Human Trafficking

Growing up in the United States has allowed for me to be sheltered from

a lot of evil that goes on around the world. We Americans tend to have a
narrow world view. Its hard for us to think outside of our own lives and
communities. We have the impression that all the bad things that occur
happen in third world countries, as if somehow were better than
everybody else.

One of the greatest dangers of the world today is human trafficking. It
touches millions of lives, all across the globe, including the United States.
According to the US State Department, there are about 20 to 30 million
slaves around the world today. There are about 600,000 to 800,000
people who are trafficked across international borders every year. More
than 70% are female and half are children. On average, 14,500 yo 17,500
people are trafficked just in the U.S each year.

My purpose in writing this paper is to bring attention to this serious topic.
Human trafficking has got to be attacked in every place it exists and with
every resource we have at our disposal. Im going to define human
trafficking, break it down into a specific types, speak to the economics of
human trafficking and address the question of how to get rid of it. This
will hopefully help get the word out about human trafficking and help
people be inspired to get involved in the fight to end it. I think that if
people all around the world can help, there is a much better chance of
this problem going away or at least it being reduced and making a safer
world.


Defining Human Trafficking


The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines human
trafficking as, the recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or
receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or others
forms of coercion, of abduction, or fraud or deception for the purpose
of exploitation.

In other words it is selling humans against their own will. It is most
common for the purpose of sexual acts, even though it can be used in
different ways also. Human trafficking is like a modern form of slavery,
in which people exploit other people for profit. Human trafficking
exists because it is cheap labor for services or for commercial sex acts.
People abuse the most vulnerable people the most and try to trick
them into doing things that aren't right or against their will and in doing
so, putting many lives in danger.

Types of Human Trafficking

There are several types of human trafficking that include: forced
labor, sex trade, debt bondage, domestic servitude, child soldiers, child
sex trade, and organ trade. These victims can be of any age, or gender
but young women are the ones most affected by it. Approximately 95% of
women are trafficked for the sex trade.

The victims of trafficking are often between the ages of 18 and 24.
Many victims have a middle-level education and 1.2 million children are
victims each year of human trafficking. 52% of the traffickers are men
leaving 42% being women, 6% are both women and men. A little more
than half of the cases show that the person was a stranger to the victim
and 56% was someone close or known to them.


Forced labor has been happening for hundreds of years. A lot
of people are forced into humiliating and difficult labor that no one
else wants to do. These jobs usually mean working out in the sun all
day or in a sweatshop for hours at a time. This includes farm work,
working in factories, construction, sweatshops, restaurants,
hospitality, and of course forced prostitution.

The commercial sex trade is another big industry in human
trafficking. Adults are forced into prostitution. This may also be in
strip clubs or bars. Sometimes a person is even forced into street
prostitution or into being a female/male escort. They even keep
people in brothels and massage parlors. People are forced against
their will to do sexual activity with someone who pays for that
service. Pornography plays a big role in the sex trade also. Millions
of people with Internet access pay hundreds of millions of dollars
supporting that industry.


Debt bondage is when you owe someone money, than that
person takes you owe takes advantage of that debt by enslaving you
until the debt is payed it. The person lending the money thinks its
okay for them to exploit and blackmail the victim. They will usually
try to make them do humiliating things and add exorbitant interest
onto the debt. Some will even lie to people saying the debt isn't
paid off or that they have to work a whole life time to cover all the
debt or they use the threat of violence to keep the person working.
This is illegal because this isnt a reasonable agreement and it is or
can be harming a persons physical or mental health.

Domestic servitude is very common with woman but can also
happen with men. This is when a person, against their will, is forced
to work in houses being maids, cooks, servants, caretakers for the
elderly, housekeepers, or nannies. These people are usually forced
to work until they with no help if they get sick and many are even
sexually abused. Many people are brought from poor countries into
the United States believing they will have a better life and more
opportunities but once they get here they realize they have been
lied to, forced into servitude and threatened with death if they
want to leave.

Child Soldiers is another aspect of human trafficking. Children
are taken away from their homes and forced into paramilitary or
rebel groups. They are forced to brutally kill, and maim, not only
the enemy, but also fellow children who disobey. Child soldiers can
be as young as 6 or 8. Often girls are abducted just to be sexually
abused. Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Iraq, Nigeria, Libya, Mali,
Pakistan, Thailand, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and many more are some
the countries who have reported the use of child soldiers as of
2011.

