Relying once again on estimates, professionals find that there are some 20.9 million people enslaved worldwide, the overwhelming majority of victims being women and underage girls forced into prostitution (Cecchet & Thoburn 2014). What differentiates sex trafficking from other forms of sex work is the inclusion of “force”, “coercion”, and or “manipulation” as a means of participating in the work—sex trafficking victims do not chose their lifestyle and participate involuntarily. Often, survivors reported getting involved with the industry because they were poor, usually uneducated, and needed to provide for their families. Another reason, common amongst younger girls, was the promise of love and adventure from someone who was paying a lot of attention to them, particularly if they received little or negative attention from adults previously (De Chesnay 2013). …show more content…
before I knew it, he had me on drugs and took me all up and down the coast to work as a prostitute” (2013). Outside of the U.S. in less affluent countries, some families sell their daughters as child brides to bring in an extra income to the family from the much older husband, who then may encourage his bride into prostitution to earn more money or otherwise break his vow to remain celibate until her adolescence (2013). As in any form of work that completely disregards the autonomy of the “worker”, there is a myriad of physical and psychological distresses reported by sex trafficking survivors due to their
Over 2 million children are sold into sex trafficking each year (Global). Sold gives the eye-opening narrative of just one of them. I followed Lakshmi through her journey as she learned about life outside her small hometown in Nepal. She loved her mother and baby brother and worked hard to keep up with her repulsive step-father’s gambling habit. When given the opportunity to take a job that could provide for her family, Lakshmi accepted the offer. Unknowingly, she walked into the hands of horrible people who led her blindly on the path of prostitution. Discovering her fate, Lakshmi latched onto hope when all seemed bleak. After months of endless abuse, some Americans gave her the opportunity to escape her situation, and, thankfully, she took
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,
Human trafficking is the act of coercing someone into working against his or her will. Anyone can be a victim, especially young girls who are vulnerable to the captor’s lies. Victims have been found anywhere from driving ice cream trucks to touring boys’ choir. In her talk, Noy Thrupkaew shares several examples about how people are deceived and coerced into coming to the United States and being forced to work for someone else. She focuses on how close to home human trafficking really is and how the victims don’t necessarily need saving but solidarity. In Noy Thrupkaew’s speech about human trafficking, she not only shares her own story but also the different situations regarding how the crime functions. Because the speaker
Sexual exploitation exploits women and provides a vehicle for racism in a “first world” country like America, where victimization rates are disproportionately higher with “third world” women (O'Connor & Healy, 2007). Goodson is an anti-trafficking activist, is director of international programs for Shared Hope International which is an organization who works with victims of sex trafficking. From her experience, many victims are poor and are sexually abused children and young adults who are swayed by the promises of a better life. Once they reach the United States, the victims are psychologically and physically abused. In the United States, victims of international sex trafficking come primarily from South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa through states such as Florida, California and New York (Goodson, 2006). The U.S. Department of State estimates that about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked across national borders annually. Furthermore, it is estimated that 17,500 to 20,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S. annually, with Florida receiving a high percentage of those victims. Although the people who enter the United States are often not legally permitted to enter the United States, Lagon asserts that it is important to note the difference between human
Domestic sex trafficking is the vile new innovative business model used in the sex industry to promote prostitution. The myth about sex trafficking is that it is a foreign not a domestic problem. Sex trafficking is a very lucrative business. The “John’s” create a demand and the “pimps” provide the supply. Child abuse, child neglect, pornography, pedophilia and prostitution are all links in the chains that enslaves America’s children for the pleasure of adults.
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.
As soon as they arrive, they are sold into the prostitution industry and sent them to the brothel to do their ‘job’. Many girls, even as young as four are forced to sell their bodies to please men. They are forced to dress revealingly to fulfil the desires of immoral, iniquitous and inhuman men. Their bodies are labelled with a price and treated like a commodity. Every part of them is violated by those men who pay just to own them for 45 minutes and when they refuse, gun would be pointed at their heads. They would be locked up in a room, kicked around vigorously and whipped until they are covered with blood. Therefore, they have no choice but to pull through sexual abuse to pay off their debts bondage to the point where they lose self- worth, the confidence to look in the mirror, and the purpose to live. Shandra Woworuntu, one of the sex trafficking survivor, shared that it was excruciatingly exhausting to last a whole day with only plain rice soup and prickles as their source of energy. The mental and physical struggle that they have to go through is utterly
Stephanie Hepburn states that, "The US is one of the top 10 destinations for human trafficking—with tens of thousands of people trafficked into the country each year." Many people believe that since the United States is the land of opportunities, events like human trafficking do not exist; little do they know it happens everywhere. Human trafficking is a worldwide problem that plagues the United States; many people are oblivious to the issue and action needs to be taken to protect the innocent people who are involved.
