustrations with a sick child. The traffickers were family members, lovers, and neighbors. This practice was a social system that regarded people as property to be bought and sold, where household heads wielded the authority to buy and sell their concubines, children, wives, enslaved people, and servants. Most victims were females who were sold as concubines, servants, slave girls, or prostitutes to meet the needs of single men (Zheng 171). Males were also bought as adopted heirs or hereditary enslaved people.

During the Republican era of 1912-1949, this practice was criminalized due to new legal reforms. However, traffickers were still able to create new ways of avoiding the legal provisions and perpetuate the practice. They continued to supply families with reproductive, domestic, and sexual slaves through buying and selling of people (Zheng 172). Most of the traffickers were women who were useful in luring the victims by putting them at ease. In this era, the migration that was occasioned by urbanization and industrialization increased the need for traffickers to work together to abduct victims from one place and sell them to a different province.

In the Maoist era (1949-1977), the practice of human trafficking was significantly curtailed through an enforced household registration system, closure of brothels, marriage laws, and eradication of class struggles and prostitution. In 1958, the Chinese government established the household registration system that outlawed migration and mobility by managing resource distribution (Zheng 172). On the other hand, the marriage law abolished concubines, arranged marriages, and marriage through gifts or money. The laws gave women the freedom of divorce and marriage and the right to property inheritance. It also curtailed human trafficking and reduced the need to sell children for adoption. From the post-Mao era of 1978 to the present, the one-child policy provided incentives to traffickers due to the skewed sex ratio, which led to a shortage of women. There was an increased demand for reproductive, domestic, and sexual services, which increased the rate of human trafficking.

The Extent of Human Trafficking

There is the limited official information on the extent of human trafficking in China and researchers have to rely on reports from organizations such as Human Rights Watch and other NGOs. China is not only a source of human trafficking but also a transit and destination country of forced labor, marriages, sex, human smuggling, and child adoption. Between 2000 and 2013, an estimated 92,8521 women and children were sold in China. However, the number declined in 2000 from 21,814 to 2,500 between 2003 and 2008 due to a crackdown on trafficking by the government (Zheng 172). The number is believed to be higher than what is officially recorded.

The US Department of State recently downgraded China from the Tier 2 Watch list to Tier 3 concerning forced labor and human trafficking (Zheng 172). The Chinese government has often been accused of complicity in forced labor by extra-judicially detaining drug users in facilities, lack of social services for trafficked victims, and a lack of criminalization policies for human traffickers, including forced repatriation of North Korean immigrants.

Forced Marriages

Victims who are trafficked for forced marriages are usually in the age bracket of between 12 years to 50 years within a price range of $1,000  $6,500. Reports indicate that about 90% of these victims come from Guizhou, Anhui, Hunan, Henan, Yunnan, and Sichuan Provinces. They are usually sold in underdeveloped areas of China like Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan, and Zhejiang. These are areas where the gender ratio is skewed with a serious shortage of women. Women from other countries such as Laos, Russia, Mongolia, North Korea, the Americas, Vietnam, and Myanmar are also sold into forced marriages in China. The major source of this problem is Chinas one-child policy (Zheng 172). Victims of human trafficking experience emotional, physical, psychological, and cultural traumas caused by violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and rape.

Forced labor

In China, forced labor is mainly concentrated in detention facilities and prison camps. The Chinese criminal justice system stipulates that rehabilitation be done through labor by criminals who have committed offenses ranging from drugs, prostitution, religious offenses, and government criticism. They are remanded for up to four years in jail without trial and forced to manufacture military uniforms and clothing for the police and the domestic market. They manufacture consumer goods such as silk flowers, coat linings, and Christmas trappings for export to countries like South Korea, the US, and Europe (Zheng 173). Camp officials sometimes purchase small-time offenders in times of shortages for a paltry $130 for six months.

Forced Prostitution

Women from Vietnam, North Korea, Burma, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, and the Philippines migrate to China to work as prostitutes. However, studies have indicated that no overarching national or international criminal groups are involved in this kind of trade. Most sex workers are not recruited but do so voluntarily to pursue a better life (Zheng 174). Internally, most women from rural areas migrate to urban areas to work as prostitutes due to the relaxation of the household registration system.

Human Smuggling and Baby Sales

Other forms of human trafficking include the sale of babies and human smuggling. It is estimated that nearly 200,000 children are sold to foster parents abroad from China for adoption. The preference for male children and the one-child policy have forced many to sell their children to avoid enforcement (Zheng 174). The out-of-plan babies are informally sold for adoption by both parents and family planning officials. On the other hand, reports indicate that illegal Chinese migrants seek traffickers to help them move out of China to search for better lives abroad. These traffickers are not criminals per se but neighbors or friends of migrants who get paid when the migrant reaches their destination country. Moreover, local officials also contract with these traffickers to smuggle their family members out of China at discounted prices. Since legitimate immigration is strict, Chinese with low social status use illegal means to migrate out of the country, using these traffickers as facilitators (Zheng, 174). They use the traffickers to bypass or overcome restrictions to their mobility to become illegal immigrants.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Given the evidence presented here, the following recommendations and suggestions need to be considered for the current policies employed by the Chinese government to combat human trafficking.

1. The Chinese government should distinguish between prostitution and human trafficking to put effective procedures for identifying victims of forced marriages, forced labor, and forced sex work to offer adequate protection services and social support to local and international victims in the country. Despite these human trafficking issues being significant in China, their current campaigns and laws have failed to underscore their importance. Instead, they have focused much of their attention on police raids in entertainment establishments, punishing sex workers, including movement and border controls. Moreover, they force women into detention camps where they are still susceptible to sexual assault by police or operate underground in more dangerous surroundings. This approach needs to change by incorporating local groups in its fight against human trafficking.
2. The top-down strategy employed by the Chinese government in its fight against human trafficking needs to change by forming partnerships with women groups and grassroots organizations to identify human trafficking victims and prevent forced labor. The crackdowns by police have presented opportunities for corrupt practices and scared away voluntary sex workers who could be useful in identifying genuine victims of human trafficking.

Work Cited

Zheng, Tiantian. Human Trafficking in China. Journal of Historical Archaeology & Anthropological Sciences, vol. 3, no. 3, 2018. DOI:10.15406/jhaas.

Introduction

Since the dawn of time, humans have occupied this planet in some form or another. Many generations have come into being and exited this planet, leaving behind a legacy of positive virtues and harmful vices. These virtues and vices have been passed down from one generation to the next. Humanity faces various obstacles that threaten their existence and negatively affect their daily lives. Human trafficking is one of the most notorious forms of vice that has persisted throughout history. The practice of this vice has evolved over the years, taking on new forms while retaining its core characteristics. In todays world, people trafficked to various destinations often end up being mistreated in various ways, ranging from commercial sex exploitation to forced labor. They are forced against their will to engage in illegal practices such as drug trading and being used for experimental research. This research paper will focus on human trafficking in Thailand. It will entail a literature review on Thailands social challenge of human trafficking. The violation of human rights and oppression of the victims and measures put in place by the Thai government to curb the vice.

The Thai government has come a long way in its efforts to protect the health and safety of its people and has made significant strides in this direction. There are several policies in place to guarantee that significant growth will take place in the country. These policies have proven beneficial over the past five decades, ensuring that the countrys economy is on an upward trend and has significantly been recognized as an upper-middle-income country, having moved up from the status of a low-income country. Despite the efforts made by the government to steer the country in the correct direction, dishonest people living within the country have discovered a method to take advantage of the countrys population by violating their rights through the practice of human trafficking. Most people who fall prey to human trafficking in Thailand are economic migrants from neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Even though certain Thai citizens have the misfortune of coming into contact with human traffickers, the situation is still quite serious.

Social Problem of Human Trafficking in Thailand

The prevalence of corrupt practices throughout Thailand is a major contributor to the industrys success. Corruption in Thailand is pervasive and may be found in many facets of the countrys economy. It can be found in corrupt government officials, law enforcement authorities, and affluent individuals. However, Thailand has laws designed to combat corruption, and those responsible for wrongdoing face increasingly severe punishments. The problem is that the people supposed to enforce the law are themselves corrupt. As a result, it has been difficult to put corrupt people behind bars and bring them to justice. Because of this factor, human trafficking has been able to thrive in Thailand, although it violates the rights of those victimized by it.

The trafficker takes advantage of the economic migrants in Thailand by subjecting them into activities they would not take part in if they had the free will to choose. Laws are broken as the victims are subject to inhumane acts some of which are indecent, children are forced to labor for hours while the young adults are forced into sexual acts. The old, on the other hand, are treated as guinea pigs and various experiments are conducted on them without consent (Ezell, 2001). On the other hand, some Thai nationals are victims abroad and are subject to the same inhumane and indecent acts that other victims are subjected to. Without their approval.

Human traffickers operating in Thailand have a large network that has operational activities between Burma and Thailand. The network enjoys the protection of some corrupt law enforcers, local authorities and some corrupt migration personnel working in the government officers. These corrupt individuals are responsible for ensuring that the human trafficking syndicate operate secretively while causing harm to many human beings that should not be subjected to the kind of treatment that the victims are exposed (Garcia & Soest et al., 2006). The public has therefore lost significant trust on the local and national government in protecting its citizens as implied by the study conducted by the United Nations who identified their subjects at random. The study shows that the Thai citizen would fail to report traffickers due to their inability to correctly identify the victims.

Human Rights, Social Justice, and Oppression

Traffickers are extremely cunning individuals who deploy several techniques to lure victims into their traps. They may attempt to deceive those who have suffered damage by assuring them of a secure haven. People who are desperate and looking for ways to improve their lives may fall victim to this trap since they are searching for solutions to better their lives (Ezell, 2001). In this sense, the victims are exploited and ultimately suffer at the hands of the traffickers, who oppress and exploit them to the most extent possible. In this manner, the victims are used and made to suffer at the hands of the traffickers.

