Human Trafficking. An overview

Essai , 2016 , 6 Pages , Note: 95

Sociologie - Divers

Human trafficking can be defined as recruiting, transporting, transferring and harboring people against their will by the use of coercion for the purpose of forced labor, slavery, and prostitution. Human trafficking is a heinous multi-billion transnational trade and can be graded as second to international drug trafficking in reference to organized crimes. It is an expanding evil annihilating community and depriving of the naivety of the world’s youth. This practice is a version of slavery in the modern world.

To end human trafficking, various institutions in the society have to work together. They include individuals, community leaders, law enforcement officers and lawmakers. They should enforce existing laws against human trafficking, amend and come up with new and better laws. They should also assist survivors and victims’ by providing them with counseling for them to cope with life. Creation of awareness on the issue and human rights is also important. Governments should also eliminate the situations that lead to human trafficking.

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in Somalia where a girl was abducted and smuggled to the UK in 2013 for an organ

transplant.

Shelley (2010), examines most systems of human trafficking in a global perspective.

The author reveals the events in trafficking trade and the condition of the traffickers

themselves. It utilizes the past and relative viewpoint to prove that there exist many models of

human trafficking and variations in different regions of the world. She continues to contend

that human trafficking will continue to grow in this century due to economic and

demographic disparities in the world, the rise of civil wars and transformation in global

climate. She, therefore, concludes that there is a need for a coordinated effort among all

stakeholders, so as to fight this problem. Shelley suggests that the civil society, government,

business community and the general public should take a center point in preventing human

trafficking as a new form of modern-day slavery.

Human trafficking dates back in the 1980's. However, it caught the attention of the

publics in the 1990's. This act was a joint program of numerous conferences and international

meetings. In 2000, the International definition of human trafficking was created to help the

world differentiate between human trafficking and other illegal migrations. The global

definition came up with the signing of UN protocol to prevent and punish human traffickers.

Nevertheless, human trafficking is defined differently by the legislation of different nations.

The global definition, which was established in 2000 by UN, defines human trafficking as

recruitment, receipt, transportation, harboring and transfer of persons against their will by use

of force and threats.

An ongoing controversy is a debate regarding whether prostitution is an engine of

human trafficking or it is purely a product of poverty. Legalizing prostitution in many

developed countries was a major blow to efforts that aim at eradicating human trafficking. By

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making prostitution legal, it is hard to separate the genuine prostitutes from those who are

forced into it. Many clients have inadvertently received the services of a victim of human

trafficking thinking that they were genuine commercial sex workers. Legalizing prostitution

has also attracted many commercial sex workers from undeveloped countries to actualize

their dreams in developed country economies. These commercial sex workers from emerging

countries will be willing to do anything to reach the developed countries, including

unorthodox methods.

Legalizing prostitution has also made the industry more lucrative for unscrupulous

business people. The taxes and stringent controls have forced the industry to charge clients

extra, sometimes exploiting them. The meager earnings that are advanced to commercial sex

workers from the humongous profits motivate pimps threefold. In a bid to maximize profits

and cut on overhead costs, some pimps resort to trafficking poor girls from third world

countries. They calculate that the girls will double their profits because they might never have

to pay them because their illegal status in a foreign country will make them slaves.

According to McCarthy (2014), those who are opposed to this claim that human

trafficking would still be in place even if prostitution were criminalized. Even if prostitution

were illegal, people would still find means of doing it without the knowledge of the

authorities. In most developing countries where prostitution is illegal, the vice is more

rampant that in the developing countries where it is legal. This vice is especially rampant in

developing economies where the commercial sex workers have to do it for survival. Besides,

not all the victims of human trafficking end up as sex slaves; some usually become domestic

slaves working at no pay. Others end up working in casinos, restaurants, and massage parlors.

Criminalizing prostitution will not diminish demand for these victims of human trafficking in

other sectors of the economy. The cause of human trafficking is poverty, greedy

businesspeople and lack of information. Placing more controls for business owners who

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employ immigrants, teaching young people the benefit of getting the right papers before

moving to a foreign country, and placing measures in place to eradicate poverty, might be the

only solution to human trafficking.

Both prostitution and poverty are key contributing factors to human. One factor

compliments the other. While poverty makes young people throw caution to the wind in the

pursuit of greener pastures in foreign countries, prostitution forms a bigger recruiting ground

for the victims of human trafficking. This essay focuses on other factors that have led to

human trafficking such as globalization. It also discusses into depth forms of human

trafficking and their effects on humankind and the probable solution to this rapidly growing

predicament.

Globalization has been a major contributor to the increasing rate of human trafficking

compared to other points in history. Globalization has led to the development of free trade,

free flow capital and enhanced the ability to draw cheap labor from any foreign market within

the world. It has resulted in the interaction of people and exchange of cultural values and

norms including the wrong values. It, therefore, implies that human trafficking and the

modern-day slavery are not only outcomes of globalization but also part of globalization

process itself due to the interaction of economic activities from various regions of the world.

