“I’ve been held down like a piece of meat while monsters disguised as men violated me again and again” (“Quotes about Human Trafficking”). Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings, mainly for the purposes of forced labor and sex trafficking. Every thirty seconds someone is forced into modern slavery (The A21 Campaign). Slavery was abolished in the 19th century, but today a different form of slavery is developing internationally and even in our own communities. There are more slaves in the world today than any other point in history, with an estimated twenty seven held in captivity across the world, and only 1-2% of those victims are rescued each year (The A21 Campaign). As the size of this crime increases, the age of the victims decreases. “The average age of victims continues to grow younger as the clients seek “fresh” product” (The A21 Campaign). To prevent the crime of human trafficking, the United States and many other countries must educate women and children who may become victims, spread awareness of the increasing growth of this felony, and create a system of teams to catch the criminals.
Furthermore, countries need to educate women and children who may become helpless victims of human trafficking. The victims of human trafficking usually start out young between the ages of 18 to 24 years old. For the victims of these criminal activities, 80% are women and 50% are children. In many of the cases of human trafficking the victims are trafficked by a relative. Residents of poor countries are mainly vulnerable to human traffickers. The way traffickers capture victims is under low radar and no one suspects anything. Girls are lured into bars and clubs and they are then put on display and customers pla...
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Aguilar-Millan, Stephen., Foltz, Joan E., Jackson, John., Oberg, Amy.. “Global Crime Case: The Modern Slave Trade.” Futurist 6(2008):45. eLibrary. Web. 07 May. 2014.
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Hepburn, Stephanie, and Rita J. Simon. Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight. New York: Columbia UP, 2013. Print.
Quotes about Human Trafficking. Goodreads. Otis Chandler, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 May 2014.
Schreinemacher, Elisabeth.. “RIGHTS-GLOBAL: THE SLAVE NEXT DOOR.” Global Information Network. 22 Nov. 2005 eLibrary. Web. 07 May. 2014.
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As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,
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...
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.
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"Sex Trafficking in the U.S." Sex Trafficking in the U.S. | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Polaris Project, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Raymond, Janice G. “The Ongoing Tragedy of International Slavery and Human Trafficking: An Overview.” Serial No. 108–137. 29 October 2003.
These issues must be brought to light so that more efforts can be made to put an end to this terrible trade. Works Cited Kara, Siddharth. A.P.S. & C.P.S. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia UP, 2009. 5.
Slavery is one of the issues that was, is and has been a major concern in the world. The nature of contemporary slavery is unknown, but estimates show that there are millions of victims of slavery across the globe. Slavery covers a wide variety of human rights violations such as sexual mutilation of men, women and children, child prostitution, sale of orphans, child pornography and many others. On the other hand, human trafficking is an area of concern that involves recruiting, transporting, buying or selling a person by means of force or fraud for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. Human trafficking deprives the victims of their human rights, and is one of the causes for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases
In today’s society, where there is political and civil instability in the nations of the world, many citizens become subject to human trafficking. Human trafficking has rapidly grown into a transnational issue. Transnational crimes are often a result of an organized criminal group. These criminal groups quickly exploit the citizens of an unstable country and will send them to other countries while using upgraded technology and the rise of global trade to their advantage. Aside from human trafficking, it also can involve the movement of firearms, vehicles, drugs, or human body parts. Many believe that human trafficking is slavery of the modern-day. Many nations have come together to work on ways to prevent and protect those subject to 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...
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
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.
According to estimates, more than 700,000 people are trafficked every year for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. They are transported across borders and sold into modern-day slavery. Over the past decade, trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune. Clawson (2009) discusses how the search for work abroad has been fueled by economic disparity, high unemployment and disruption of traditional livelihoods. It recognizes neither boundaries nor borders. Consequently profits from trafficking feed into the casket of organized crime. Trafficking is fueled by other criminal activities such as document fraud, money laundering and migrant smuggling. Because trafficking cases are expansive in reach, they are among the most important matters. (Clawson 2009)
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
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...