Many migrants who wind themselves in the hands of traffickers did so because they unlawfully entered the country, contributing to their mistrust of those who enforce the law. It is common for victims to fear their traffickers and the authorities, which keeps them from seeking help and contributes to the secrecy surrounding human trafficking. According to the United States Department of State, the likelihood of economic migrants being victims of human trafficking in 2021 will climb dramatically. When led into the traps established by traffickers, most illegal immigrants enter the country because they believe they will find better employment possibilities here. They fear reporting their oppressors to the authorities since they may not have entered the nation legally.

Any person directly impacted by the vice of human trafficking has their rights violated as a result of the vice. As a direct consequence of this, the government of Thailand has enacted several regulations that are geared toward preserving the dignity of everyone who has been impacted. For instance, once victims of human trafficking in Thailand have been rescued from their captors, they are afforded the protection of the law. They are granted permission to work in the nation for up to two years, pending the prosecution of the criminals who were involved in their trafficking and who were responsible for their enslavement. It provides the victims with the option to earn a respectable living and find a means of sustaining themselves in a foreign nation without being victimized. It does so without the victims being subjected to any form of exploitation.

Advocacy Plan

The emotional trauma inflicted on victims of human trafficking while they are held hostage in other countries contributes to the development of their depressive symptoms. Their legal protections are being blatantly violated, and they do not have any channels through which they can air their grievances. They are not given the essential requirements they should have, and they are required to watch out for their masters, who may cause them harm at any time and for no apparent reason. They are not given the fundamental requirements that they should have. As a direct result of this, it is of the utmost importance for the government of Thailand to formulate regulations that would completely do away with the practice of human trafficking in the country (U.S. Department of State, 2021). The policies should be strict and include steps such as placing a freeze on the perpetrators assets and sending them to prison for an extended period.

Educating Thai citizens about the negative effects of human trafficking would enable them to recognize oppressed foreigners who may be victims of human trafficking. Citizens should report the perpetrators of the crime to the authorities responsible for maintaining law and order in Thailand. The information would be helpful to Thai nationals who are looking for employment prospects outside of Thailand. Thai nationals can be victims of human trafficking when working in other countries. Therefore, they need to be able to protect themselves. The information would greatly assist in ensuring that instances of human trafficking are reported and reduced to a minimum, if not eliminated.

Several government entities have been identified as assisting traffickers; the government ought to carry out a comprehensive reform of these institutions. Due to the high levels of corruption, the migration department and law enforcement have been the most adversely affected. As a result, they have opened some legal gray areas that traffickers have exploited (U.S. Department of State, 2021). With this mechanism in place, the corrupt officials would be forced out of their positions, and severe steps would be taken against them. They ought to be used as examples, making it less likely for other offenders to engage in human trafficking.

Even though the Thai government has been attempting to combat human trafficking, they have not yet met the requirements that the United Nations has established to deal with human trafficking. Therefore, the government should guarantee that it moves quickly to enforce its general laws to combat the vice. The capacity of the government to carry out the provisions of these laws would contribute significantly to the reduction of vice. There are additional regulations already in effect, in addition to allowing victims to work in the country for two years. If these laws were followed to the letter, there would be a considerable decrease in the number of trafficked persons.

Conclusion

The widespread corruption in Thailand makes it simpler for anyone to engage in the illegal trade of people in that country. Corruption is pervasive across the Thai economy and can be seen in various circumstances. The public has lost faith in the local and federal governments ability to protect their residents, and this sentiment permeates all levels of government. Illegal immigration is a big obstacle for migrants, particularly those who become victims of human trafficking. Many victims of human trafficking are reluctant to seek assistance because they fear for their safety and the security provided by law authorities. Human trafficking for economic gain is a significant problem. In recent years, Thailands immigration and law enforcement authorities have become increasingly criticized due to the countrys pervasive corruption. Those responsible for upholding peace and order in Thailand must be brought to justice, which can be accomplished by identifying the perpetrators of the crime. The submitted information would be extremely helpful in detecting and preventing instances of human trafficking.

References

Ezell, M. (2001). Advocacy in the human services. Cengage Learning.

Garcia, B., & Van Soest, D. (2006). Social work practice for social justice: cultural competence in action. Council on Social Work Education.

United Nations. (n.d.). Global report on trafficking in persons. United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime. Web.

U.S. Department of State. (2021). Thailand  united states department of state. U.S. Department of State. Web.

Introduction and Overview

Human trafficking is a modern concern in sociology and social work. Many individuals are affected by the problem. However, the groups that are mostly affected include women and children. Many theories exist as to why they are affected, including the perception that they are the weakest members of society.

Global organizations have attempted to provide solutions to the problem of human trafficking in general. Nevertheless, the measures put in place seem less effective (Rafferty, 2008). The most common definition of human trafficking was made by the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons.

The UN (2000) reveals that this protocol defines human trafficking as, The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by means of the threat, force, or other forms of coercion to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation (p. 4).

The prevalence of child exploitation with reference to human trafficking is high in third world countries where children are sold to be modern slaves in developed nations. This situation is a cause of concern in the practice of social work based on the many negative effects of child trafficking. Rafferty (2008) reveals how children are routinely sold like commodities in a multibillion-dollar industry that operates with near impunity (p. 13).

Affected children often have physical and mental manifestations of the effects of the practice. Some of them include sleeping disorders, acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases, anxiety, guilt, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among others (Briere & Spinazolla, 2005; Rafferty, 2008, p. 13).

This paper is a qualitative review of the problem of child trafficking. It examines the background of the problem, provides a literature review, and an analysis of the theories, policies, and interventions that are in place to address the vice.

Background

Human kidnapping, and infant kidnapping, in particular, has emerged as a contemporary type of captivity. Many children have fallen victims. The practice has its roots in slavery, where individuals were sold from their native lands to different parts of the world to work in farms and industries.

The end of slavery in the 19^th century and the creation of laws to curb the act meant that individuals had to use different ways of delivering labor that was in high demand in the rapidly developing economies of the world. According to Briere and Spinazolla (2005), this situation led to the emergence of human trafficking, which targeted the weak members of society, such as the poor, the female sex, and children.

The practice is still rampant. Traffickers often trick vulnerable individuals by promising them a better life in the new areas. Instead, they offer them as slaves to the ready clients. Children have specifically fallen victims because of their vulnerable nature (Bergeron, 2010).

The major social concerns that are associated with child trafficking include the use of trafficked children as commercial sex workers. Rafferty (2008) asserts, Two million girls of ages 515 are initiated into the commercial sex industry each year (p. 13).

Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a cause for concern to the professionals working in this field. Many health issues have been associated with child trafficking. The practice leads to the evolution of child slaves in the developed nations. Child trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry (Rafferty, 2008). This article uses children as the target population, with an area of focus being the United States.

The US is among the states that are affected by child trafficking. Thousands of children are imported into the country as commercial products to serve the interests of their masters. The emergence of the social problem has led to the development of laws and other measures to control the practice (Rafferty, 2008). However, attention focuses on whether the laws are effective.

Before 2000, there was no law that was meant to protect the victims of child trafficking. Offenders often went unpunished. Pressure from the different state organs, non-governmental organizations, and the international bodies led to the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000 (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2009).

The legislation was meant to curb the practice of human trafficking in the country, prevent the import of victims, prosecute the offenders, and to rehabilitate the trafficked individuals in the US. The multicultural practice issues that should be considered in this analysis include the differences in the living standards of individuals in different parts of the world (Rafferty, 2008).

It is also important to consider the existing legislation in areas where children are imported. The issue of racism is also an important multicultural issue in relation to child trafficking.

Literature Review

Many researchers have provided statistics on the prevalence of the problem of child trafficking globally. The global bodies that are responsible for the prevention of global problems such as the United Nations have also published special papers that are aimed at defining the practice of human trafficking in an effort to provide solutions to the problems (Bergeron, 2010).

Many independent researchers, scholars, and analysts have also contributed to the provision of the solution to the problems in the form of journal articles, which comprise some of the literature materials that are available for review in this article. The primary focus will be made on the prevalence of the problem in the United States and the research findings in this area.

Most of the scholars that contribute to the analysis of child trafficking are mainly social work professionals, with others being from other supporting disciplines such as psychology, international law, human rights, and policymakers, among others. Several students in these disciplines have also contributed to the topic in the form of theses, which are important in the analysis of the problem and its scope.

These researchers and scholars describe the issue of child trafficking as a form of exploitation in different ways (Bergeron, 2010). Some of them claim that the existing differences on the global scale are responsible for the practice while others focus on domestic problems. The views of these researchers will be discussed in this section.

Trafficking Children

Different ways are used to lure children into the chain of human trafficking, with most of these ways exploiting the innocence and vulnerability of this population. Traffickers use techniques that are aimed at generating trust between them and the prospective children. The final relationship leads to exposure of children to the market.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (2009) confirms that most of the traffickers use tricky means of assuring kids first-class employment and a healthier time in a new area where they are to be trafficked. Child traffickers are sensitive to the needs of the children at first.

They pretend to offer parental and other forms of relationship to the children. According to Bergeron (2010), Bus stations, parties, the mall, the movies, the street, groups homes, jail, and even inside and outside of schools are some of the places where pimps try to traffic young girls (p. 8).

The main reason why children are trafficked is to offer sexual services in the new area to which they are trafficked (Rafferty, 2008). Traffickers may even convince children to run away voluntarily from home in the hope of finding greener pastures. In one of the studies done in 1999 in the United States, over 1.5 million children had run away from home (Flores, 2002).

