By Jessica Harvey
January 14, 2015
She’s
the girl who’s running away from her abusive past, the one who is impoverished
and looking for a way to make ends meet, or perhaps, she’s the girl who naively
fell in love with the wrong man. Regardless of the reasons, there are
nearly 30 million victims of human trafficking globally. There are
more slaves now than ever before. I was in junior high when I first
learned about sex trafficking. At the time, I had the privilege of hearing Christine
Caine—an activist for the A21 campaign—speak about the subject at a
conference. Initially, I was horrified and shocked that girls as young
as four were being sold for sex. Ever since that day, I have been
passionately fighting against the injustice of sexual exploitation.
Trafficking of persons is not a subject that should be ignored or taken
lightly. In order to fully understand the enormity of this crisis, we
will examine the root causes, facts, and the impact of human trafficking
throughout the world.
There are several factors
to why human trafficking exists: poverty, governmental instability, natural
disasters, addiction, and organized crime are just a few. Although there
certainly are men victimized into trafficking (particularly forced labor),
women and children are the most vulnerable to trafficking. Generally,
those who become prey to traffickers are poor, weak, ill-educated, or isolated
woman. Some recruiters befriend teens and adults with the intent of
exploiting them. Deceived with the promise of a better life, young women
travel with them into unknown territories. Once they reach their
destination, traffickers burn their passports and immediately force them into
sexual labor. Raped and beaten, girls are chained to beds and are
repeatedly forced to serve up to forty men a day. In several low
income communities, fathers and mothers will sell their children due to an
overwhelming amount of debt. Despairingly, their debt is often
increased—making it impossible to pay off.
Strategies that captors
practice to prevent their slave girls from escaping include violence, coercion,
lies, and threats. If victims resist following orders, their masters will
threaten to kill them or their families. Occasionally, slaves will form
an attachment to their masters out of fear. Manipulatively, traffickers convince
their victims that they brought oppression on themselves and are receiving the
treatment they deserve. Corrupt law enforcement accomplishes little to
prevent these crimes. In Cambodia, it’s not uncommon for pimps to pay
police under-the-table to warn them when raids are conducted. At times,
even the married businessmen and respected policemen own and operate brothels.
Although lack of
prevention is certainly an issue, the primary root of sexual exploitation is
demand. According to the Invisible Traffick Organization, “There
would be no trafficking if there was no end-user willing to exploit the
victims.” Without the demand there would be no supply; where there is
considerable demand, the supply must inevitably be met. In order to satisfy
the sexual needs of the public, traffickers abduct a substantial amount of
women and children. In order to boost profits, girls perform in
pornographic films and strip clubs. As the commercial sex industry
escalates, men’s lustful desires are fueled—driving the demand further.
Recently, reports show that human trafficking has gone from generating $32
billion in illegal profits to $150 billion yearly. In the U.S.
alone, some 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked from overseas each
year.
Slavery is at its worst
and the consequences are horrific. Clearly, victims suffer the greatest
amount of damage from trafficking. Personal rights have been compromised,
bodies have been physically abused, and millions of people are dealing with emotional
trauma from sexual exploitation. Furthermore, victims of sex trafficking
have a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
Politically, the primary concern is human rights. Laws are doing little
to prevent traffickers from undermining the system. Sadly, only 1 to 2
percent of victims are ever rescued, while only 1 in 100,000 traffickers are
ever convicted. As authors Stephanie Hepburn and Rita J. Simon point
out in their book Human Trafficking Around the World,
Across the globe, while victims
are criminalized and in many instances have little recourse against their
traffickers, the traffickers themselves often face minimal or suspended
sentencing. For instance, in Germany, 92 of the 115 convicted traffickers
did not have to face jail time in 2010.
As a matter of fact, according to the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the trafficking of persons is
believed to be the third largest source of profits for organized
crime in the world.
The issue seems too
immense for anyone to stop. How can a single person make a
difference? One of the greatest actions that can be taken is raising
awareness. Countless numbers of people underestimate the enormity of
slavery today. In America, much of the slave trade happens under the
radar and is believed to be a problem of the past. Human trafficking
isn’t just happening in third world countries—it’s happening locally: on our
streets, in our neighborhoods, and throughout our nation. Ignorance is
not an option. Change begins with the willingness to speak up and
assume action. While raising awareness definitely helps, contributing
financially to abolition organizations reduces the progression of sex
trafficking.
In conclusion, woman and
children from every corner of the world are deceived by men—for men.
Escape is not a painless endeavor. Victims are stricken with fear from
their captors and feel responsible for their oppression. Human
trafficking is caused not only by poverty, but demand. In order to
prevent the demand from increasing, the commercial sex industry must be
irradiated. Since governing powers ensure little to prevent the sex
trade from inflating, it’s become a low risk way for traffickers to gain
extensive profits. As a result, victims are suffering from disease and
trauma. Millions upon millions of voices are lost in the wind, but we can
be their voice. William Wilberforce—a key figure in the abolition of the
British slave trade in 1807—once said, “You may choose to look the other way
but you can never say again that you did not know.” If we all band
together, we can put a stop to slavery as we know it in the 21st
century.
Sources:
An Introduction to Human Trafficking. New York: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2008.
Bales, Kevin, and Ron Sooddalter. The Slave Next
Door. Berkeley: U of California P, 2009.An Introduction to Human Trafficking. New York: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2008.
Caine, Christine. "The A21 Campaign." Natalia's Story. 27 April 2011.
"Causes of Human Trafficking." n.d. Invisible Traffick.
Hepburn, Stephanie, and Rita J. Simon. Human Trafficking Around the World. New York: Columbia UP , 2013.
Keen, Laura. "Human Trafficking Is On The Rise." 24 June 2014. Not For Sale.