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Human trafficking is one of the top organized crimes throughout the world. It is
traumatizing families, taking away freedoms and basic needs. The U.S. needs to draw more
attention to the topic and raise awareness for these people who arent able to speak for
themselves. In order for that to happen, people need to know human trafficking 101, the social
impact that it causes, and prevention methods that everyday people can take.
harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat, force, or other illegal forms such as
abduction, coercion, fraud and more (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). Human
trafficking comes in many different forms such as sex trade, forced labor, pornography,
prostitution and forcing victims to commit acts that benefit others. Other types can even be
working at strip clubs, spas, and exclusive massage places are considered trafficking if a person
Although, trafficking has been around for many years, Forms of slavery existed before
the 1400s. However 1400s marked the start of the European slave trading in Africa with
Portuguese trading people from Africa to Portugal(Yong). Most of the people who were sent to
Portugal never came back to Africa and never were heard from again.
In fact, in at least 47 states there have been complaints about human trafficking. Every
second that goes by, someone is being kidnapped, raped, and sold to the highest bidder. People
are also being trafficked across borders. The top 11 countries with high human trafficking rates
are (starting from least to greatest): Thailand, China, Ghana, Uganda, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India,
Pakistan, Haiti, Brazil, and Bangladesh (Durankiev). All of these places have very high rates of
exploiting people. It is also happening through websites where they are buying and selling
Moreover, the people that are affected are not just those who are involved in the
trafficking but everyone who is around it. Traffickers dont just target women, but also men,
children, girls, boys, gays, and straights. Targeters usually dont have a preference. Sometimes
they know who or what they are looking for. Other times its just find the weak one. It can
happen to any parent. 15-year olds dont make the best choices. I dropped her off at school in the
morning, I was expecting to pick her up after track practice in the afternoon and the I didnt see
her for 108 days (Kristof). Sometimes, however, the family members are the ones who send
their children into the trade. People are trafficked for many different reasons.
Sometimes it is to benefit someone in multiple ways like sex, cook, and maid. Other
times it is to produce things faster so they can make more money, which goes with forced labour,
it even sometimes is just to say they own someone. It is to feel in control as if the person has
power.
Usually, the most common way people are dragged into trafficking is they offered a
better job or life if they leave the place they are at. They soon realize they are working many
hours with little to no pay. Or even automatically put into the sex trade. Those who are put into
the sex trade have arrangements made by family members. Other times the person is kidnapped
off the street. They are just picked up and forced into a car or van. They can also be threatened.
Furthermore, these are the elements that decide if a particular case is trafficking or not. 1)
The act or when it was done. 2) The means or how it was done. 3) The purpose or where it was
done All three of those elements are looked at in order to fully decide if the case is trafficking.
Interesting facts about human trafficking are for starters the trafficking industry generates
a profit of $32 billion every year of that $15.5 billion is made in industrialized countries.
America made trafficking illegal in 2000 (Everywhere in (supply) Chains). 16 years ago from
this year. However, trafficking existed before the 1400s, and they just now made it illegal. In
1904 the International Agreement for the Suppression of White Slave Traffic was signed and
put into action to protect young and old white women from being trafficked. Oddly enough
though, white women werent the most sought after to be trafficked. The Japanese government
set up comfort stations which were places for these soldiers to hook-up with girls, young and old,
in hopes of preventing public rape and to provide the soldiers with sexual comfort so they didn't
tell military secrets. It was bad enough these soldiers were having sex with these women, but the
government was involved in it also. In 1956, India set up the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act
to prosecute the third parties involved in trafficking. In 1995 the United Nations held the fourth
world conference to address the issue of trafficking of women. However, nothing was actually
Overall, the facts I have stated show how not only is human trafficking relevant, but it
has been going on for many, many years. The government is now just starting to actually act on
it for everyone. Not just whites like in the White Slave Traffic agreement but for all racial
groups. However, the government is also the one that needs to be looked out for, reasons why
many victims dont want to speak up for the fact their own government is putting them in
long term effects throughout the victim's life. Effects are seen during the time they are taken and
after they are taken. Seeing as trafficking can start as young as age 12, for the victims the life of
being trafficked and forced to do things against their will is considered to be a life worse than
death. They have absolutely no freedom, experience horrors, abuse, violence, deprivation, and
torture daily. They are injected with drugs so those in charge become their lifeline which causes
them to become addicted to drugs. They are sometimes purposefully impregnated and forced to
have the baby or forced to get an abortion with unsterile objects and no anesthesia. It is a part of
dehumanizing these trafficked victims making them feel worthless. They are sometimes marked
with tattoos so people know whose they are. They are not a person but property. Usually, the
victims are stripped of EVERYTHING they may have had but mostly stripped of themselves as a
person or even as a human. They start accepting the fact that they have lost the fight, and learn
how to deal with the life they now have. They have become property.
In addition, Ghanas children and young women are forced into prostitution or just abducted
and used by different militant groups and then killed. (Durankiev). Not every group of people is
just passed around, some are often killed when they are of no use. The victims are often forced
to work in exchange for their lives. Between 600,000- 800,00 people are trafficked across
international borders every year, however There are approx. 20-30 million slaves in the world
today.(11 Facts About Human Trafficking). 80% of the victims are in the sex trafficking
industry while the other 20% are involved in the forced labour industry (11 Facts About Human
Trafficking). The average cost of a slave is $90 and above, the fact that peoples lives are only
worth a minimum $90 to many people in the world is ridiculous. The conditions in these
stations were atrocious, with each woman detained in a small cubicle, and received beatings and
other tortures if they were defiant. Because of this many women ultimately died of ... suicide,
etc,(Yong). Detained in small living quarters with nobody there to save them because everyone
Many of the trafficking survivors have sexual, physical, mental, and emotional abuse and
problems such as PTSD, anxiety, insecurity, cognitive impairment, memory loss, depression,
and can cause suicidal thoughts. The spread of HIV hasnt been directly linked with the sex
trade but is very apparent when looking at cases that involve sexual abuse. The conditions in
the sex and labor industry are very challenging to deal with. Victims receive beatings for not
following instructions properly or not doing the job the right way or producing the right
amount. Victims that are found have multiple diseases, malnutrition, rotten teeth, uneasiness,
exhaustion, and many other problems. Many of the victims are unrecognizable by parents or
peers when they are eventually taken out of the industries either by being rescued or killed.