According to the Flores (2002), a significant proportion of the kids that escape during this period was also actively involved in the use of drugs or was involved in one or more forms of sexual or corporeal mistreatment. Teens lack of proper information puts them at risk of giving in for prostitution after being lured into doing so.

Children are also easy prey for pimps because they have poor decision-making and perceptions of life and the future (Bergeron, 2010). Traffickers and pimps frequent the social places that the teenage children often visit with the aim of luring them into the practice (Bergeron, 2010).

Other areas that are known to be frequented by these individuals in search of their prey include movies, parties, jails, schools, bus stations, and streets. Some of the trafficked children are also used to lure new children into the chain by befriending them and giving them presents with the intention of leading them to their eventual fate (Bergeron, 2010).

The abuse of trafficked children is often unreported and unpunished in many parts of the world, with the victims being punished unfairly by the law (Rafferty, 2008). According to Yvonne Rafferty (2008), authorities punish the trafficked children because of illegal border crossings, undocumented immigration, and prostitution crimes.

Impacts of Child Trafficking

Most of the tactics employed by child traffickers to prevent their victims from deserting them are the most harmful to the children. The methods used to retain the victims under the grip of the offenders include the destruction of the physical and psychological defenses of the victims (Rafferty, 2008).

The methods that the traffickers use to achieve this goal include the application of psychological, sexual, and physical violence against their victims (Rafferty, 2008).

Others also employ the tactics of isolation, induction, and maintenance of drug dependence denial of (or controlled access to) basic services and needs such as food and monitoring using dogs, cameras, and weapons (Rafferty, 2008). These techniques affect children bodily and emotionally. They are the cause of concern for social workers.

Abductors often mistreat children who fall in their hands. Customers and the pimps that the children work for often beat them. A major outcome from the mistreatment of the trafficked children is poor development, with the emotional, physical, and mental stress that they are subjected to, causing developmental abnormalities (Bertone, 2000).

Studies on the trafficking of children indicate that Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is the biggest cause of problems associated with child trafficking.

According to Bottoms and Quas (2006), children that are maltreated during trafficking and the eventual settlement in the areas where they are sold often have maladaptive psychological and physical outcomes. Trafficked children often have deprivation of services such as education, healthcare, and other social services that their age group has the right to enjoy (Rafferty, 2008).

Education Deprivation

Most of the trafficked children have no access to education services. They are denied the few educational opportunities that are available for their group. According to Rafferty (2008), the result of this act is further worsening of the economic conditions of the children and the societies from where they come.

Many researchers state that depriving education to the child victims of human trafficking ensures that they depend on their masters even in their adulthood since their economic status changes after the induction into prostitution and other illegal activities.

For the victims of trafficking who manage to go to school after the trafficking, they often have challenges with new experiences. Some of the researchers that have followed the children indicate that they often have difficulties in the development of cognitive skills, motor and verbal skills, and performance in the learning institutions (Eckenrode, Laird & Doris, 1993).

These children also demonstrate delays in many fields of academics, with some even opting to quit school to join illegal activities. The apparent lack of education for children is a social work challenge. The resulting problems also pose a challenge to social workers.

Physical and Emotional Problems

Social workers often have to deal with the problems stemming from child trafficking, including physical and emotional health problems. The methods used to traffic the children are inhumane. Numerous fatalities are reported because of these practices. The areas where trafficked children live are also unhygienic. They can result in diseases and other health concerns.

Poor hygiene and unfavorable diet for child trafficking victims often result in poor health. The problems are compounded by the inability of the traffickers to offer health services to their victims. According to Rafferty (2008), child traffickers often deny their victims the right to seek healthcare, and hence the prevalent health problems for the children whose cry has been a social issue that social workers are concerned with.

The exposure of trafficked children to practices such as prostitution and drug abuse predisposes them to health problems such as STDs and addiction. These children engage in unsafe sexual practices, unsafe abortions, high-risk pregnancies, and unwanted pregnancies (Rafferty, 2008).

Rafferty (2008) observes that HIV/AIDS is prevalent in trafficked children as another challenge for social workers who have to search the affected children and screen them for these diseases against their will for fear of facing repercussions from traffickers.

The emotional problems that the children often face while in the hands of the traffickers prohibit them from seeking support and/or help from the relevant authorities. Rafferty (2008) says that these children have emotional challenges that can be permanent if not tackled early.

The physical and emotional trauma originates in part from the traumatic removal of the children from their parents and families (Rafferty, 2008). Some of the emotional effects of trafficking that have been described in the literature include depression, guilt, shame, low self-esteem, hopelessness, nightmares, anxiety, and predisposition to psychiatric illness (Rafferty, 2008).

Sneddon (2003) confirms that the psychological effects of child trafficking stem from victims witnessing other victims being abused in the form of threats and isolation. Children who experience emotional and sexual abuse in the hands of their traffickers, and clients are more likely to suffer from emotional problems as compared to their counterparts (Rafferty, 2008).

These health effects of child trafficking are important to the practice of social work. Social workers have the mandate to detect the existence of trafficked children in the society. Social workers also need to offer basic services to children and extract them from human traffickers.

These individuals also need to report cases of child trafficking in the society to the relevant authorities. Few readings describe the relationship between child trafficking and its connotation to collective vocation. However, the available researches provide important information regarding the same issue.

Theoretical Framework

Rafferty (2008) says, Although researchers have identified several factors that place children at risk for child trafficking, they are often merely listed with no theoretical framework to guide research (p. 13). An important hypothetical structure that may prove useful in the evaluation of child trafficking resulting in child exploitation is the ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1986).

According to Rafferty (2008), this theory is a possible framework to conceptualize risk factors associated with child trafficking because it emphasizes the relationship between people and their environment, rather than examining the characteristics of either in isolation (p. 14).

The application of the environmental standpoint structure entails discussing the environmental circumstances that result in teen trafficking. Some of the risk factors that are important to consider in this framework include family risk factors. Rafferty (2008) confirms that the risk factors in families that may result in child trafficking include poor treatment and the prevalence of poverty.

Children who are usually trafficked are usually female because they are more vulnerable. They have the potential to be used as prostitutes. Other findings that are consistent with this theory include that the victims of trafficking are the ethnic minorities in the societies, with the reason behind this observation being their inability to cater for themselves and the family institution (Rafferty, 2008).

The age that is prone to trafficking is between 12 and 16 years. It is the most vulnerable because of the adventurous capacities depicted by individuals within the age brackets. The socially isolated groups are also vulnerable, just like the marginalized social groupings that often face the challenge of inadequate resources (Rafferty, 2008).

These groups are easier to convince and lure into the practice with the promise of improvements in their social standings. The characteristics of societies such as social isolation, economic inequality, and discrimination are some of the other factors leading to child trafficking (Rafferty, 2008).

These factors are consistent with the theory. The gender factors in the society, such as the discrimination against the female sex, also result in the observed prevalence of child trafficking, especially when it affects the female sex (Rafferty, 2008). Some attitudes held by society are also fuelling the prevalence of child trafficking.

According to Rafferty (2008), some societies believe that the practice of sexual intercourse with a virgin may be a cure for HIV/AIDS, and hence the high demand for children as sex slaves in these parts of the world.

Some of the other theories that are important in the analysis of the challenge of child trafficking and the prevalence of child exploitation include the complex trauma theory and developmental speculation (Bergeron, 2010). These theories are useful in the understanding of the effects of trafficking on children. The complex trauma theory states that child treatment is a form of trauma to the children.

It results in the effects that are stated earlier. Children who are exposed to poor conditions during transit, after the sale to the clients and other activities, are prone to traumatic experiences during their later life  trauma results in expressions such as physical, mental, and psychological illness.

These theories are important in the understanding of the practice of child trafficking as a problem in social work. They help understand the reasons behind the presence of child trafficking and the effects that are felt from the practice.

The ecological perspective framework is important in social work in relation to child trafficking since it allows the concerned parties to understand the reasons behind the prevalence of the practice, as stated above. The theories that are later discussed, including the complex trauma theory, are also important since they contribute to the understanding of the effects of child trafficking in the social work perspective.

Policies

Child trafficking is a problem that is recognized by national, regional, and global bodies. Some international and federal laws are meant to prevent the practice and/or deal with the offenders. These policies are also meant to rehabilitate children who are engaged in the practice besides protecting them from the effects of the practice.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in the United States is the main policy that deals with the protection of children from human trafficking, the punishment of the offenders, and the reintroduction of victims to the society.

Federal authorities have been able to use this legislation effectively to curb the practice of human trafficking. There have been reductions in the number of victims. However, children are more affected because they are easy to trick and/or are undetected by most authorities. They are also dependent on their traffickers. The threats keep them in the organizations since they are unable to exist on their own.

TVPA has provisions that enable victims to be funded by the federal government with the provision of benefits and other services that are important to their survival in the country.

Another component of the legislation is T Visa, where the children victims of trafficking, along with their adult counterparts, are eligible for a form of work authorization where they get to work in the country (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2009).

The other program that is relevant to child trafficking and social work is the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program that is administered by the US Department of Human and Health Services (HHS) (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2009).

Children under these programs have access to a number of services that are provided in areas that are favorable for recovery. Some of the other services that are provided under the program include intensive case management, healthcare, counseling, training, and other social services that the children were deprived of in the custody of their traffickers (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2009).

URM serves as the main authority in charge of children victims of trafficking who may not have knowledge of their parents. For those that have families, the program is also involved in the reunification of children with their families in different parts of the country with the available repatriation services reuniting them with their parents in other parts of the world.

