Human trafficking is a worldwide issue affecting many individuals; the Department of States estimated that about 600,000 to 800,000 people are taken across borders each year and two to four millions of people being victimized within their own country (Siskin & Wyler, 2010). The majority of trafficking victims are forced into sexual exploitation, however many are also used for labor. Although there is a current US policy that addresses anti-trafficking legislation, the problem of victim identification still persists. The failure to adequately tackle this phenomenon, paired with a concern over human rights, has prompted debates over who is considered a victim. There needs to be a more effective way to eradicate the dangers of human trafficking. The United States has one of the largest percentages of trafficked humans worldwide, however so many individual are unaware of this issue. As many as 17,500 individuals are thought to be trafficked into the United Stated annually, and some have estimated that 100,000 U.S. citizen children are victims of trafficking within the U.S. (Siskin & Wyler, 2010). Since many cases go unreported, these estimates may be fewer than the actual number of victims in the US. There is substantial evidence that supports the ideology that woman and children from low socio-economic status are most likely targeted (Okech, Morreau, & Benson, 2011), of all the people trafficked each year about 70 percent of women and 50 percent are children that are mainly forced into the sex trade (Human Trafficking Statistics). Among socio-economic problems, the trafficking business feeds on conditions of vulnerability, such as family conflicts, natural disasters, youth, ignorance, gender, social exclusion, political instabil... ... middle of paper ... ...ent of State). The main goal of the VTVPA was to eliminate trafficking through prevention, protection and prosecution (Okech, Morreau, & Benson, 2011). The prevention efforts included educating the community, law enforcement officials, social service workers, and other professionals. The goal was to identify victims and take measures to prevent habitual trafficking (Okech, Morreau, & Benson, 2011). The protection efforts provide housing, food, and safety services to those who are identified as victims. They also added a thing called the T-Visa to prevent deportation, however the victim must testify in order to be qualified for the visa. Since the 2000 the TVPA has been reauthorized multiple times to continue funding and supporting anti trafficking programs. The idea is to make the policy more victims centered, and socially visible (Okech, Morreau, & Benson, 2011).
This study examines the research that initially began on October 28, 2000 and spanned through to October 31, 2009. If a human trafficking case occurred in the US, with the victim being under the age of 18, and at least one arrested, indicted or convicted felon, their case would be filed in the data analysis report. This research resulted in the finding of 115 separate incidents of human trafficking, involving at least 153 victims and 215 felons or perpetrators, 117 (53.4%) of them being convicted of their heinous actions. Each individual case consisted of anywhere between 1 to 9 victims of trafficking. 90% of these victims were females between the ages of 5 to 17 years who were held captive from less than 6 months to 5 years. 25 (16.3%) of these minors were exploited through some type of false promise and 15 (9.8%) were kidnapped. 34 (22.2%) of the victims were abused through com...
Sexual exploitation exploits women and provides a vehicle for racism in a “first world” country like America, where victimization rates are disproportionately higher with “third world” women (O'Connor & Healy, 2007). Goodson is an anti-trafficking activist, is director of international programs for Shared Hope International which is an organization who works with victims of sex trafficking. From her experience, many victims are poor and are sexually abused children and young adults who are swayed by the promises of a better life. Once they reach the United States, the victims are psychologically and physically abused. In the United States, victims of international sex trafficking come primarily from South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa through states such as Florida, California and New York (Goodson, 2006). The U.S. Department of State estimates that about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked across national borders annually. Furthermore, it is estimated that 17,500 to 20,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S. annually, with Florida receiving a high percentage of those victims. Although the people who enter the United States are often not legally permitted to enter the United States, Lagon asserts that it is important to note the difference between human
The United States is a major port for human trafficking and, “Due to the covert nature of human trafficking, it is difficult to ascertain which countries are the primary source nations for trafficking into the US” (Hepburn). People of all ages and genders are at risk to human trafficking (Hepburn). Women and girls make up about fifty-six percent of the people trafficked for forced labor, while men and boys make up the other forty-four percent; children make up forty to fifty percent of those numbers (Hepburn). Ninety-eight percent of the people trafficked for sexual explorations are women and girls (Hepburn). Children tend to be targeted more than adults because they are much more vulnerable. Human trafficking has different forms, and “While trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation is more publicized in the media, it is not the only form of trafficking that takes place in the US” (Hepburn). Trafficking for the purposes of forced labor is just as likely to occur as trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation (Hepburn). Many citizens have never heard of human trafficking for something other than sexual exploitation. Hepburn shows that, “Forty-three percent are trafficked for purposes of...
Summary: We see that there are many different aspects and types of human trafficking that everyone should be made aware of. As a whole human trafficking is a lucrative industry raking in $150 BILLION globally. The impact that this industry has on its victims is
Recently, a horrendous gang rape and murder case in India has caused many people to speak out against sex crimes. A female medical student was beaten with metal rods, raped, and then thrown from a moving bus by four men. In response, many people have called for stricter laws dealing with sexual violence. This has also lead to some focus on the sex trafficking aspect of sexual violence. In an article by the Editorial Board of the New York Times, issues of enforcement were brought to light by explaining that sex trafficking is growing in India because of extreme poverty, “a gender imbalance resulting from sex-selective abortion practices,” and “India’s affluence.” The writers of “Sex Trafficking in India” adequately argue that in order to solve the issue of sex trafficking there needs to be stricter enforcement of existing laws that deal with sex crimes by appealing to their intended audience through statistics, expert testimonies, cause and effect, and descriptive language.
