Sydney McCalvin

Dr. Angela Mitchell

UWRT 1104

November 5, 2017

Human Trafficking

As one of the most profitable crimes in the United States, human trafficking is affecting

thousands of lives. Many are coerced into trafficking without knowledge of the traffickers true

intentions. Victims have their lives stolen from them in plain sight. These victims rely on the

U.S. government to help them, but what has the government done to address this crime?

Human Trafficking is the modern day slavery. Traffickers lie and force victims into acts

of labor or commercialized sex. Labor traffickers lie and force victims into labor. Victims are

given false promises of an amazing job with great benefits, however, those promises are gravely

different from the reality of the labor. The victims are forced to work long hours with little pay.

Victims also face physical and emotional abuse from traffickers, making them believe they have

no other choice but to work for the trafficker. Victims of sex trafficking are forced into

prostitution. Traffickers lure in victims with false promises of a job, then violently force victims

to engage in commercial sex acts. Many victims are also manipulated by those who they trust,

which can include family members and romantic interests. Human trafficking also affects minors

as they too are taken advantage of and are forced into labor. Children, age 18 and under are at the

most risk of trafficking. Victims are deceived by those they trust, given false job promises, and

even kidnapped. From this point on, the victims are forced into labor.

Many immigrants coming to this country are given false promises of a job. When they

come to realize that they were lied to, its a hard process to seek help as they are risking their
lives to do so. While many resort to the national hotline for human trafficking, it turns out low

results, for example In 2014, for example, a federally-funded hotline for trafficking victims

received more than 21,000 calls. During that same period, the Department of Justice secured 184

convictions for trafficking. Only 184 convictions occurred in the same year that there were

21,000 calls, showing that there is a problem in getting the callers help. There are also variables

in which the calls lead to false accusations. Victims in trafficking are putting a lot on the line

when they call for help, especially if they were coming into work with a H-2 visa, a working

visa. This creates a toxic bond between the victim and the trafficker as the victim needs them to

get their full visa. However, in many cases, the victim doesnt get what they need, and are led on

by their trafficker. This is difficult because if they speak out against the trafficker, they risk the

chance of having to leave the country, losing the opportunities they came to America for.

The Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015 seeks to get better training for the

department of homeland security. The act reinforces education on human trafficking for the

Depart of Homeland Security, but expands who this intel goes to. By expanding the education,

more people will be able to detect and disrupt this crime. This is a great act and it shows how the

government is actively working to better itself. In doing this, our government will be better

educated to tackle trafficking rings, having more people knowledgeable on the detecting

trafficking. The next step in this would be to educate other institutions, such as hospitals,

churches, schools, and transportation.

After going through the trouble of seeking help and having the trafficking ring disrupted,

some victims may find themselves behind the bars with their traffickers. Due to circumstances,

its hard for the court of law to distinguish whether or not the crimes were forced or not. To the

average person, it seems quite possible to distinguish whether or not someone is a victim of
trafficking. However, it is difficult to identify perpetrators and victims in this crime as many hide

this is in plain sight. This puts responsibility on communities to be able to identify human

trafficking and report it. The U.S. government should prioritize education the community on

human trafficking.

Seeking reformation in how communities are educated on human trafficking is key to

ending it. With more people educated, it allows for more lives to be saved and even preventing

future trafficking. This also will allow for less victims being convicted for the crimes they were

forced to commit as courts will know how to deal with trafficking cases.