This policy, along with the relevant international policies on human trafficking and child trafficking is important in social work because they guide the interaction between the social worker, the trafficked children, their traffickers, and the relevant authorities. Social workers have to contact the relevant authorities in their attempt to offer the solution to the child victims of human trafficking.

Interventions and Recommendations

Many laws have been created internationally to deal with the problem of child trafficking and human trafficking in general. The United Nations is one of the organizations that lead in the protection of the rights of children by formulating many policies for member countries that are aimed at stemming the practice.

The organization has departments that are dedicated to the counter of child trafficking. Some punishments are instituted to member states that do not put measures in place. The protection of human rights is a major role of the UN. It funds projects in nations that are prone to human trafficking.

The World Health Organization is another body that has put in place measures to deal with the effects of child trafficking. Policies have been formulated on how social work departments in different nations should engage in the protection of children from trafficking. These policies have demonstrated significant results. Some of the countries that are still largely affected include China, Mexico, and Ethiopia.

These countries serve as the origin for the trafficked children, with the markets being the developed nations in continents such as Europe and North America. Border control is another method that has been used in the US to prevent the problem of human trafficking. The arrested people are subjected to stringent measures to dissuade other individuals.

In the recent past, international transport has grown at a very fast rate because of the efficient methods of transport that are in use. These methods have led to the high prevalence of human trafficking in part. Measures that have been put in place include travel regulations for some areas.

Passengers are screened at the major entry points in the nations to detect any potential form of human trafficking. The use of technology to monitor activities of human traffickers has also gathered pace, with the US leading in the deployment of special technology to thwart any attempted human trafficking. These measures have not been useful in reducing the occurrences of human trafficking, especially child trafficking.

Some of the reasons why the measures put in place have not been effective in reducing child trafficking include the ability of traffickers to escape traps and the cooperation of the victims with the traffickers. Most of the victims are unaware of the fate that they are likely to have in the new greener pastures.

They often cooperate with traffickers who habitually use legal means of getting the victims to a new country. Therefore, the authorities have a hard time trying to detect human traffickers and their victims. They only find out after a long time in their stay. This illegal trade has also fueled the corresponding drug trade in the US and the origin countries and the practice of underage sex. Gangs also guard child trafficking in some areas.

More effort should be put to punish the offenders of child trafficking, including the institution of laws that are aimed at punishing them. These laws are not effective if the prospective victims are vulnerable. Social workers should be involved in empowering the vulnerable population.

There is also a need to educate the population on the risks that it may face when engaging in the practice of child trafficking. Provision basic education will also be important in reducing the prevalence of child trafficking.

The other important intervention that should be adopted includes the provision of employment for vulnerable populations and early detection of the victims of child trafficking. Child trafficking remains a significant social problem. Social work is one of the disciplines that may be used to address it.

Conclusions

This article looks at the prevalence of child trafficking, the background, and the available interventions together with how they work. Social work is established as one of the areas that may be important in solving the problem that has persisted despite the formulation of policies to curb it.

Therefore, from a closer look at the expositions made in the article, the analyzed literature shows that child trafficking results from existing environmental and social concerns, which should form the main areas of focus for social workers. There is a need to carry out education for the affected groups in an effort to offer basic services to the societies with the highest risk.

There is a need for families to show concern on the whereabouts of children since they (children) need to be controlled and directed towards doing what is in line with societal norms.

This effort follows the fact the children are very valuable and that they hold the future of any country. Anything that hinders them from achieving their goals in life, such as trafficking or any mode of abuse needs to be addressed, with stern actions being taken against the offenders.

Reference List

Bergeron, B. (2010). An Assessment of Social Worker Attitudes Regarding the Domestic Sex Trafficking of Children in America. Social Work Theses. Paper 57. London: Routlege.

Bertone, M. (2000). Sexual trafficking in women: International political economy and the politics of sex. Gender Issues, 18(1), 422.

Bottoms, B., & Quas, J. (2006). Recent advances and new challenges in child maltreatment research, practices, and policy: Previewing the issues. Journal of Social Issues, 62(1), 653662.

Briere, J., & Spinazolla, J. (2005).Phenomenology and psychological assessment of complex posttraumatic states. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18(1), 401412.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(1), 723742.

Eckenrode, J., Laird, M., & Doris, J. (1993).School performance and disciplinary problems among abused and neglected children. Developmental Psychology, 29(3), 5362.

Flores, R. (2002). National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children.

Rafferty, Y. (2008). The Impact of Trafficking on Children: Psychological and Social Policy Perspectives. Child Development Perspectives, 2(1), 13-18.

Sneddon, H. (2003). The effects of maltreatment on childrens health and well-being. Child Care in Practice, 9(1), 236250.

UN. (2000). Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations convention against transnational organized crime. New York, NY, United Nations General Assembly.

United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). Factsheet: Child victims of human trafficking. 

Introduction

In January 2009, a raid by Brazil police led to the rescue of more than 4,500 slaves who had been entrapped in ranches and plantations in remote areas of the country. In a total of 133 raids, the organizers visited an approximated 255 farms where people from poverty-stricken North Eastern regions were rescued before being compensated a total amount of 2.4 million pounds for what had happened to them. One would ask himself how these people find themselves in such circumstances but the real answer is simple. Living in impoverished regions, the slaves to be are approached by middlemen who are also referred to as Gatos translating as cats, with great promises of good work and great salaries. Burning with the desire to emancipate themselves from poverty, they readily accept the orders. Contrary to their expectations, the slaves find themselves trapped in remote farms where they are confined under gunpoint. They are made to work as sugar cane cutters or in the clearing of tropical rainforests. The compensations they get are food and housing (Anti-slavery, 2009).

While this might sound like a case in Brazil, the same is happening all over the world. Human trafficking also referred to as illicit transnational movement of people through organized criminal networks is a phenomenon that is a contemporary reflection of the abolished human slavery of yesteryears. While the approach might look different, the repercussions and the contravention of Human Rights are exactly similar if not worse. In the contemporary situation, human trafficking has different forms. There are those who are trafficked as immigrants in search of employment, there is safety seeking asylum seekers, women, and children who are trafficked for the sole objective of prostitution and finally trafficking human parts so that they can be put to medical use (Truong, 2001, p. 4).

This crime has taken a new turn for the last two decades. It has greatly been attributed to the change in the global economy where new role players like organized crime have become an indispensable feature within the international platform. These groups impact greatly on the economic agenda as they try to benefit from the slaves through migration issues, political persecution, and or selling of bodies in terms of prostitution or for use in the medical arena. As a result, this has become a great drawback in the combating of crime and also a drawback in the general upholding of human dignity and security (Truong, 2001, p. 4).

Statistics

The number of people being trafficked is a tricky affair to be specified accurately. However, official sources point out that an approximated four million people are trafficked internationally by gangs that have formed an intricate network. From this figure, the number of earnings is estimated at between the US $ 5 and the US $7 billion every year. One outstanding classification is that the greatest number among the four million people are sex workers. Statistics point out that the number of women and girls being trafficked all over the world is about 500, 000. Most of these women are taken to Western Europe where they are exploited sexually (United Nations, 2000). Prior to this, the preliminary figures had indicated an estimated 700,000 women being trafficked all over the world.

The value of women and girls trafficking for prostitution can not be clearly pinpointed but there are rough estimates where great sums of money are earned. A good example was revealed by the Thai illegal trades in women where an approximated 3 billion US Dollars were earned annually in the trafficking of women from the country to Germany, Japan, and Taiwan. In Japan alone, women from Thailand accounted for as much as 4.7 billion US Dollars in the illegal prostitution trade in 1994 alone. Based on the information offered by the arrested participants in the illegal trade in the United States, the amount earned per annum in this trade ranged from 1.5 million US Dollars to 110,000 US Dollars. This depended on the number of people trafficked within the network and also whether the trader dealt with really attractive women or less attractive women (ONeill, 1999).

Other than the trafficking of women for the sex trade, there is the trafficking of body parts for medical use. This form of human trafficking offers very limited information and data. However, some scholars have offered an estimate in the statistical data after basing their calculation on the number of organ transplants that have taken part in the world. It is estimated that about 300,000 transplants took place in the whole world between 1978 and 1994. the greatest percentage was in the United States. Since then, the demand has been increasing at 15% per annum. Unfortunately, the number of organs donated has remained constant. In addition, the number of people who are wealthy but with faulty organs and who can use their money to buy body organs was also estimated to increase. For example, the United States accounted for a 45% demand increase in a period of four years starting from 1995 (Harrison, 1999, p. 25). Basing on the values of organs and the number of transplants each year suggests that the illegal industry would be accruing a total of one billion US Dollars per year. Harrison further points out that the amount involved might be higher based on the fact that these estimates were for organ transplants only while trafficking for body parts involves the heart, human tissues, cornea, and many other parts not only for transplant but also for research and development in the field of medicine.

Factors Contributing to the Crime

The international community has played a role in both the acceleration and control of human trade. But the most ironic issue is that trade has not appeared on the agenda of the main body that deals with trade, The World Trade Organization. It is very ironic because the organization has passed laws that protect the wellbeing of the social standards and the environment but has never included the clauses that protect the human body. For example, animals like elephants and other endangered species are mentioned in the several clauses that protect them by banning trade on ivory, but no clause protects the human being. The failure of the agency to deal with the illicit trade could be factored as a major contributor to the increase of crime (Truong, 2002).

The definition of organized crime has evolved with different countries offering different definitions. In the interest of this topic, and the nature of organized crime in terms of its activities that both take place within legal and illegal settings and in informal and formal settings, this paper will dwell on the definitions offered by the social scientists. Truong, (2001) offers three definitions by social scientists in their attempts to define the phenomenon. &Crime with planning, skills, information, and technology, executed as a project (e.g. bank burglary, production of false currency, production of false identity documents). Another definition offered is that organized crime is organized in the form of bribing, fraud and corruption. Finally, organized crime is taken as a form of enterprise that takes a corporate or family structure or a network of small gangs involved in crime.