In the words of Wayne Dyer “Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery” (Brainy Quote). Today there are millions of modern day slaves all around the world of human trafficking. Some countries are more troubled with this problem than others, and it’s often accompanied with other crimes. There have been undertakings done to prevent and stop human trafficking, but 20 million men, women, and children all over the world still suffer from being sex slaves (Joseph 1). Programs do exist to prevent and put an end to human trafficking, but their actions alone are simply not enough. Therefore, anti-trafficking initiatives are failing to identify and help their victims.
In order to understand how sex trafficking affects its victims, one must first know the severity of sex trafficking and what it is. The issue of sex trafficking affects 2.5 million people at any given time (Abas et al., 2013). The form of sex slavery affects many women and children across the world. Even though both males and females are sexually trafficked and exploited, there is a deep emphasis on the sexual exploitation of women and children. This is due to gender discrimination (Miller, 2006). This is because women and children are more vulnerable and appeal to the larger populations of brothels and the so-called “clients” since the majority are men. Ecclestone (2013) stated that children as young as age three are trafficked. Sex trafficking has changed over time; “Today, the business of human sex trafficking is much more organized and violent. These women and young girls are sold to traffickers, locked up in rooms or brothels for weeks or months, drugged, terrorized, and raped repeatedly” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). It is found that many of the victims of sex trafficking are abducted, recruited, transported and forced into involuntary “sex work”. These sexual acts include prostitution, exotic dancing, pornography, and sexual escort services (McClain & Garrity, 2011). What happens to these sex trafficking victims is extremely traumatizing.
It is the world’s fastest growing global crime. It is also the world’s second largest source of illegal income after drug trafficking. According to the United Nations Office on drugs and crime (2012),”Women account for 55-60 per cent of all trafficking victims detected globally; women and girls together account for about 75% and as many as 161 countries are affected by human trafficking.” It is also believed that the victims arguably come from the poorest countries in the world. One of the main causes of human trafficking is vulnerability. For example, children are more vulnerable to trafficking because of their lack of understanding and experience. Additionally, in certain societies, women are less empowered than men thus resulting in gender inequality both at home and in the workplace. Gender inequality then leads to easy exploitation through the use of force or
Sex trafficking is a form of contemporary slavery that induces and forces people into a commercial sex trade against their will. Many factors contribute to the sex trade and the exploitation occurs mostly to women and children. Through the age, gender, class, and race many are trapped in a never-ending cycle of coercion and abuse in order to survive in the corrupt society around them.
Spruce, Hannah. "Methods Of Human Trafficking: Modern Slavery Guidance." High Speed Training Hub. N. p., 2017. Web. 14 Nov. 2017.
One reason why human trafficking is a serious crime that many people are unaware of is because it secretly takes place in the United States. Between 2007 and 2012, there were reports of 9,298 different cases of human trafficking (Polaris Project). An example of how unknown this topic is is that 41% of sex trafficking cases and 20% of labor trafficking cases were proven to have United States citizens as victims (Polaris Project). And this is only what we know so far. There are thousands of cases that we don’t know about. Many people also don’t know that men, women, and even children are also taken hostage by human traffickers. An example of this would be that out of those 9,298 cases that were reported, women were victims of sex trafficking in 85% of those cases. Men were victims of labor trafficking in 40% of those cases (Polaris Project). Approximately 300,000 children are at risk of being prostituted in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice). Children are even more under the radar than we know about. On average, one in three teenagers on the street will be lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving their home (National Runaway Hotline). For example, two female friends who were minors ran away from home and were prom...
America holds the title of “Second highest destination in the world for trafficked women” and the Congress had estimated that anywhere from 14,500 to 50,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year (Pierce 3). Although, many people considered human trafficking as the crime prevalent only in underdeveloped (third world countries) or in developing countries, estimates by the National Human Trafficking hotline shows that 1,947 of the 8,524 human trafficking cases reported in 2016 involved the American citizens or permanent residents, thus evidencing the greater vulnerability of citizens towards the molestation and exploitation than the foreign national individuals within the United States. In the same way, they fielded a total of
Human Trafficking is a world-wide undetected problem. Over the past 10 years, 2.4 million people across the globe have become victims of human trafficking, and 80 percent of them, woman/children, are being exploited as sexual slaves. Majority of victims trafficked into this worldwide industry are Eastern European citizens. Eastern European citizens from Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary are the most common victims of human trafficking in Europe. Human Trafficking is known as the “slavery of modern age.” Human rights are being violated everyday in this organized crime. The number of humans trafficked has been on the rise over the last few years, and there are possibly hundreds of thousands cases unreported (The EU’s dirty secret.) The secrecy and invisibility of the trafficking trade highly contributes to the growth and success of this organized-crime business. While the trafficking of woman and children in Europe may not immediately affect American lives, the illegal kidnapping, enslaving, and exploiting of people is a horrific human rights violation that all members of the American democracy should be concerned with.
In 2007 an international report concluded that over twenty seven million people had been trafficked worldwide. Human trafficking has fostered into one of the largest criminal businesses in the world and has been one of the longest criminal acts in the history of the world, for it stemmed from forms of slavery in ancient civilizations such as Rome and Greece. Human trafficking has matured into a global crisis as well as business through the corruption of authority and the economy that further accomplish its three steps; recruitment, transport, and exploitation.
According to the Department of State (2004, 2006), an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people, including adults and children, are trafficked across international borders annually. Approximately 90 percent of the victims are female, and over half of the traffickers are believed to be trafficking for sexual exploitation. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) became law in the United States on October 28, 2000 (Public Law 106-386) to protect the rights of victims and keep people safe. Most social workers are familiar with the issue of human trafficking. However, there is limited evidence on the health consequences of human trafficking, such as sexual health problems, including HIV, and the risk of physical and mental problems among the trafficked people.