Modern Slavery

Slavery. When hearing that word, what images come to mind? Most see loaded boats filled with kidnapped Africans, the brutality of greedy men, and the pain of the victims. Although some think slavery is an ill of the past, it is, in fact, still extremely present in the modern-day world, and the images associated with it are nearly identical. Human trafficking, or “the modern slavery,” is defined as the “organized criminal activity in which human beings are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited (as by being forced into prostitution or involuntary labor)” by the Merriam Webster Dictionary (np). At any given time, human trafficking affects 2.4 million people, 80% of whom are sexually exploited. This paper will highlight the tragic

historyof human trafficking for sexual exploitation in America and Asia from the 1600s to present and its current effect on society.
To begin with, human trafficking has existed since before written records existed.

With that being said, for the purposes of this paper, the“timeline” of human trafficking will begin in the mid 17th century when it began to rise in popularity. As previously stated, “historical” slavery is what the majority of picture with the word “slavery” but what is lesser known is the treatment of female African Americans during this time. African American female slaves were said to be viewed “through the sexually repressed European perspective… that viewed them as immoral and promiscuous,” (The Role of Women in Slave Communities np). White slave owners saw these women as people with high sex drives who wanted to have sex with them because their culture did not place the high value on modesty that the European culture did. Because of this assumption many women were bought to be mistresses of the slave owners. The forced sexual intercourse during these time periods due to the previously-stated misconception marked the beginning of sex trafficking within the United States.

Unfortunately, as human trafficking became more common in America, the same happened across the world. In Asia, specifically Thailand, prostitution was legal, and with this came many

consequences:
From the mid-1300s to the mid-1700s prostitution was legal and taxed by the Thai government. The late 1700s to the 1850s witnessed an influx in the number of Chinese labor workers and sex workers coming to Thailand. Prostitution flourished especially after the abolishment of slavery in 1905 as former slave wives under the feudal system found themselves alone and without financial support. (“EndSlaveryNow” np)
As stated in the above quotation, human trafficking began to peak at almost the same time that the Americas were discovered. Because after the excitement of the New World reached the citizens of Europe, large numbers of people set out to explore further into Asia and because multitudes of men would be alone at sea for long periods of time without their wives, the demand for prostitutes became very high in Asia. Families across Asia saw this as an opportune way to make money and numerous families forced their daughters into prostitution. After this phenomenon, sex trafficking in Asia is now an overpowering commodity. Currently, countries like Thailand and Cambodia are prime areas for human trafficking, “Cambodia is classified as a source, transit, and destination country for sex tourism. This means that the selling, buying, and sexual exploitation of women and minors takes place within the country” (Cacho 60).
Flash forward to 1910, where brothels were legal in America and found in almost every city. Women were finally beginning to seize freedom from male figures in their lives and support themselves. With this newfound freedom, they began to date without a chaperone present and go to local places on their own. Because women were being allowed this freedom without much respect from men, forced prostitution and drugged rape was on the rise. Encylopedia.com states, “Lurid stories spread of young girls arriving at city train stations, only to be lured away by ‘cadets’ who would befriend them and then drug them. The young women would wake up the next morning and find themselves raped and prisoners in a brothel. The term ‘white slave’ came from this scenario” (np). This was becoming immensely common that the government found itself in a crisis. Brothels were disappearing rapidly and ,soon after, the White Slave Traffic Act was passed soon after. The United States wrote that:
“Every person who shall keep, maintain, control, support, or harbor in any house or place for the purpose of prostitution” (United States 56)
violated this act. Clearly this was a massive step for overcoming human trafficking in America.
Following the White Slave Traffic Act, exceedinglyfew sex trafficking laws were passed in the 1900s.

The horrific topic was overlooked during World War II when “comfort women” were used to fulfill soldiers' desires. More specifically:

The phrase “comfort women” is a controversial term that refers to approximately 200,000 women who were recruited as prostitutes by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The majority of the young women were forced into servitude and exploited as sex slaves throughout Asia, becoming victims of the largest case of human trafficking in the 20th century. (The History Of ‘Comfort Women’: A WWII Tragedy We Can’t Forget np)

This horrific happening is almost unheard of in the Western world. Camps were set up at military stations known as “comfort camps” where girls as young as eleven were, “kidnapped and forced into service where they faced rape, torture and extreme violence” (‘The History Of ‘Comfort Women’: A WWII Tragedy We Can’t Forget np) The majority of the girls in these camps were teenagers and raped by 10-100 soldiers a day. “Women were starved, beaten, tortured, and killed. By some estimates only 25 to 30 percent survived the ordeal.” (Comfort Women Japan np) To put that in perspective, only around 50,000 of the 200,000 recruited survived the already brutal war. However, the most disturbing part is that these young girls were forced by the government to be sex slaves of soldiers. This entire circumstance was deemed legal by the

government. Even though laws were being passed in America to prevent sex trafficking, the practice was, and still is, extremely common.
Globally, sex trafficking is quickly becoming one of the most profitable assets on the black market. The Huffington Post states:
Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal business in the world, according to the State Department. It ranks only second to drug trafficking in profitability, bringing in an estimated $32 billion annually. The majority of those trafficked are young adults between ages 18 and 24 — but children also make up a large part of it. (np)
The only way this horror will ever stop is by spreading awareness, and it is of extreme importance to begin the conversation on such taboo topics.
As women continue to be grantedmore and more freedom and respect in the eyes of the law, more actions to prevent sex trafficking are being taken. In the past sixteen years, fifty-nine laws have been passed around the world to take a step toward ending human trafficking. That is a colossal step from the mentality of the government one hundred years ago. We can only hope that more laws become passed until sex trafficking becomes a thing of the past.
Although many are blind to it, sex trafficking has had an enormous effect on society as a whole. It has been at the center of the black market since the 1600s and it continues to dominate. Sex trafficking is an important topic for everyone in today’s world because we need to stand up for everyone without a voice. Women should no longer have to fear walking down the street alone at night, or being drugged while on a date. When this happens, be it one year or one thousand, everyone will be living in a happier and much safer world.