Organized crime has been termed to be one of the results of the State and the economic outlook. Globalization on its part plays the leading role in the increase and encouragement of organized crime. With the advent of globalization, the state lost its regulatory power to the regional and international bodies. Currently, the intricacies of trade can not allow the issue to be controlled from a national level and this implicates positively the increase in organized international crimes. This is one position taken by social scientists. On the other part, some scientists point out that the power of the state has not been reduced, only that a secondary form of economy has emerged whose operations and transactions are beyond the jurisdiction of the national regulations. This trade is viewed to have been a creation of the states with the aim of facilitating globalization (Truong, 2001, p. 9).

Both the positions have great implications on Human trade. For example, if a nation takes a very unconcerned approach towards the rights and wellbeing of immigrants and if it fails to maintain an orderly migration of people across its borders, it will act as a haven for human trade. In addition to this, if the country has good rules concerning the wellbeing of immigrants but fails to cover up its loopholes in its governance system so that illegal activities have ways through which they can justify themselves, it becomes a haven for human trade. States that fail to observe the international treaties and conventions like the Refugee Convention, and the Migrant Convention always fail to protect the wellbeing of immigrant workers and hence the promotion of human trade (Truong, 2001, p. 9).

The social, political, and economic imbalance of different states spurs the need for the movement of people from one state to the other. This in itself promotes human trade. The need for security in warring states need for better earnings in impoverished states and several other needs force individuals to seek a better life elsewhere and this lands them in the hands of internally organized criminal organizations that lead them into becoming victims of human trade. However, it should be noted that these pressures on their own do not act as factors influencing human trade. With a well-organized system of human movement, organized gangs cannot access the people. The problem occurs when the state fails to have proper regulations of these people and hence giving opportunity for the gangs to take over and form their own networks (Truong, 2001, p. 10).

As Ali (2005) points out, the lack of opportunities and unemployment have been cited as the greatest causes of human trafficking in Asia, especially in Pakistan and India. This position is formed by the lack of education or low education levels in the Pakistani and Indian women and men thus subjecting them to a very low chance of getting a job in their countries of origin. Also, the position of the woman in contemporary Asian society also contributes to their desire to go out and look for better lives that offer them independence. In most cases, women are frustrated after cases of being deserted by their husbands, divorces, and other marriage issues. As a result of this, they find themselves as the greatest targets of human traffickers.

Globalization has also facilitated the movement of people through the availability of adequate transport and media. Not only does globalization offer and facilitate means of transport but it also has led to the loss of income-generating sources from which the inhabitants of an area usually depended upon. This forces them further into poverty causing them to look for other means of survival. Again, this makes them lucrative business opportunities for the human traffickers who promise great employment opportunities and better salaries. In addition, natural disasters and conflict usually lead to the great migration of people who escape for their own safety. Accordingly, the people are subjected to harsh conditions both physically and health-wise. This makes them great targets of the human trafficking organizations. This is heightened when the victims of the conflict or natural disasters are without adequate skills and education (Ali, 2005).

Forms of Capital Acquisition

These organized groups usually acquire their capital in various ways. One of the ways used is through primitive acquisition where victims are captured and forcibly or assaulted by the members of the crime organization. The second way of capital acquisition is through regulated accumulation where the victims are lured into the trap through legal organizations that operate using some hidden illegal means. Gains from the illegal activities of the legal organizations are channeled into other legal activities like real estate and other services. According to researches, most of the proceeds earned from the sex trade have always been channeled into other legal activities (Truong, 2001).

Role of the United Nations

With such an increase in cases of human trafficking, one would want to understand the role of the United Nations in stopping the ever-increasing crime. Unlike the WTO, the United Nations has played a great role in the process of ensuring that the trade is combated. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons was passed by the General Assembly in November 2000. it was from this Protocol that a strategic plan was laid not just to identify and punish the human traffickers but also to strengthen the international players and enhance cooperation against the crime. In the definition by the United Nations, the aspects of the crime are captured. They include, recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring and reception of persons. It also captures the use of means that are improper in the acquiring of people for human trade. This includes abduction and other uses of force, deceiving and using other fraudulent means, and finally the objectives of the activity. The objectives include forced labor, sexual exploitation, and slavery. Under the law, all member states are supposed to outlaw all activities related to the above-mentioned. In addition, victims of human trafficking should be entitled to top protection and support at all times. Apart from general protection, special protection should be provided to individuals who offer information to the police or who appear in court for witnessing. It also provides other optional requirements like the provision of medical care, legal counseling, housing, etc (Dijk, 2004).

Conclusion

It is therefore evident that slavery, although abolished years ago has resurfaced under a different outlook. In the new look slavery, organized crimes take advantage of the economic, social, and political situations of unsuspecting victims and subject them to slavery. Other than the socio-economic and political problems, the weakness in state regulatory systems concerning immigrants has also contributed to the crime. The only way to help combat this problem will therefore be strengthening the state regulatory system and adherence to The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. This will be the only way the crime will be combated.

References

1. Ali, M. (2005). Treading Along a Treacherous Trail: Research on Trafficking in Persons in South Asia. International Organization for Migration.
2. Dijk, J. (2004). Forum on Crime and Society. UN Office on Drugs and Crime. New York City: United Nations Publications
3. Harrison, T. (1999) Globalization and the Trade in Human Body Parts, The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 36(1): 21-35.
4. ONeill Richard, A. (1999) International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organised crime, DCI Exceptional Intelligence Analyst Program, An intelligence Monograph, Centre for the Study of Intelligence, CIA: Washington D.C.
5. Truong, T., D. (2001). Human Trafficking and Organized Crime. The Institute of Social Studies. Working paper 339.
6. United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime (2000), Palermo, Italy, 2000.

Introduction

In-person human trafficking is an old trade that has existed since the precolonial era and civilization. The phenomenon has plagued world populations separating victims from their families for various reasons such as enslavement, sexual exploitation, cheap labor, and illegal organ donation. Globally, women and girls make up the majority of human trafficking victims for purposes of domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Due to the persisting nature of the trade, various research articles and reports have been conducted to establish the causes, impacts, and trends of trafficking to mitigate the trade. Among the reports are the yearly United Nations Drug and Crime Reports (UNODC), which investigate different aspects of human, trafficking in efforts to prevent and curb the issue. The reports date back to the early 21st century, each exploring significant issues on the phenomenon using diverse research methodologies that can effectively address the issues. This essay compares the 2012 and 2020 UNODC reports on human trafficking to find out changes in the research methods and outcomes of the investigations regarding the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.

Changes in Research Methods

Research methods are crucial for any investigation as they determine the effectiveness of data collection and analysis in addressing the issue under investigation. The two reports present significant similarities and few differences in research methodologies and the context of conducting the research that has led to minimum changes in the papers. Researchers of both reports use mixed research methods, including quantitative and qualitative data collection and consulting existing literature on the phenomenon under investigation. Regions covered include significant countries in Europe, the Middle East, East, Central and South Asia, the Pacific, and North and South America. According to the researchers, the region represents 95% of the worlds population Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2020). Therefore, the results can be used to form conclusive evidence on the trade globally.

In both reports, quantitative data was collected by consulting statistical information on various judicial reports and other relevant data sources, such as national reports on trafficking in persons. The researchers consulted case files from numerous judicial cases to obtain information on the prevalence of the trade, vulnerable victims, the profile of the offenders, and trends and characteristics of in-person human trafficking. Qualitative evidence was collected by consulting five recently prosecuted court cases from participating countries. Unlike the 2014 report, the number of countries represented in the 2020 report is higher, representing 155 countries compared to 128 in 2012. Both investigations had been conducted for two years, between 2010 to 2012 in the 2012 UNODC report and 2016 to 2018 in the 2020 UNODC report.

A notable change in methodology is seen in the additional sources of information in the 2020 report. Apart from legislative and judicial statistics from the represented nations, the researchers utilized literature from various sources, including academic journals and reports from other organizations and national authorities regarding the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. Another change in data collection is the data generalization for the population under investigation. In the 2012 UNODC report, data regarding victims is generalized regardless of age and gender, making it difficult to obtain specific numbers for a victimization trend. Unlike the 2012 report, researchers for the 2020 report give specific details according to age and gender, providing better information on victims and forms of exploitation according to specific groups.

Changes in Trafficking Women and Girls

Trends in Trafficking Women and Girls

Despite the slight changes in methodology, such as additional literature review from other reports, journals, and academic articles in the 2020 report, insignificant changes are observed in the reports and findings. Women and girls remain the primary victims of in-person human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation. In 2012, 52% of the victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation with women and girls being the most victims (Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2012). In the 2020 report, 77% of women and 72% of girls were trafficked for sexual exploitation (Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2020). The data shows a significant increase in the trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes compared to the 2012 report. The substantial changes can be attributed to new data collection strategies such as consulting additional sources and recording data according to the age and gender of the victims. The generalization of data among both genders and ages does not give a clear pattern on specific details, such as the exact number of women trafficked in the period, which may lead to inconclusive information.

Profile of Offenders and Transnational Flows of Victims

In both reports, males dominate the trade, recording the highest number of convictions and interactions with the authorities regarding in-person human trafficking. However, the percentage of women involved in trafficking is higher in the 2020 report than in the 2012 report. Women are reportedly engaged in the domestic trafficking of persons from the initial stage due to the high growth and spread of human trafficking networks globally (Caudwell, 2018). The increase can be due to changing research methods, which enabled the researcher to obtain in-depth information from various sources showing the involvement of women, which is challenging to obtain from case files since they report lower numbers of convictions. Thus, the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation continues to rise, with women participating in coercing fellow women and girls.

