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Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a serious and a grave violation of human rights. It is a problem all over the world; almost each and every country is facing human trafficking. Upon seeing that young people in United States are affected the homeland security and other religious non-profit organization lunched a campaign to educate people about human trafficking. In Collin college campuses they set up days for human trafficking discussion and movies. One of the meetings took place at CPC where one representative of homeland security in McKinney talked about how human trafficking is a huge problem in Texas. He mentioned that Texas is one of the states with high number of human trafficking. He said that this is so because it is bordering
“Human trafficking coerces and persuades their victims to cross national borders in search of new jobs and better opportunities and after that they are forced into some sort of labor bondage” (At Issue: Human Trafficking 1). Even though trafficking is a problem in almost every country; poorer countries have a bigger problem with it because they are more desperate for work. Just in 2000, the U.S. enacted their first federal anti-trafficking law, called the Victims of Trafficking Protection Act (At Issue: Human Trafficking 1). Trafficking has just begun to receive notice on how big of a problem it actually is. “Proponents of strict anti-trafficking initiatives say that laws and prevention against trafficking are necessary in order to stem the growing tide of large scale organized crime that profits off of smuggling and trafficking” (At Issue: Human Trafficking 1).
Human trafficking is an issue that no one really wants to talk about. The media portrays this horrible crime as something that only happens in foreign lands. Americans do not want to believe that something so heinous could happen on our own soil. However when survivors of human trafficking come forward, people are forced to confront the reality that this issue is not that far from home. Some individuals still choose to deny that this is a real issue. However the facts make it extremely hard to deny that human trafficking happens on American soil.
27 million people all over the world are currently being forced into human trafficking or modern day slavery, 161 countries including the US will be affected by human trafficking. 1 million children will be exploited by the commercial sex trade each year. Sex trafficking began in the 1700s in the United States. It hasn’t been stopped because it continues to increase over the years. Even though the law enforcement and people around the world could be strong enough to stop human trafficking, I believe this situation needs to be more focused on and stopped as soon as possible. Because Human Trafficking is increasing rapidly and Oklahoma is a cross-way for sex trafficking due to the interstates such as I-35, I-40 and I-44.
Almost 150 years ago, the United States eliminated slavery. Most Californians most likely would disagree and say slavery still exist, right in their backyards. Human sex trafficking is a substantial huge industry in California and about $32 billion dollars is involve. It is one of the furthermost challenging crimes to track. The United States did not start monitoring trafficked individuals until 1994; it started being included in the Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Wordpress.com, 2009). There were more than 4000 convictions worldwide related to trafficking in the last year (Human Trafficking Awareness Partnership, 2013). Traffickers use young women and children as products and sell them to gain a profit (Free Legal Advice Help, 2007). These young women and children are often captured by the traffickers with deals where they were promised a better life. In other cases these victims are sold by their parents, husbands, boyfriends or outright kidnapped. The victims are then at the point their involuntary turn into sex slaves for money that they certainly never receive. These victims are exposed to painful and brutal treatment. They feel pain at the hands of their kidnappers on a day-to-day basis to ensure their complete participation.
In 1865 the United States passed the thirteenth amendment of the constitution which formally abolished the practice of slavery in the United States. Over a century has went by since this day, and yet somewhere behind the mask of freedom that our country holds with such pride lingers a hidden trade. This is the trade of modern day slavery that remains prevalent in our country. Despite the freedoms we are granted as a citizen of the United States,- human trafficking is an enormous issue that is often overlooked. In fact very little light is shown on this topic, but the awful reality is there. Every day women, children, and even men are kidnapped, taken from their families, and forced into free labor and sexual exploitation.
Human Trafficking is a form of modern slavery that exists throughout the United States and Mexico. In Prayers of The Stolen, there are plenty of examples in Mexico where women and young children were being taken. Some women who have been taken never return back to see their families. They have known to start trafficking along the U.S. Mexico border. This is where human trafficking is developing and experts have said that the U.S. government is trying to police and control the nation’s borders to put a stop to human trafficking.
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...
