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Essay about sex trafficking in the united states
Human trafficking in the us essay
Human trafficking in the us essay
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Tragedy and survival Thousands of women are currently held captive in America today. In 2006, it is estimated that over 300 thousand children are held in the sex trafficking business. Particularly, girls under the age of eighteen are forced into the sex trafficking trade. Sex trafficking is known as modern- day slavery. An estimate of 30 to 46 percent of juveniles in the trade attempt suicide. “Potterat et al., 2004 reports that women involved in prostitution have mortality rates 200 times higher than the national average) and are 18 times more likely to be murdered than their non-trafficked counterparts”, Cecchet (2014). Many girls will become abducted from their homes, schools, neighborhoods, and local shopping centers. Some of these young …show more content…
women look for a “pimp”. They seek out pimps, because they feel life would be better on the streets, getting paid. They can live as they want, with someone who will protect them and provide security for them. A survivor named Ruth was only 12 years old when she ran away from home. She lived in New York City, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. After this horror, she turned to the streets and was “picked up” by a pimp Equality now, (2013). She stayed with him, because she was only 12 years old and he made her feel safe. Lowyal, was only 13 years old when she ran away from home. She says that she is bullied every day at school. Her mother didn’t seem to care too much, so she ran away. Equality now, (2013). After running away, Lowyal started hanging out with the wrong crowd. This crowd soon introduced her to a pimp. In modern days there is less of a nuclear family, meaning one mother and one father. Children have immediate access to media, at their fingertips. (Halbertam, p.23) Children who run away are often upset youth, or are taken by a close relative, such as the non-custodial parent. Because of immediate access to the internet, youth seems to think they have a solid grasp on society. They seem to think that stranger danger is not a real threat. While youth might have a sense that there is no real threat to them, they also seem to think they are invincible. Then one day a stranger comes along and adducts them, because they have their heads in their phones. Another risk to children are the friendly couples who seem all too sincere to be of danger. Some men convince other women to work with them for the trade. These couples will approach young girls and try to convince them that they have a look. These girls are convinced these couples will provide better life’s for them, in the modeling industry. Sex is a billion dollar industry. Marcus, (2016) “Human trafficking is identified as the second or third most profitable illicit business on the planet.” Wheaton, (2010) “As people become vulnerable to exploitation and businesses continually seek the lowest-cost labor sources, trafficking human beings generates profit and a market for human trafficking is created”. Because the demand is high, sex traffickers will continue to force girls into the trade. Some men and even women have an insatiable need for the taboo. Men and women might wish to engage children, so they can look on the deep web for them. “Even if we assume that child rapists are typically repeat customers, averaging one assault per week that would still mean nearly 8 million Americans have a robust and ongoing child rape habit, in addition to the alleged millions who pay for sex with adults” Reason, (2015). Of course, this number might only be an estimate as there is no real way to know. Only counting the reported, although not every incident is reported. In the United States, every victim who becomes involved with prostitution is considered a sex trafficking victim. According to the Bureau of Justice statistics, in a two year period between 2008 and 2010, federally funded agency’s investigated over two thousand cases of trafficking. Not all children are completely lost to the trade. Dunjen, (2014) Police working on a week-long operation conducted a sting, to liberate teenage girls who are trapped in the trade. The three girls rescued were ages 15, 16, and 17 years old. Dunjen, (2014).During the week long sting, a married couple was charged with procuring and promoting prostitution. Ruth, who is 12- years old is forced into the trade by her pimp. After some time of being with him she managed to escape. She is now a poet who writes story’s, detailing her painful past. In one of Ruth’s poems she states that she ran away, because her family and home felt like “hell”. She says that if she had a better life she wouldn’t have had to run away. From helping another victim escape, she too escaped, Equality now, (2013). “Today, Lowyal is back at school—a self-proclaimed “nerd.” She wants to be a nurse or a doctor.” She says, “Now I put my family first.” Equality now, (2013). Atlanta, Georgia is particularly a significant hub for sex trafficking in America.