The two reports have slight changes in the transnational flow of victims. In the 2012 report, the trade occurs across transnational borders within a close geographical region. Conversely, victims hailed from regions with low Gross Domestic Product (GDPS) to regions with higher GDPS. Contrary to the 2012 report, researchers of the 2020 report found that most in-person trafficking of women and girls is mainly domestic. The flow of trafficking has changed from transnational to regional and national trade, where victims are moved domestically from poor regions to urban areas. Cross-border human trafficking is observed in regions with close geographical areas where victims are not transported far from their origin. Caudwell (2018) attributes the changes to national development globally, raising the countrys GDP where citizens have the resources to exploit victims domestically sexually. Hence, trafficking women for sexual exploitation has become easier since the traders have less risk of cross-border attacks by the authorities and transportation costs.

Conclusion

Trafficking women for sexual exploitation is among the significant illegal trades globally. Changes in research methods, GDP, and the rise of trafficking networks have led to slight changes in the findings of the two reports. The trade is increasing despite national and regional anti-trafficking policies and global authorities against trafficking in persons. The trade is shifting from transnational to nations and regional trafficking, where victims originate from their countries of origin. Economic development in countries of origin significantly contributes to the changes in the flow of victims where citizens have adequate resources to exploit women and girls sexually. Consequently, the increase in the trade is attributed to more women participating in the initial stage of coercion, leading to the recruiting of many innocent girls and women. Due to the minimal changes, trafficking women for sexual exploitation continues to plague society, and researchers should consult diverse methodologies to identify the trends and target population, which can help mitigate the trade.

References

Caudwell, J. (2018). Sporting Events, the Trafficking of Women for Sexual Exploitation and Human Rights. In: Mansfield, L., Caudwell, J., Wheaton, B., Watson, B. (eds). The Palgrave handbook of feminism and sport, leisure and physical education, 537556. Palgrave Macmillan, London. Web.

United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes. (2012). Global report on trafficking in persons, 2012. United Nations publication. Web.

United Nations Office 0n Drug and Crimes. (2020). Global report on trafficking in persons, 2020. United Nations publication. Web.

Thesis, Model, and Hypothesis

Human trafficking is a problem which seems to be concealed and even ignored in the United States society because of a lack of the appropriate discussion of the issue at all levels (Haynes 2004, 221).

In spite of the fact that the U.S. government develops policies in order to address the issue at the federal level while connecting it with the problem of the illegal immigration, it is important to state that the human trafficking is a complex problem which should be more reflected in the government policies and public discussions because human trafficking is one of the illegal immigrations causes, but the public is not properly informed about all the negative aspects associated with the issue.

From this perspective, it is important to answer the following question: How has human trafficking influenced and effected illegal immigration, and to what extent has public policy changed the way human trafficking is perceived? The appropriate model to present the possible answer to this question is the following one:

Human trafficking as influencing illegal immigration and addressed in the public polices ’ Changes in the publics perception of human trafficking.

In light of that, the research aims to answer the question with the focus on the hypothesis that there is the obvious connection between the phenomenon of human trafficking associated with illegal immigration and public policies and changes in the publics perception of human trafficking in the United States.

Research Design and Methodology

A research design selected to test the hypothesis and answer the research question is a survey which is based on the collection of the qualitative data.

Cases for Study

For this study, 40 participants aged between 22 and 52 years were selected to answer the interview questions related to their vision of the association between human trafficking and illegal immigration and related to their vision of the role of public policies in affecting human trafficking.

Thus, 40 male and female representatives of different racial and social groups living in different states of the country were selected with the help of the convenience sample method. The participants were contacted with the help of the information presented by their friends and provided the consent to participate in the survey.

Key Concepts

The independent variable is the phenomenon of human trafficking which is discussed in association with illegal immigration and adopted public policies

The dependent variable is the publics perception of human trafficking which is demonstrated in the context of new public policies. The perception of human trafficking is discussed with references to negative and positive visions presented in certain concepts.

Identification of Sources of Information

The data necessary for testing the hypothesis is the primary qualitative data presented in the form of the participants answers to the interview questions.

The focus is on the qualitative data presented in words because it is necessary to understand how the American public perceives the idea of human trafficking, how people relate it to the notion of the illegal immigration, and how people discuss it in the context of the public policies. The qualitative primary data is also important to understand how the public is informed about the aspects of human trafficking.

Creation of Survey Questions

The followed research design is based on using questions for the interview. The designed questionnaire to be used during the interview includes questions related to the publics vision of the association between human trafficking and illegal immigration and related to the peoples vision of the role of public policies in affecting human trafficking.

The presented questions are open-ended in order to provide the participants with the opportunity to state their attitude to the phenomenon and convey the perception of the problem. The questions were generated as a result of reviewing the issues discussed in the literature on the topic. Much attention was paid to formulating questions about the peoples vision of the policies effectiveness and their discussion of such concepts as a victim, prostitution, slavery, and social exploitation.

Methodology

The survey based on conducting the interview with participants to collect the data was selected in order to address the problem discussed in the research question. The participants from different states of the country were contacted with the help of the telephone, Skype, and e-mail. Participants were asked to give answers to the questions during the telephone interview or during the conversation with the help of Skype.

Those participants who could be contacted only with the help of e-mail were provided with the copy of interview questions, and they were asked to provide the written answers to the questions with the help of e-mail. The telephone interviews and Skype sessions were recorded in order to provide the researcher with the opportunity to collect, categorize, and analyze the received qualitative data effectively.

Analysis and Assessment of Findings

The collected primary data was properly documented and analyzed with the help of the qualitative content analysis. The next step was the categorization of the data into concepts in order to discuss how the publics perception of human trafficking is influenced.

The data was also analyzed in order to state how one concept associated with the issue can influence the other one, associated with the side of the problem. The final stage of the qualitative analysis was the reporting of the data and organization it in the summary tables in order to present important findings in a proper and clear manner.

It was found that 25 participants were inclined to state that they were significantly influenced by the discussion of the problem of human trafficking, and their perception of the whole phenomenon can be described as antagonistic (Table 1). Furthermore, 5 participants stated that they knew little about the problem, and they could not discuss themselves as properly informed about the issue.

In addition, 3 participants noted that they were rather neutral in discussion the issue because they knew about the problem, but they did not see the necessity to discuss it openly. The answers of 7 participants can also be discussed as antagonistic, but the level of this attitude is low because these participants pointed at the necessity to discuss this problem at the federal level, rather than in the society (Table 1; Yen 2008, 653).

From this perspective, it is possible to state that the interviewed persons are inclined to discuss the problem of human trafficking as something which should be discussed by the authorities, not by the public (Andreas 2002, 591). It is possible to assume that the cause of such a position is the lack of the information presented in the media.

Findings on the correlation between the publics perception of human trafficking, illegal immigration, and public policies show that the Americans are inclined to discuss the phenomenon of human trafficking as associated with sexual exploitation and illegal immigration (Table 2).

Moreover, human trafficking is associated with the concepts of victim, slavery, and immorality. In contrast, the public policies, which are associated with human trafficking and illegal immigration, are discussed as promoting stability in the American society as the civil and democratic society (Feingold 2005, 26). Still, participants point at the lack of information related to the problem in the media, and they discuss themselves as non-informed and negatively affected by human trafficking (Table 2).

From this point, participants express the strong negative attitude to the idea of the human trafficking, and their vision is significantly affected by the adopted public policies discussed in the media. However, participants claim that they have not enough information to discuss the problem of human trafficking as catastrophic and as the threat to the American society (Chapkis 2003, 923). Still, the participants are inclined to associate human trafficking with the problem of illegal immigration because they often hear how these ideas are connected or linked in the media.

Conclusion

Human trafficking is a problem for the American society because people still demonstrate a lack of understanding the issue. However, it is possible to state that the U.S. government develops effective policies to address the issue at the federal level while discussing it in the context of the problem of illegal immigration.

The reason to point at this fact is the changes in the publics perception. Thus, the publics perception of the issue is changed significantly with references to the discussion of the policies effectiveness. The U.S. governments policies to address illegal immigration are discussed as the symbol of the social stability.

Nevertheless, the public is not properly informed about all the aspects associated with the human trafficking, and people are inclined to discuss the problem as connected with the authorities activities, not as the social issue important to be discussed actively and openly. From this point, more attention should be paid to improving the discussion of the issue in the media because the Americans know little about the issue of human trafficking.

The perception of the public is influenced by the effectiveness of policies significantly, and this fact should be taken into consideration while discussing the appropriate ways to inform the American population about the threat of human trafficking properly. The extent to which the public policy changed the way human trafficking is perceived as significant, and this fact should be taken into account in the further researches and in the process of developing the policies related to the issue.

The hypothesis was proved as a result of the research. From this perspective, the thesis can be discussed as strong enough because it is supported with the findings of the conducted survey. Limitations of the research are in the impossibility to involve more participants in the survey, and this fact limits the researchers opportunities to generalize the results.

References

Andreas, Peter. 2002. The Escalation of U.S. Immigration Control in the Post-NAFTA Era. Political Science Quarterly 113, no. 4: 591-615.

Chapkis, Wendy. 2003. Trafficking, Migration, and the Law: Protecting Innocents, Punishing Immigrants. Gender & Society 17, no. 6: 923-37.

Feingold, David. 2005. Human Trafficking. Newsweek Interactive, LLC 150: 26-30.

