The Effects Of Human Trafficking

Globalization is a trend that continues to advance and create a smaller world. This interaction and integration of global communities and economies has opened up new possibilities and has created many opportunities that once were not possible. Many of these possibilities have been positive, like free trade, global economic growth, an influx of integrated information, cultural intermingling, etc. Proponents of the globalization movement argue that it has the potential to make the world a better place to live and solve many deep-seated problems (Collins, 2015). However, globalization in and of itself has created problems or assisted in the advancement of problems that once were local to being a global problem. One of these consequences is human

137). Exploitation takes different forms, such as prostitution, forced labor, slavery, or other forms of servitude. Though slavery has been around for thousands of years, the existence of human trafficking across national borders, the integration of organized crime around the globe, and the increased demand in both forced labor and sex trade have led to this being a very lucrative criminal activity. The United Nations 2012 Global Report on Trafficking reported that 58 percent of human trafficking is for sexual exploitation and forced labor accounts for 36 percent. Woman account for 75 percent of all trafficking victims and 27 percent of detected victims were children (The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013). Startling yet, is the fact that people are enslaved in every country (CdeBaca, 2013). Human trafficking is growing at an alarming rate worldwide and globalization is the instrument through which it flourishes (Harf & Lombardi, 2013, pp.

However, as this is being seen as a more global issue than individual countries, more governments are coming to the table to cooperate in fighting against human trafficking (CdeBaca, 2013). Though in theory this should be an easy issue to investigate and fight together on, human trafficking affects more arenas in life than just the crime itself. Issues like immigration policy, labor laws, consuming low cost products, etc., all are affected by this criminal industry. So when the global community looks to fight back against this horrendous crime against human rights, many barriers and hurdles have to be crossed. Right now only a few thousand traffickers around the globe are punished annually, which shows that the law enforcement approach, while necessary, is inadequate on its own (Jordan, 2011). The global community needs all levels of government to work together on fighting this issue. Though significant challenges remain in fighting human trafficking, according to the United Nations report, three areas must be the focus: “knowledge and research, capacity-building and development, and monitoring and evaluation.” Progress on these fronts will help unify the international community and generate effective plans in fighting against human trafficking (The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,