Davis, (2014) “Atlanta is the sex-trafficking capital of the United States, with more than $290 million spent in the metro area in 2007 alone”. Pimps can stand to make nearly $34 thousand dollars on a single girl in one year alone. Much of this income comes from promoting girls online. In 2007, The US Department of Justice estimated that nearly 55 percent of cases involved black children. With black girls being the majority, white girls are called swans who catch the highest price Davis, (2014). The Hartsfield Jackson Airport is an international multi terminal airport, with flights around the states including the world. We have one of the world’s busiest airports, so travel in and out of Atlanta is fast and easy. Travel in and out of Atlanta is so easy a major problem exists with trafficking around the metro Atlanta, Georgia area. Atlanta, Georgia is also an international hub for drug import and exports. Often times, sex trafficking and drugs go hand in hand. Drugs are used to obtain new “victims”, to exploit them, and to maximize their exploitation Shelley (2012).Addictive drugs such as cocaine and heroin, are used to entice the girls into sex acts so they can support their drug habit. It is also be used to keep the girls in an altered state so they are more willing to do as the pimp wishes. “Beggars, placed on drugs, will work long hours under difficult conditions to bring back their earnings to those who control them” Shelley (2012). The traffickers use the victim’s addiction as a tool to keep girls in submission. Often time’s traffickers will move the victims from town to town so the girls have no family or friendships. Moving the girls around ensures the victim will stay with the trafficker. Some victims become dependent on their trafficker just for the drug aspect. Gangs are also a problem of the smuggling issue. About 55 percent of Latin Americans identified as gang members
participate in the drug trade and prostitution. The members are able to force the victims across the borders while carrying the drugs. The statistics say, many of the women who are forced into the trade, or voluntarily participate in the trade experience a significant mental trauma. Yet somehow some of them manage to escape due to their bravery and resilience. Some of the victims who escape, are determined to share their story’s to help other victims. In the United States, several hotlines and shelters exist for this very reason. Women or girls can call at any time to share their story and be “rescued”. In a survey conducted by Cecchet (2014) a survivor tells her personal story of horror. “He would punish me. I would get slapped almost every day for something . . . . My name was “bitch.” He would beat me up really bad. Or hit me with a pimp stick. It’s a wire hanger knotted up, and then they beat you with that. I had welts and bruises on my backside all the time . . . . He did a lot of humiliating us. He would make us take off all of our clothes and just sit there and then he would beat us up in front of everyone.”
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 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.
Most of the young women in the U.S. are runaways who live on the streets by choice; they are recruited by other female recruits under false promises, promises of a better life, such as a good job, educational opportunity or marriage. Some girls are abducted and forced into the industry, then sent out of the area and isolated from family and friends. Victims usually have no control over any aspect of their lives, the trafficker decides when they sleep and eat. Their captor repeatedly sexually, physically, and mentally abuses them.
Many people are aware of the issue of minor sex trafficking in the United States, but people may not be aware of the extent of the problem or what it is that attracts these “pimps” to children in the sex trafficking business. Sex trafficking is a major issue both in the United States and in foreign countries, although many Americans do not realize that there are more U.S. citizens that make up the victim count of traffickers than foreign nationals, and of these victims, children are the most vulnerable (cite DMST). According to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000,
There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today. Slavery in the modern scheme is as alive as it ever has been. One major form of slavery is the forced labor and exploitation of an individual by means of violence or the threat of violence – human trafficking. Human trafficking runs rampant in America today, while many don’t blink an eye. Encompassed in human trafficking is transnational and interstate sale of human beings, largely women and girls, for sex. This dehumanizing institution of sex trafficking, unbeknownst to many American citizens, is highly concentrated in major U.S. cities and takes several forms including physical forced bondage and prostitution. One of these major U.S. cities is the Twin Cities (the cities of Minneapolis
Take a moment to look at our country. From the outside we seem nice. We’re unified, we’re free, we’re protected, and we’re respectful. But if you take a closer look into our society you’ll see that some of those things aren’t true. Our government isn’t who we think they are because the basic human rights for U.S. citizens are absent in our country since our government still practices discrimination to this day. Some is covered up; some is blatant; but it’s here whether you want it to be or not.