Haynes, Dina Francesca. 2004. Used, Abused, Arrested And Deported: Extending Immigration Benefits To Protect The Victims Of Trafficking And To Secure The Prosecution of Traffickers. Human Rights Quarterly 26, no. 2: 221-72.

Yen, Iris. 2008. Of Vice and Men: A New Approach to Eradicating Sex Trafficking by Redusing Male Demand through Educational Programs and Abolitionist Legislation. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 98, no. 2: 653-86.

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are powerful social issue ads targeting a great variety of problems, including human trafficking. To increase the effectiveness of an advertisement campaign and address the issues more efficiently, it is important to understand what the projects target audience is and select the appropriate communication means which will support the ads effectiveness.

Nowadays, human trafficking is a large social problem that creates substantial threats to the global communitys welfare and adversely affects individual lives.

Although this issue is of concern for every social member and group, is it observed that young women and girls constitute a particularly vulnerable category of the population that suffers from human trafficking most (Wesley par. 1). Therefore, this project primarily aims to convey risk information regarding this vexed problem to young females.

By including social advertising in their publications, print media contribute to the development of public awareness. But it is possible to say that when the discussed problem is especially significant and topical, the transferring of the desired message to the public is facilitated.

Readers of local newspapers are characterized by diverse backgrounds, and although the given project is intended to target a specific stakeholder group, the publication of the PSA project will allow conveying the message to many other people as well.

Both adult audience and school students can be inspired by the PSA, but it is important to consider that individuals of different ages will perceive it differently  when younger readers may increase the awareness of the importance of protective measures, the adults can become more motivated to take a proactive position.

Since the human trafficking issue is very disturbing, the given PSA aims to elicit human compassion and encourage people to take action for the improvement of the situation.

Thus, the project will attempt to motivate adults to educate children and youth, especially from the vulnerable population group, about safety rules, which is one of the major steps in the process of human trafficking reduction on both local and national levels.

The risk associated with making the PSA project about human trafficking is rooted in the fact that the topic has severe negative connotations and emotional implications. There is a possibility that the ad may shock the audience and result in the subsequent instinctive avoidance of the matter.

My task, therefore, is to reveal the data about global human trafficking and risk populations in a way that may appeal to diverse people, including disadvantaged groups that have little or no access to education resources. This objective requires using a strong social and emotional appeal to encourage the public to act. It coincides with the rules of the genre in terms of stylistics, visual devices, and other textual intricacies (Bell par. 10).

The researchers observe that objectives, as well as visual and textual content, determine stylistic peculiarities of any piece of the genre (Tikhomirova et al. 1372). Since the PSA purpose is to increase awareness and provoke a positive change, and since the project will target a wide audience, the choice will fall on shorter sentences and paragraphs.

The project will provide both quantitative and qualitative data on the issue, including figures and charts, which will constitute a part of the visual design. At the same time, the words related to victims have to be powerful to elicit the desired response. The issue has to be presented very illustratively, which means that references will be left in smaller print at the bottom of the ad. In this way, it will be possible to avoid unnecessary distractions.

One of the challenges of the printed PSA is that it can be less effective than the audiovisual one because people tend to be less responsive to the written material. However, the appropriate and well-balanced focus on the significance and topicality of the problem may facilitate a better understanding of the genre and stimulate the desired response from the audience.

Works Cited

Bell, Jaclyn. How to Create the Perfect Public Service Announcement. Center for Digital Education, 2010.

Tikhomirova, Larisa S., Natalya Danilevskaya, Elena Bazhenova, Larisa Kyrkunova and Svetlana Ovsyannikova. Role of the Structure of Public Service Advertising Text in Influencing its Recipient. The Social Sciences, vol. 10, no. 6, 2015, pp. 1371-1374. MedwellJournals.

Wesley, Stephanie. Human Traffickers Target Aboriginal Girls, Women. Native News Network, 2013.

International lands typically conjure up when one’s mind comes to the thoughts of human sex trafficking. That kind of horrible conduct is not unique in the United States of America. America is the land of the free and yet something as horrific as human sex trafficking takes place every day in our own backyard. According to the Homeland Security Department, the definition of trafficking in human beings is ‘modern-day slavery involving the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some kind of labor or commercial sex act’ (‘What is human trafficking?’). The reader will witness the savagery that comes with trafficking and the undeniable damage it does to its victims.

In today’s world, anyone can become a victim of sex trafficking. Family members such as brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and especially babies. There is no mercy for anyone. Job opportunities are one of the leading causes of being trafficked for prostitution, slavery, or human organs. The world today has about twenty to thirty million slaves. Sadly, it is very difficult to identify and locate these organizations and victims because trafficking is a rapidly growing crime. Although there are many organizations created to support survivors, there is inadequate awareness and insufficient action is being taken to stop trafficking in human beings.

Sex trafficking is a form of trafficking of human beings that has been a worldwide problem since ancient times but has been frequently overlooked because it is almost impossible to resolve the dilemma. Sexual exploitation and slavery have been taking place since the dawn of mankind, dating back to ancient times. There are various forms of trafficking, including sexual slavery, where women are coerced into sexual activity, including prostitution and pornography. Another type of trafficking in human beings is slavery, where the victim is coerced into unpaid work, enduring harsh conditions that endanger life. Trafficking of human tissue, cells, and organs is another form of human trafficking.

This is where people, especially the kidneys, are unlawfully robbed of their organs. Criminals take this opportunity to make quick money by kidnapping people and conducting risky operations to sell the victim’s organs because of the country’s long list of transplants needed. The thing that all groups of traffickers have in common is their need for quick easy money. Such pimps will accomplish such goals with little use of people to sell sex, jobs, and organs.

A victim is forced to work without pay where the abductors claim. Trafficking of human beings is a disgrace and a global crisis. This touches people’s and families ‘ lives by depriving fundamental human dignity and freedom and denying human rights. In the journal Human Trafficking Is More Than Sex Trafficking and Prostitution: Implications for Social Work, while not common as sexual exploitation, trafficking for exploitative labor exists worldwide. It occurs in types of farm work, doing efficient household chores, supplying labor in difficult working environments such as mines, and forming gangs for the trafficker’s profits. The idea of trafficking throughout human beings is based on slavery. This involves a trafficker who controls and exploits another human. It’s just like slavery, a type of business that produces billions of dollars annually. Globally, it is totally illegal and is described as a crime and, like slavery, is punishable by law. In the U.S., human trafficking cases can be identified from findings such as the presence in Florida and California of migrant farmworkers. In the immediate environment, it essentially takes place. There are young girls forced into prostitution in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Wichita, and Toledo.

There is no one specific type of survivor when it comes to the history of victims of sex trafficking. These victims come in all shapes and sizes and come from various communities across the country. All survivors have various socio-economic backgrounds, varying educational levels, and may also be reported or undocumented people. According to Equalitynow.org, ninety-eight percent of victims are women and young girls when it comes to different sexes caught in the world of sex trafficking. Equalitynow.org says ‘the sex industry is open to the most marginalized women and girls. Most have experienced significant trauma, and when they enter prostitution, many are still adolescents’ ‘(What Is… Equality Now). The most likely victims of sex trafficking are migrant teenagers and runaways. The National Human Trafficking Hotline focused on a Chicago study in which 56% of prostituted women were originally runaway youth and similar numbers were also found for the male population.

However, it appears that males are overlooked in sex trafficking. Most people don’t see the 2% of males who are also victims of trafficking. Most would only think of young girls or women, however, young boys are also in immediate danger. Is it also another side of this problem that is extremely overlooked. As a result, most of these victims refuse to speak out or seek help for their trauma. According to USAToday, “As a child, Jones was raped, abused and sold to men for sex. The brutality ended when he was 15. But, like many male victims, Jones didn’t seek help, didn’t tell anyone about the trauma he had suffered.” For Jonas, he was unable to speak out and tell an adult because of the shame he felt. In today’s society there is quite a lot of stigma towards boys and being sexually abused. Boys are characterized as wild, unemotional, tough, etc. however, this gender bias is what causes people to be unable to see the big picture. Young boys are just as unable to fight back as young girls. Boys can’t understand what is happening to them just like girls. Boys feel shame and extreme emotion just like girls. Boys aren’t meant to “like” it just as girls do not like it. One of the most concerning gender biases for boys is that boys will like being abused by an older woman or that they are able to get away better than girls just for the sole fact they are boys. Boys are just as many victims as girls and young women are. A quote from USAtoday says, “Key informants pointed out their belief that law enforcement has very little understanding of (commercially exploited) boys. For example, when filing human trafficking reports, they would often ask: ‘Why couldn’t he get away? He’s a boy.’ One informant said she was forced to explain to law enforcement professionals before filing a report that boys and young men can be bought and sold just like girls.” Another quote from USAtoday is “ In 2013, an ECPAT-USA report concluded that the “scope of (the commercial sexual exploitation of boys) is vastly under-reported.” The researchers also cited the need to better identify male victims, raise awareness about the harm caused by commercial exploitation, and provide more services designed specifically for boys. For boys, not being able to understand, deal with their emotions and feelings after being traumatized sexually can lead to many problems toward adulthood. Problems with partners, sexual development, emotions, etc. can result in even bigger issues such as depression, suicide, and drugs.

For this final part, there will be stories of women and men who were trafficked for different reasons. Mary from Nigeria, aged 17, was promised restaurant work and a full trip to Italy by an unknown man named “Ben”. Mary was taken to Libya and forced to have sexual intercourse with Ben soon after they arrived. Mary had no connection to her family and was forced to stay there for months. Finally, when she was going to be sent to Italy, she was informed that she will be working as a prostitute in a camp. Mary had no choice as her mother was being threatened by the men who bought her way to Italy, thus trapping Mary. Khang Nu, who is now 24, was tricked by women from her village in Myanmar. Impoverished, and looking for any opportunity for work, a woman promised khawng a job at a Chinese factory. After khawng was accepted and was sent to China, she soon found herself being forced into a birth trafficking ring. Khawng was to be forced to birth to babies, she was with many other women and some as young as 16. They were treated with shots and injected with sperm into birth babies for Chinese men. however, khawng was able to contact her family and with the help of her village leaders, they were able to arrest the main trafficker.

