Running head: HIDDEN KNOWN BUSINESS 1

Hidden Known Business

Karime Ayub

e3 Civic High
HIDDEN KNOWN BUSINESS 2

Abstract

Sex and human trafficking is not a topic many people know much about or enjoy talking

about. What a big part of the population knows about it is often false. It is not understood that

females are not the only trafficked victims, males are also forced into sex trafficking.

Trafficking does not only stay in one country, females and males who are forced into sex

trafficking are often brought from a different country into another, usually not even knowing

the language in the country they are forced into.

Keywords: trafficking, worldwide, problem, asia, males

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Hidden Known Business

Sex trafficking happens all around the world, even in your city. It impacts the victims

brutally and in different ways. Victims of sex trafficking are not only women and girls, men

and boys are also victims. The most trafficking occurs in different countries around Asia.

Victims of sex trafficking are left physical and psychological impacts. Many people do not

realise how big of a problem sex trafficking is around the world, that it can be ignored and

can just pass over. Sex and human trafficking is a problem that happens all over the world in

different ways.

Sex and human trafficking happens all over the world, millions of people are

impacted every day, including men and boys. Human trafficking is the third largest

international crime industry (behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking). It reportedly makes a

profit of $32 billion every year (11 Facts About). Over 400,000 men and boys are part of

sex trafficking (Greve, 2016). There are an estimated 27 million adults and 13 million

children around the world who are victims of human trafficking (11 Facts About). Not only

are women forced into sexual labour, men are forced into it too. Sex trafficking is a very big

problem that is international.

The most trafficked victims are in countries in Asia, the only country that there has

not been many trafficking reports is in Denmark. Men, women, and children are all forced

into doing all sorts of different things. Forced prostitution, forced labour, forced organ

donations, selling of organs, even selling ova eggs. Many Bangladeshi people are trafficked

to India and China and from Bangladesh, and then they are moved further to other countries

to continue being trafficked. Girls and women are brought from other countries to the Asian

country of Sri Lanka to be forced into sexual labour (Samant, 2013). The number of people

being sold into forced sex labours has reached its highest point in the past year. According to
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figures from the Danish Centre against Human Trafficking (Center mod Menneskehandel),

Danish officials identified 93 trafficking victims in 2015. As recently as 2007, that number

was just 17 (Record Number, 2016). Although trafficking is an international problem, it is

a bigger problem in certain countries than in others.

Victims of sex trafficking are left with anywhere from a short lasting physical impact

to lifelong lasting psychological impacts. Women in the sex industry sustain the same kinds

of injuries as women who are battered, raped and sexually assaulted. According to the

Department of Health and Human Services, health risks include: Drug and alcohol addiction

etc (Grimes, 2010). People part of trafficking are often isolated from their social lives, which

leaves them unable to know or socially interact or reach out for help. Victims may also be

trafficked internationally, and therefore may not be able to engage due to a lack of linguistic

capability (Impact 2016). Trafficking not only separates the people being trafficked from

their families, friends and loved ones, but they are left with psychological and physical

damage.

Counter Argument

Even though sex and human trafficking is a worldwide issue, many people do not pay

attention to and just try to let it pass over. The people who do pay attention to sex trafficking

and keep aware to it only accept the fact the women and girls are part of sex trafficking, and

that men and boys are not potentially victims. Many people who aware of trafficking do not

realise that the most trafficking is all around asia, they believe that most of the trafficking

occurs in the US. The ones who do not actually care about the victims of trafficking do not

understand that they are left with physical and psychological problems that can last the rest of

their lives. The victims cannot just get over their problems.

Conclusion
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Sex and human trafficking is a serious issue around the world that needs to be focused

on. Women, girls, men, and boys are all victims of trafficking worldwide. Asia has the

highest trafficking rates, with people being trafficked across international borders. During the

time victims are being trafficked and once they get out, they have psychological and physical

damage. Everyone needs to realize how big sex trafficking is around the world and that not

only women and girls are victims.

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References

Kristof, N. D., & WuDunn, S. (2009). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for

women worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

The book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

by Kristof and WuDunn, illustrates the different lives of women in West and East

Asia, and Africa. Half the Sky focuses on five topics which are gender-based

violence, sex trafficking, maternal mortality, female economic empowerment, and

female education. Half the Sky is a reliable source to use because it is non-fiction and

tells real life personal stories from women in Middle Eastern, Asian, and African

Countries who live somewhere that these five different problems are everywhere.

Lloyd, R. A. (2011). Girls like us: Fighting for a world where girls are not for sale, an

activist finds her calling and heals herself. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

The book, Girls Like Us, is a nonfiction story of the author's own personal story in sex

trafficking. At only thirteen years old, the author found herself caught in a world of

pain and abuse. Eventually, with help years later, she got out of trafficking. Three

years later she started working with other ex-victims and created a nonprofit to help

girls in sex trafficking to get out.

US shuts down sex trafficking ring targeting Thai women. BBC News. (2016, October 5).

Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37566312

In the short article, US shuts down sex trafficking ring targeting Thai women, from

BBC News, it gives a bit of detail on how some sex trafficking victims get forced

into trafficking, including getting forced from a different country. The article gives

an example where women in Thailand are promised the American dream if they were
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to go to the US, but when they arrive they are immediately forced into trafficking.

BBC News is rated the most trustworthy source from the UK, therefore it is a reliable

source to use . This article was relevant to use because it shows that sex trafficking

not only starts and stays in the country it is impacting, but it is brought from other

countries to affect more people.

Kotrla, K. (2010). Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the United States. Social Work, 55(2),

181-187. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23719974

This academic journal article, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the United States,

explains how many children are forced into trafficking starting at a young age. It also

explains that children, especially young girls, in the US are more likely to get into

sex trafficking than in other countries. This academic journal is acceptable to use

because it describes how people end up in trafficking in the first place, starting at

young ages.

UNODC. (2014). Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (United Nations publication, Sales

No. E.14.V.10). Vienna, Austria. Retrieved from

https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/GLOTIP_2014_full_repo

rt.pdf

This specific United Nations Data, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, gives

facts and statistics about different types of trafficking around the world. For each

statistic and graph it gives an explanation on what the graph shows. It not only shows

sex trafficking statistics, but it also graphs data for forced labour and organ removal.

The United Nations researches on different countries for a long period of time before

putting all the data together ad publishing it. This source is useful because it gives
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facts and data about different types of trafficking, but it mainly focuses on sex

trafficking around the world.

11 Facts About Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2017, from

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-human-trafficking

Greve, A. (2016). Human trafficking: What about the men and boys? Home HTC Blog

Human trafficking: What about the men and boys? Retrieved February 24, 2017, from

http://humantraffickingcenter.org/men-boys/

Samant, S. (2013, August 13). List Dose. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from

http://listdose.co/top-10-countries-infamous-for-human-trafficking/

Record number of human trafficking victims in Denmark. (2016, July 06). Retrieved

February 24, 2017, from The Local,

http://www.thelocal.dk/20160706/record-number-of-human-trafficking-victims-in-de

nmark

Grimes, T. (2010, December 8). Psychological and physical effects of sex trafficking on its

victims. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from Psychological of Crime in the News,

https://healthcrimeinthenews.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/human-sex-trafficking-viole

nce-psychological-physical-trauma/

Impact. (2016). Retrieved February 24, 2017, from Human Trafficking Search,

http://www.humantraffickingsearch.net/impact/