Women all around the world are being bought, abused, then sold again for their body. In the United States doctors: Donna H. Hughes, Carol J. Gomez, and Janice G. Raymond have launched a program to try and put an end to sex trafficking. Annually, almost 50,000 women and children are imported to or from Asia, Latin America, and the Soviet Union for sexual purposes (Alvarez, Larry). Women are forced into being sexually active for money that they do not keep themselves. They are not even seen as women, they are thought of property that can be played with. Sex trafficking is a growing industry and is a disgrace to all women involved.
Over 27 million people are enslaved in the world today, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked internationally and 14,500 to 17,500 of those are trafficked into the U.S. each year (PBS). Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, and sale of persons by use of force, coercion, or abduction for purposes such as labor or sex (UNODC, 2006, p.50). Today 4.5 million people are sexually exploited each year, making about 99 billion dollars globally ("United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime"). In Atlanta alone, sex trafficking generates about 290 million dollars annually ("Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities"). Very few people are aware of this subject, and the laws and policies
Human trafficking is a form of slavery in the modern world. By definition, human trafficking is any “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by means of the threat…or other forms of coercion…for the purpose of exploitation” (4). The act takes away freedom from about twenty million innocent people, (3) and is an industry that is worth about a hundred and fifty billion dollars worldwide. (3) The people suffering include primarily women and children, who are forced to work in the sex industry or in labor services. Victims span all demographics and walks of life, but homeless or runaway youths, and sufferers of domestic violence or social discrimination have a higher susceptibility to victimization. Often, in foreign
The United Nations defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the treat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation." It is a very urgent and pressing issue in many developing countries as it is one of the most profitable sources of illegal income. The Dominican Republic is not an exception to this. Although the Dominican Republic’s economy is growing at a respectable rate, income
What is human trafficking? When the term human trafficking arises, most people think of an issue long gone and abolished, however, human trafficking is a prevailing issue defined as modern day slavery. Individuals are trafficked all over the world and exploited through labor. Major industries that are subject to labor trafficking are agriculture, sweatshops, and even your local nail salons. Although it is difficult to track down the source of trafficking, and recognize when trafficking is occurring, several solutions have been implemented to raise awareness, punish the traffickers, and help the individuals who have been victims of trafficking.
It’s the fastest growing business of organized crime. Usually the trafficking business is very organized. Hierarchy systems are set up to enable a trafficker to have several victims at a time, therefore the business is able to prosper with undoubtedly good economic profits. According to the article Preventing human trafficking in global supply chains, it states that the human sex trafficking creates about 150 billion dollars in outlawed profits. This demonstrates that human trafficking has become an extremely dangerous and uncontrollable business for the U.S. government, who alone cannot diminish it. Additionally, victims of trafficking are forced into the commercial sex industry where they can be easily bought on internet websites. The U.S. according to Nicholas Kristof, has the world's largest forum of sex trafficking of underage girls. This portrays how popular these websites are and how often forced sex takes place in the United States. Commercial sex is a problem of epidemic proportion. It has now come to the extent where the U.S. government can't set boundaries for this crime or even try to minimize its potential. Various resources such as internet websites, girls prostituting on the streets, and escorts have allowed traffickers to gain illegal profits easily. It is evident how big of a business human sex trafficking has become. However the U.S. government has the potential to stop
Human trafficking is referred to modern day slavery and it is involuntary labor enslavement. Most of the victims are young women and. Human trafficking is due to unemployment and economic, regional and gender inequality. These are considered to be the main factors to produce human trafficking.
Most young girls live happy and fulfilled lives while other don’t exactly get that luxury. Girls all around the world are being taken form the places they know best and sold into human trafficking without so much as a choice. In a blink of an eye their whole world is turned upside down just so someone can make a profit off of them. Human trafficking is often unnoticed, but is one of the biggest issues facing the world today.