In conclusion, human trafficking is not one issue, it is multiple issues that need everyone to acknowledge and understand to be able to eradicate. Without understanding and knowledge of this issue, there can be no change. The problem will only increase and more people will become victims and suffer unimaginable trauma. Human trafficking is a vile practice that endangers young men, women, and children.

Human trafficking today is considered modern-day slavery. Victims of human trafficking are coerced, assaulted, and lied to have commercial sex. This year, I have noticed that human trafficking has become more prevalent in the media but I’ve also noticed that not much has been done about it. In Spears’ essay, she discusses how much human trafficking impacts the U.S. and states, “the current estimate is that 18,000 to 20,000 people are trafficked into the US annually” (Spears, 2006) but these numbers are not including internally trafficked victims. Many women and children are affected by human trafficking, causing their lives to be completely transformed. Once some women’s lives are changed, they will never return to normal again. Human sex trafficking is a growing problem that affects women emotionally, physically, and psychologically.

To begin, human sex trafficking is an enormous industry. The sex industry makes up approximately 75-80 percent of human trafficking (“55 Little Know” 1). Although organ harvesting and labor are other forms of human trafficking, the sex industry controls the biggest portion of human trafficking. Being the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world, it is the fastest-growing business of organized crime (Walker-Rodriguez 1). Not only is human sex trafficking considered slavery, but it is also known as a big business. The reason that criminal organizations are becoming more and more attracted to human trafficking is that, unlike drugs, humans can be sold repeatedly. 20.9 million victims globally take part in the worldwide $150 billion industry (“Human Trafficking” 1). High profits and low risk are what have made human trafficking as common as it is. Around the world, there are an estimated 27 million adults and 13 million children who are victims of human trafficking (“55 Little Known” 1). More human slaves are involved in the industry than ever before in history. Becoming more and more common to be involved in human trafficking, it is an enormous industry that occurs all around the world.

Human trafficking can not only be looked at as a form of slavery but as a business as well. Many women are trafficked to the United States to work in the sex industry (“55 Little Known” 3). Some of the places that partake in the sex industry are peep and touch shows, strip clubs, prostitution, and massage parlors that offer sexual services. Although they may be transported to the United States to perform labor work, most are transported for the industry of sex. The majority of human traffickers place false advertisements to pull vulnerable women into the sex industry (Winckelmann 12). Because of the technology and instant communications used in today’s society, this is an easy way for traffickers to increase the number of women they have working for them. Since the internet lets them place ads around the world, they no longer have to risk going to a newspaper office or calling the telephone company. Some of the job positions they may claim to be seeking are tutors, translators, restaurant staff, or household employees. Instead of using a telephone number that may be traced by the police, they usually use an anonymous e-mail account. Clueless victims are lured by the promise of a high-paying job, or sometimes, the opportunity to travel. They discover the truth upon arrival at the destination. Though some traffickers may not use an anonymous method, this is one way that lowers the risk of getting caught in the crime. “A human trafficker can earn 20 times what he or she paid for a girl” (“55 Little Known” 1). As long as the girl isn’t physically brutalized to the point where her beauty is ruined, the pimp can sell her again for a higher price. He has broken her spirit and trained her which saves some hassle for future buyers. In June of 2010, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, launched the Blue Campaign to increase awareness of this crime internationally and domestically (Dinking 2). To increase awareness, Homeland Security conducts training and webinars, develops informational materials, produces informational videos, conducts investigative efforts, provides victim assistance, and conducts outreach. Human Trafficking is a very organized, large business.

People who are sex trafficked go through a lot of suffering and pain, sometimes never ceasing. “Over 71 percent of trafficked children show suicidal tendencies” (55 Little Known 2). Whether it is during or after the experience of human trafficking, they have a hard time coping with what they felt, saw, did, smelled, and heard. After all the negativity that was put in their life, they feel the only way out is through suicide. No matter how hard some past victims try, they can’t forget and heal from their past. One essential experience that all trafficking victims share is a loss of freedom (“Human Trafficking” 1). Once some get involved in sex trafficking, they are often forced to travel far away from their homes. As a result of this, they are isolated from their friends and family. Few in this situation can develop new relationships with adults other than the person victimizing them and their peers. Often, traffickers will take their victims’ identity forms such as birth certificates, drivers’ licenses, and passports. Even if youths do leave in these cases, they would have no ability to support themselves and often will return to their trafficker.

Drug addiction causes many youths to struggle in these situations. By a means of control, the traffickers can simply use their ability to supply the victims with drugs. They are forced to do whatever the trafficker wants to do, whenever the trafficker wants them to do it, regardless of how they feel about it. Their hobbies, lives, feelings, and what pleases them are forgotten; it is no longer about them and what makes them happy. Children’s suffering as trafficking victims begins before their personalities have completely developed (Winckelmann 39). Because of this, it makes it very hard for them to have healthy relationships and make friends. Sometimes, children are sold into slavery by their families, causing them to lose their trust. When trust has been abused, whether between their family or the trafficker, it can be very difficult for the children to learn to trust others again. An estimated 30,000 victims of sex trafficking die each year (“55 Little Known” 1). Abuse, disease, torture, and neglect are a few of the many ways that victims die from human trafficking each year. Living normal lives is no longer a choice for many once-were victims or current victims in the sex industry due to the number of horrific things they have lived through.

Bondage is one tactic trafficker use as a way to get people into the industry and to keep them there for as long as possible. People are often recruited into human trafficking through pressure from their parents, forced abduction, or deceptive agreements between traffickers and parents (Walker-Rodriquez 1). Plenty of cases of recruitment, with the help of parents, are due to the lack of money within the family. Millions have been left homeless and impoverished due to severe natural disasters and global warming. Because of this, people are easily exploited by human traffickers because people become desperate. Traffickers frequently target runaway and homeless youths, victims of domestic violence, war or conflict, sexual assault, handicapped, or social discrimination (“Human Trafficking” 2). For example, some human traffickers recruit young, handicapped girls into the sex industry, such as those suffering from Down syndrome. Most runaway youths originate from families who have abused or abandoned them; they become involved in the industry to support themselves financially. A variety of ways are used by sex traffickers to “condition” their victims (“55 Little Known” 3). Starvation, rape, physical abuse, beating, threats of violence, confinement, shame, and forced drug use are some movements traffickers take to teach their victims. Violence, deception, threats, debt bondage, emotional tactics, and other manipulative actions are taken by traffickers to trap victims in horrific situations in America every day (“Human Trafficking” 1). High-paying jobs, loving relationships, or new and exciting opportunities are often used to lure people into the industry. Financial methods and drugs are also used in certain scenarios. Establishing strong bonds with their young girls is a way for the trafficker to trap their victims in the industry for as long as possible. Perpetrators may promise their youths a lifestyle they didn’t have in their previous family relationships or marriage. All sex acts are claimed to be for their future together; they claim to “love” and “need” their victim. In certain situations where the children have little to no male role models in their lives, the traffickers will take advantage of this fact. Making it even tougher for the youths to break away from their perpetrator, they’ll demand that they call them daddy. The bonds that traffickers make with women and children greatly increase the possibility of a long involvement in the industry.

Lastly, many effects come from getting involved in the sex industry whether it is physical, emotional, or psychological. “Human traffickers often use a Sudanese phrase ‘use a slave to catch slaves,’ meaning traffickers send ‘broken-in girls’ to recruit younger girls into the sex trade” (“55 Little Known” 1). Sex traffickers will often train girls themselves by teaching them sex acts and raping them. Significantly represented as perpetrators, victims, and activists fighting this business, human trafficking is the only crime that occurs across the nation that women can take part in every role. Today, the business of human sex trafficking is way more violent and organized. A victim that has been with her trafficker the longest and earned his trust is known as the bottom. The bottoms perform many jobs such as collecting the money from the other girls, disciplining them, talking others into the industry and handling the day-to-day business for the trafficker. By taking part in this industry, victims face many physical risks (“55 Little Known” 4). Some of the risks include alcohol and drug addiction, sterility, contracting STDs, miscarriages, forced abortions, and anal and vaginal trauma. Oftentimes, they suffer from malnutrition, sleep deprivation, and lack of medical care. Psychological effects are very common once you become involved in the industry as well. They may develop depression, personality disorders, suicidal tendencies, and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (“55 Little Known” 4). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder causes the individual to experience terrible dreams or memories of what happened to them. Anxiety, phobias, and panic attacks are also common after these horrifying experiences. A paradoxical psychological phenomenon occurs when a victim has been abused over an extended period of time so they being to feel an attachment to the perpetrator. Emotional effects are a major problem once you’ve taken part in this industry (Walker-Rodriguez 1). Most of the time, they feel emotionally distant if they even feel emotions at all. Child victims of trafficking suffer from shame, blaming themselves for what happened to them. Stable, healthy relationships are hard for children to have after experiencing what they did. Trusting is a difficult act for them to do. Major effects come from the experiences that the victims were tangled into.

Human trafficking changes most women and children’s lives permanently once they have witnessed the horrors of the expanding business. Every day, the business is getting bigger across the globe. Many women take part in human trafficking whether it was their choice or through force. Once taking part in the industry, they are forever changed physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Our world will forever be in chaos until everyone realizes that people aren’t meant to be used and things aren’t meant to be loved.