Usually, things people experienced while being in the trafficking industry were horrific.
One person had to submerge their body in scorpions and other vermin and sit there for a whole
week. Right after they got out, they were forced to sit in the dark by themselves. Another time a
13- year old and 15- year old girl were both kidnapped and sold online. The 13-year old was
raped 20 times a day, and the 15- year old was also raped multiple times a day. One young girl
began working in the sex trade when she was 12. During this time she was shot, abused, stabbed,
raped, kidnapped, addicted to drugs all before the age of 18, and these things happened to her
multiple times. A single mother of two was asked by a man to have sex with him, and he would
pay her. She refused. Her boss later came to her and said that if she didnt have sex with him, she
would lose her job, but she needed the money. She did it, and then she needed more so she
continued to do it.
In addition these are some stories of woman and what they went through in the sex
industry. A woman who had started working as a full-time maid went to the house on the first
day and was later raped by the womans husband and injected with drugs because she refused
him. She was not only forced to have sex with the womans husband but also with many other
men. She was ordered to sell drugs from 9-11pm and sell her body from 11pm-4am everyday
and needed to make between $200-$300 every night. If not, she would be punished. She was
forced to sleep with a minimum of 50 men a night. She tried running away but was caught and
brought back and forced to then make sex videos. The second time she ran away the police found
her and helped her get herself together. Not every trafficking case has happy endings however.
An not all of them last a lifetime but they are given constant reminders of where they used to be
like scars and tattoos things that will live with them forever.
Nevertheless, in order to prevent events and experiences like these from happening again
we as a country need to be more understanding. Victims are put through enough they may not
always feel willing to tell you what has happened to them or who did it. They may feel as if they
will be sent back or abused. They come from a place where they are not allowed to speak at all.
Understanding is key to the process of getting information. They have been threatened before
that if they do speak, someone they love will die or even themselves will be killed because they
talked. Time will help them heal. We will get more information being patient than trying to
pressure them to give information about what they been through. There are lots and lots of
undiscovered yet cases which can go unnoticed because the victims are forced to comply with
every order of their owners and pretend that theyre not in a threatening situation (Durankiev)
trafficked. People need to know the difference between the sex trade and forced labour. They
need to look for visible indicators such as scars or tattoos or markings, malnutrition, dehydration,
poor personal hygiene. If the person has any STDS, has security following them around, shows
signs of abuse, or they look for permission before they speak. Does the person hold their own id
or have access to them. Does the person live at work and if they do have a house are men
constantly entering and leaving the premise during a short period of time. Do they speak with
scripted or rehearsed words and answers, or look like they live in a poor area? All of these are
things people can look for to see if someone they suspect is in the trafficking industry. Screening
questions that can be asked if you suspect someone is being trafficked near you. Is the person
free to leave the work site? Has the person been physically, sexually, or psychologically abused?
Does the person have ID on them or have access to those documents? Does the person live at
home or near the work site? How did the individual find the place they work at? Has the person
ever been threatened? Does the person feel something bad might happen if they leave the job?
Are you in debt to your employer? If you ever feel like someone is being trafficked give them
hotlines to call so they can get some help or you can get them help yourself. So they are no
Another way to prevent trafficking is to shut down websites like Backpage. Backpage is a
website where people can buy things. It ranges from appliances, boats, to actual human beings.
The website was launched in 2004, and ever since then, they have been a major contributor to the
trafficking industry. Backpage has 80% of the U.S. market for online sex ads in America.
Children have been sold in many states through the backpage website, and the website is worth
millions of dollars. When entering the adult portion of the website one has to agree to a
disclaimer. While other websites don't require one to do any of that. This website is very popular
and used by many. Shes forever changed, her siblings are forever changed. Today she struggles
with life. (Kristof). Many have asked the website to shut down, but they wont shut it down
right now. The CEO of Backpage is in court due to all the human trafficking that occurs because
of the website. The country needs to prevent websites, like Backpage from becoming popular
because without these types of websites, many children would be safe from the horrors that occur
over this website. There are many other websites that are exploiting women and children such as
porn websites. Those are also things that need to be shut down. Many of the woman and
children on those websites aren't asking for this. They are being forced to do things they dont
want to do.
Traumatized families and victims are encouraged to call these private hotlines for help.
They are in place to help those who need it. They will believe them when they say they are being
trafficked and tell them what has happened to them. Which is something that we need to reiterate
to victims these hotlines are going to believe you no matter how crazy the story seems they are
Human Trafficking is one of the top organized crimes throughout the world. It is
traumatizing families, taking away freedoms and basic needs, The country needs to draw more
attention to the topic and raise awareness for these people who aren't able to speak for
themselves so it can stopped. For these things to happen people need to know how to prevent
trafficking from happening, the social impact it has, and human trafficking 101. Trafficking is
something major and it is something that needs to be. Imagine if it was your child being sold and
abused multiple times a day, the country needs to stop turning a blind eye to the topic at hand
Below are some hotlines that can be used in case of any emergency, dont stay quiet
speak up, get help for somebody,and help change the world and make a difference in somebody's
life whether it is a 12 year old or a 23 year old. Be part of the change not the problem.
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