Slavery in the past was an accepted way of life as people were laborers in farms and domestic

workers in the home. With globalization, labor became cheap and freely disposable which

resulted into greed and misuse of human rights. Globalization came with moral degradation

due to the exchange of cultural beliefs and moral values. Prostitution and sex trafficking

became the order of the day (Bales 2005). It has led to child trafficking for the purpose of

sexual use. Today children as young as three years are being kidnapped only to be procured

in other countries for sexual use. Human trafficking comes with its effects on people both

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physiological and psychological. It can be regarded as the one of the most traumatizing

experience of the survivors of human trafficking.

Human trafficking has various effects on the victims including psychological trauma,

physical violence, and emotional instability that affects their social life. They include loss of

innocence for children and the youth at a very early age in life. It also leads to high financial

cost, slavery, emotional scars, increases in gang activities, administrative burden and

degradation of morals and cultures in communities. In sexual trafficking, victims face threats

and physical violence from customers, employers, and law enforcement officers. The society

alienates them, which leads to exclusion and stigmatization. The victims demonstrate

behavioral change and may begin abusing drugs and alcohol. These are both short and long-

term effects. They may also contract diseases such as stress, depression, HIV/AIDS, and

anxiety.

Human trafficking was started as a sexual sacrifice of the temple; by ancient Babylon

and Mesopotamia. At the time, this trade was creating a market for sacred prostitutes.

However, today some arguments state that that criminalizing sex industry will lead to

rampant prostitution. To end human trafficking, various institutions in the society have to

work together. They include individuals, community leaders, law enforcement officers and

lawmakers. They should enforce existing laws against human trafficking, amend and come up

with new and better laws. They should also assist survivors and victims' by providing them

with counseling for them to cope with life. Creation of awareness on the issue and human

rights is also important. Governments should also eliminate the situations that lead to human

trafficking.

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REFERENCES

Bales, K. (2005). Understanding global slavery. Berkeley: University of California Press.

McCarthy, L. A. (2014). Human trafficking and the new slavery. Annual Review of Law and

Social Science, 10, 221-242. London: New Holland.

Iñiguez de Heredia, M. (2007). People Trafficking: Conceptual issues with the United

Nations Trafficking Protocol 2000. Hum Rights Rev, 9(3), 299-316.Berkeley: University of

California Press

Hendry, S. (2010). Surviving human trafficking. London: New Holland.

Kloer, A. (2011). 5 things to know about human trafficking. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from

CNN:

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/15/5-things-to-know-about-

human-trafficking/

Sanghera, J. (2005). Unpacking the trafficking discourse. Trafficking and prostitution

reconsidered: New perspectives on migration, sex work, and human rights. New York:

University Press.

Shelley, L. (2010). Human trafficking: A global perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main topic discussed in the text?

The text primarily discusses human trafficking, examining its causes, effects, and potential solutions. It delves into the complexities of the issue, including the debate surrounding prostitution, the impact of globalization, and the psychological and physiological effects on victims.

What does the text say about the connection between prostitution and human trafficking?

The text explores the controversial debate about whether prostitution fuels human trafficking or if it is purely a consequence of poverty. It highlights arguments both for and against the idea that legalizing prostitution exacerbates human trafficking by making it harder to distinguish between voluntary and forced prostitution, and potentially driving up demand for trafficked individuals.

How does globalization contribute to human trafficking, according to the text?

The text argues that globalization significantly contributes to human trafficking due to increased free trade, capital flow, and the ability to source cheap labor from around the world. It leads to the interaction of people and exchange of cultural values, leading to the spread of wrong values. It argues that the misuse of human rights have risen because labor became cheap due to globalization.

What are the effects of human trafficking on victims, as described in the text?

The text outlines various effects of human trafficking on victims, including psychological trauma, physical violence, emotional instability, loss of innocence (particularly for children), financial costs, slavery, emotional scars, increases in gang activities, administrative burden, and the degradation of morals and cultures in communities. Victims can also suffer from stress, depression, HIV/AIDS, and anxiety.

What solutions to human trafficking are suggested in the text?

The text suggests a multi-faceted approach to combating human trafficking. This includes enforcing existing laws, creating new and improved legislation, providing counseling and support to survivors, raising awareness about the issue and human rights, and addressing the underlying causes of human trafficking, such as poverty. It calls for coordinated efforts among individuals, community leaders, law enforcement, and lawmakers.

What historical context does the text provide for human trafficking?

The text mentions that human trafficking dates back to the 1980s, gaining public attention in the 1990s. It also references the creation of an international definition of human trafficking in 2000 to differentiate it from other illegal migrations, leading to the signing of a UN protocol to prevent and punish human traffickers. It also states that the history of human trafficking was started as a sexual sacrifice of the temple by ancient Babylon and Mesopotamia.

Who are some of the authors cited in the text?

Some of the authors cited in the text include Shelley (2010), McCarthy (2014), Bales (2005), Iñiguez de Heredia (2007), Hendry (2010), Kloer (2011), and Sanghera (2005).

• Note: 95
• Auteur: Selina Kolls (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2016
• Pages: 6
• N° de catalogue: V337848
• ISBN (ebook): 9783668276062
• ISBN (Livre): 9783668276079
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: human, trafficking