Many people are astounded to hear that human trafficking is not just a complication outside of America’s borders and that it is flattering more of an American drawback as intervals go on. Human trafficking has converted into creation's second leading criminal industry, transforming the individual, their dignity and rights as a human being, and humankind. The United States of America is mainly a transfer for trafficking in persons. It is assessed in The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, “that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually.” This act augments pre-existing illegal disadvantages, offers new defenses and makes accessible certain welfares and aids to victims of trafficking. The Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices estimated that from at least 127 countries have found to be harnessed in 137 states. In the United States, for instance, more than 15,000 individuals are enforced into the present day counterpart of slavery every year. An estimated one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand Americans are forced into this each year, as predicted by the national police department. But the collision of human trafficking goes beyond individual victims; it undermines the safety and security of all nations it touches. The U.S. has aided states to enact anti-trafficking regulation, educated law enforcement officials, DAs, border guards and judicial officers, and impeaching traffickers, and protecting targets.
The products of human trafficking cannot be ignored. Human rights are being violated, diseases are being transmitted, and the current laws are ineffective in preventing human trafficking and protecting its victims. Although there are many victims now, it may increase exponentially in the future, creating bigger problems. Before the number of victims increase and before more people start to lose faith in the U.S. government, it is imminent that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act be amended.
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...
However, many agencies across the nation are not aware of the amount of human trafficking occurring around them. In a world of tolerance, many individuals are unaware of their surroundings. Kevin Bales of the nonprofit organization Free the Slaves estimates that 10,000 women a year are trafficked to America for the sex industry alone (Young n. pg). Those 10,000 women all past through security check points somewhere, and had many individuals they also interacted with on their journey. Security and Law Enforcement need to be aware of the signs of human trafficking, and be able to serve justice to those that are oppressing the rights of these women and children. Gary Haugen, worked as counsel in the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department, said “Sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation can be drastically reduced wherever a country has the political will and the operational capacity to send the perpetrators to jail and to treat the victims with compassion and dignity. This is a fight that can actually be won.” (McKelvey n.
Trafficking in humans is a massive underground industry throughout the United States as well as close to home, mainly Chicago and it’s suburbs. “Human Trafficking is the recruiting, harboring,moving or obtaining a person by force, fraud or coercion, for the purposes of involuntary servitude, debt bondage or sexual exploitation( Human Trafficking in Illinois ).” Human Trafficking is one of the largest and is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Annually, 9.5 billion dollars of profits are generated from trafficking humans worldwide. “Persons do not have to have been transported internationally to be considered victims of trafficking” (Facts about Human Trafficking).
In hindsight, many people have no clue and don’t have the slightest idea that human trafficking is even occurring in the entire world, let alone the United States. It is a shame and a shock that this happens right beneath our noses. Even when we are conscientious about human trafficking, we neglect and ignore it. We try to bypass the thought of this huge crime happening in our own country and fail to realize that it happens everyday. Human trafficking is a serious crime that many people are unaware of; it secretly takes place in the United States; it secretly ruins many lives; it secretly goes by to be never discovered or punished by government officials.
The “Land of the free” is not so free after all. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry after illegal drugs and arms trafficking . Human trafficking is like modern day slavery; it is defined as the loss of freedom to another 's control by force, fraud or coercion. The United States turns out to be the #1 destination for child sex trafficking. I chose this topic because it interested me the most out of all other topics. When finding a topic to do research on, none of the topics left me asking myself so many questions. The fact that i barely knew anything about human trafficking, made me realize that there might be many people out there that are like me. People who probably think that human trafficking rarely happens,
Human trafficking is a worldwide problem. From California to Australia, it happens. “161 countries are reported to be affected by human trafficking by being either a source, transit, or destination count. Out of the 161 countries, 56% of those are in Asia and the Pacific, being the number one place it occurs” (UNGIFT). Trailing far behind with 10% is Latin America and the Caribbean” (UNGIFT). No matter the location or the state of the economy, human trafficking is always in progress. “People are reported to be trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries, affecting every continent and every type of economy” (UNGIFT). “The majority of trafficking victims are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old” (UNGIFT). Just because those are the most common ages, doesn't mean that it only happens to them. Children are also affected by human trafficking. “An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year” (UNGIFT). So many people think that it is just teens and adults that get stuck into the trafficking business, but it is also small children.