Persuasive Essay On Human Trafficking

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Human Trafficking can be Prevented Human trafficking, a form of modern day slavery, affects more people than you could imagine. The United States is known for freedom, human rights, and the pursuit of happiness; however, there are many victims of human trafficking that have been stripped of their rights and freedoms. The Victims of Trafficking andViolence Protection Act (VTVPA) of 2000 defines human trafficking as, the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery (Kotrola 8). Human trafficking is a devastating issue many Americans have problems addressing; …show more content…

For instance, in Pell City, Alabama there is a community divided on the rehabilitation of those involved in human trafficking. The Wellhouse is a rehabilitation center for women and children involved in a devastating industry, and Carolyn Potter, the executive director of The Wellhouse, is facing a lot of criticism for her efforts in helping the victims of human trafficking. Kathy Jackson, once a victim of human trafficking, now is an advocate for The Wellhouse, and currently resides in Pell City. The community is divided on the issues; however, many fail to acknowledge the amount of human trafficking that occurs on Interstate 20 right through the center of town (Gould n. pg). There are advocates for the program, and then there are those that strongly oppose because of the proximity to their home and neighborhood. A majority of those that oppose The Wellhouse often condemn or dehumanize the victims; therefore, making the victims seems as animals and scum of …show more content…

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.

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