The child commercial sex trade is particularly awful. This
manifests when a child is sold, or kidnapped into prostitution,
thousands of parents who cant afford a child or dont want the
child will sell the child to get some money. Adults take advantage
of the child's vulnerability and sexually exploit and abuse them.
Child pronography also falls into this catergy; people will travel to
the other side of the world to have sexual contact with a child.
Children can grow up thinking this is okay and even killed when
their services are no longer needed.


Economics of Trafficking

The estimated worldwide profit of human trafficking is roughly 32
billion in U.S. dollars. This is way more than the companies Nike,
Starbucks and Google make combined. Half of that money which is 15.5
billion dollars is generated in the industrialized economies. 9.7 billion
belongs to Asia and the Pacific areas. 1.3 billion is generated in Latin
America and the Caribbean. 1.6 is from sub-Saharan Africa. Lastly 1.5
billion dollars is generated in the Middle east and North America.

According to this estimate, trafficking in humans is now the
third largest source of profits for organized crime worldwide, after
drugs and arms trafficking. It is also the sixth largest industry in the
United States. Even though the statistics are out there, it is
extremely difficult to gather evidence against, or even find, the
traffickers. On the average a person is sold for 90 dollars. The
International Labour Organization concludes that women and young
girls represent the largest population of people affected by this
crime. They estimate that 11.4 million victims(55 percent) are
women and 9.5 million victims are men.

The Traffickers

Traffickers are those who transport, obtain, recruit, harbor,
and exploit people by forcing them into involuntary servitude. They
will threaten, lie, and use numerous physical and psychological
angles to control their victims. They are often known as: labor
brokers, pimps, employers of domestic servants, gangs and criminal
networks, intimate partners, family members, small business
owners or managers, brothel or fake massage business owners. The
traffickers lure the victims into doing what they want them to do.
They promise a better life or change in a relationship, or new
opportunities. Traffickers also simply kidnap the victims.

Capturing traffickers is very difficult, especially today
because many use the internet to conduct business now. They move
from website to website leaving no trace. These websites are
everywhere, even a site like Craigslist. Not many traffickers are
ever found because people would rather stay quiet out of fear.

Getting involved

There are many ways to help people know more about this topic by
doing the simplest things. You can help by being active on social media
sites like facebook and twitter. You can donate money to organizations
that actively fight against human trafficking. Inform local law
enforcement if you see suspicious activity in your town. Raise awareness
in schools and have meeting in the classroom to tell the students about
the dangers of human trafficking. Put up posters all around the school
and hotline numbers to get more information.

Know the red flags of human trafficking: recognize a person who is
always scared, depressed, in poor physical health, with abnormal mental
health and/or behavior, who avoids eye contact, never wants to be
touched, has a lost sense of time, who doesn't know what city he/she is
living in, someone who cant come and go as they please, they work but
are unpaid or paid very little, are under 18 and in the sex industry, has a
pimp pr manager, a person working to pay off a large debt for numerous
hours a day, or someone who isn't allowed breaks during the job. If you
ever see one of these warning signs, please call the National Human
Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text to BeFree
(233733).

Editorialize in your local paper, educate yourself with information,
learn as much as you can. Join a club or organize one and volunteer. Be a
conscientious consumer, know where you are buying from. Sometimes
these people will sell products only to benefit human trafficking. Go
public, tell everyone what you have learned. This will be a great way of
getting involved for a good cause and helping out the people who need it
the most. Doing just one of these things can help so much more than you
think possible.



Fight against human trafficking

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT.HUB)
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Polaris Project
Abbie's Intermission
Breaking Out Corporation

All these organizations and many more help fight the battle against
human trafficking. They also help by getting the right amount of help and
support the victims need in order for them to have a better life.


Cited Websites
http://www.worsethanyouthink.org/make-a-difference/15-
ways-you-can-help-fight-human-trafficking/
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Fo
rced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf
http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview
http://rightswork.org/2011/03/is-human-trafficking-really-the-
third-most-profitable-business-for-organized-crime-3/
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-
trafficking/faqs.html