Innumerable victims of human trafficking are faced with identical social issues to those of slavery, struggling with demoralization and violence. An article published by CNN tells the story of Sacharay, a victim of human trafficking that was thrown into the system as a pubescent 14-year old girl, ostracized from her peers. After building a friendship with a man in his 30s' he soon began asking her for "favors", pleading her to have intercourse with other men for his profit. While controlling this girl well through her teenage years her trafficker was able to continue with his power, recruiting more individuals to his service (Sex trafficking: The new American slavery). As his dominance was left unchecked, he was likely to abuse this power over more populations, continuing to build this illegal network of trafficked slaves. Just as the slaves in The Underground Railroad, as soon as these girls didn't want to answer to him anymore he would punish them, putting a gun to their head or forcing them to do some other cruel punishment. Violence and dehumanization are two common methods of exerting power on an individual that were unchecked and abused in many cases of human trafficking. The sufferers of human trafficking were treated like objects that one would lend out for certain amounts of time, even marked for ownership by tattoos that the pimp would force them to get. Sacharay stated that at the peak of her time under her pimp she had sexual relations with over forty men in one day-in which she was treated as an toy for other people's enjoyment rather than a human. To this day she still has tattoos from her years under the control of another person, reminding her of this trauma every day. Pimps like Sacharay's have a deep-seated desire for power, and since many victims of sex trafficking were vulnerable they became easy pickings for traffickers.
This table was used the the study of Samuel Lee and Petra Persson. It mainly focuses on how countries view prostitution and which of them even consider it legal.
Sex trafficking is essentially systemic rape for profit. Force, fraud and coercion are used to control the victim’s behavior which may secure the appearance of consent to please the buyer (or john). Behind every transaction is violence or the threat of violence (Axtell par. 4). Just a decade ago, only a third of the countries studied by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had legislation against human trafficking. (Darker Side, par.1) Women, children, and even men are taken from their homes, and off of the streets and are brought into a life that is almost impossible to get out of. This life is not one of choice, it is in most times by force. UNODC estimates that the total international human trafficking is a $32-billion-per-year business, and that 79% of this activity comprises sexual exploitation. As many as 2 million children a year are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, according the the U.S. State Department.-- Cynthia G. Wagner. (Darker Side, par. 4) The words prostitute, pimp, escort, and stripper tend to be way too common in the American everyday vocabulary. People use these words in a joking manner, but sex trafficking is far from a joke. Everyday, from all different countries, people are bought and sold either by force or false promises. Some are kidnapped and others come to America with dreams of a dream life and job. The buyers involved in the trade will do anything to purchase an innocent life just to sell for their own selfish profit. Many people wouldn’t think of a human body to be something you can buy in the back room of a business or even online. But those plus the streets are where people are sold most often. There are many reasons and causes for sex trafficking. The factors behind sex traffic...
According to UNODC (United Nation Office on Drug and Crime) which bases its estimates on national statistic, 22,000 victims were come about in 2006. As “smuggling” and “Human trafficking” may seem to be the same thing, they are actually relatively different, some victims come out and tell their stories, and those stories are never the same.
Human trafficking, or the selling and buying of people, is a well-hidden yet prominent issue within today’s society. It is both an immoral and horrific topic that needs brought to attention and dealt with. When human beings are manipulated into work, sexual servitude, or economic hardship, human trafficking is occurring. In the year of 2006, only one individual is convicted of human trafficking per 800 victims (UNGIFT). By looking at straight statistics, reasons human trafficking happens, and the toll it has on people, it is very clear that this is a major issue that is happening in our world.
As of 2012, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that there were approximately half a million children working in the sex trade in Brazil (“Alarming Number”). Although children sex trafficking is a worldwide ordeal, a focus has turned to Brazil with the upcoming World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in Summer 2016. Even though some children and teenagers turn back to sex slavery after being helped to escape the trade, people should still step in and help take a stand to prevent child sex trafficking and the attention of the World Cup and the Olympics are helping to amplify a problem that already exists.
Trafficking is recognized as a major health problem and tragic transnational crime (Muftic). Most people think the physical abuse from trafficking is the worst part about it. What most people do not know, is the mental abuse can be just as horrifying if not more. The women who are trafficked have poorer health outcomes, and more intense and prolonged psychological reactions to abuse than women who are not trafficked (Muftic). When a woman's sexuality is violently used or abused, it is far more damaging to her than words, fists, or any other abuse that could be heaped on her. It is an invasion of the essence of who they are. Women were reported having suicidal thoughts/attempts, feelings of anger/rage, depression, inability to feel, difficulty sleeping, self-blame/guilt, and loss of appetite (Muftic). These poor women have no idea what the trafficking life can hold for them, not just while being there but also after they have left that life. Casey Roman noticed a coping mechanism for some of the women. They will laugh off information or past memories, telling their brains that what is or was happening to them is not as bad as it really is (Roman 2). Most of these women in the life have actual disorders. In 2008, the United States Department of Health and Human Services identified the serious and complex mental health problems of sex trafficking victims. The disorders included, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and mood disorders, dissociative disorders, and substance related disorder (Muftic). The women might not even realize they have a disorder until they are out of the sex trafficking life and living in the normal world. It is evident that the mental effects take a negative toll on the women in sex