Human_Traffic

Human Trafficking It is a common belief that human sex trafficking is a problem found only in countries with a high poverty rate. Human sex trafficking is a problem that is found not just nation-wide in the United States but on a global scale. Human sex trafficking involves victims that are transferred, recruited, transported, or became the receipt of another person for commercial sex purposes (Johns Hopkins University, 2000). The average victim of human sex trafficking is females under the age of eighteen (Johns Hopkins University, 2000). They become the victims of human sex trafficking for a number of reasons, such as being sold for money by their family, kidnapping, or promises of fame and fortune in the modeling industry (Johns Hopkins University, 2000). Victims of human sex trafficking are also coerced by fraud, deception, threats, or abuse (Johns Hopkins University, 2000). These victims are forced into sex slavery or prostitution until they become ill or contract the HIV/AIDS virus (Johns Hopkins University, 2000). The victim will then be tossed onto the streets where they are left for dead or they learn to provide for themselves on the streets. Behind this definition of human se trafficking is a history, social problems, and the general nature of the population which requires the intervention of human service workers world-wide to combat the problem. History of Human Sex Trafficking Human sex trafficking began in the early 1900’s as a form of forced labor or servitude. Poor families were in the need of money so the family would sell the woman and children of the family to obtain monetary compensation. Sex trafficking began with woman and children being kidnapped from their homes and being transported to unknown locations and forced into prostitution in order to pay off a debt owed by the family, which was usually the money that was paid to the family for the woman and children. Often, women were lured from their homes based on promises of success in another country. These women were unaware that they were being lured from their homes to be forced into prostitution in another country. Woman and Global Rights states women also receive false marriage proposals from men who plan to sell then into bondage upon arrival in another country. Children are most often the victims of kidnapping and being forced into the sex trafficking business, though they are sometimes sold into the business by their parents. The United States has since passed a law known as the Mann Act of 1910 which forbids any person to cross state or international lines for forms of prostitution or any immoral act. Social Problems and Nature of the Population Sex trafficking which unlike many other human rights abuses is not typically regional, but tends to be a global endeavor and causes many issues throughout all countries involved, leaving virtually no country untouched. Many victims of sex trafficking are taken from almost all developing countries and are brought into the majority of all developed countries and even some that are still developing. According to the U.S. Department of state, the estimates are that 50,000 people are brought into the United States through sex trafficking, almost all of whom are sold into prostitution. Not surprisingly though, The United States in the second largest destination for those involved in sex trafficking, lead only by Germany (Global Snapshot, 2010). Sex trafficking is not based on economics in that almost anyone can buy or own a sex slave; in fact most traffickers seek to meet the needs of their clients and prices change depending upon the area. It is not uncommon that some children are cheaper to different people even if they are roughly the same age; the only big difference in this is when a child is a virgin. The children are often taken from poor families, where they are then forced to service many men and some of these children even end up in the child pornography business; which with the internet has grown to be extremely profitable business for the traffickers. These children are not taken forcibly; in fact many of the families willingly give their children to the traffickers believing the lies that the children will be going to have a chance at a better life. Many of these families cannot afford to feed their children let alone provide them for a decent life; so therefore, they believe that they are helping the children. Micro and Macro Human Service Intervention Strategies Both micro and macro human services are needed to combat human trafficking; micro practice is needed to educate the poor and often rural citizens of vulnerable populations before they become victims, and it is also used to comfort, rehabilitate, and reintegrate victims. Women who have been trafficked workers often need psychological and other counseling services, help meeting basic needs, and transportation away from their abusers, and some countries offer citizenship status to victims (Martin, 2007). Many victims cannot help themselves out of their situations because they are not legally citizens of their host countries (Zerneda, 2009). The International Organization for Migration has implemented programs in nearly 90 countries, and it has helped over 15,000 victims. Romania is one country that even tracks the progress of victims’ reintegration (Goschin, Constantin, & Roman; 2009). Macro practice is somewhat complicated and difficult to implement for several reasons. One of those reasons is because some governments, such as that of the Philippines, encourage labor migration as a means of supporting their citizens. In such cases, as with most other human trafficking activity, the crime actually occurs in the host countries, and the recruiters of victims and the employers are two separate entities, and the victims most often cannot report the crimes because of fear of being deported (Zerneda, 2009). Nevertheless, the United Nations (UN), along with other agencies, attempts to eliminate human trafficking. Hillary Clinton was the first American politician involved in attacking human trafficking as she was appointed to leadership of the President’s Interagency Council on Women in 1995 (Zerneda, 2009). Since then, “the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has elaborated the Legislative Guide for the Implementation of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children” (Goschin, Constantin, & Roman; 2009). The International Labor Organization and the International Organization for Migration are two offices that work in cooperation with the UN under the name of the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) (Goschin, Constantin, & Roman; 2009). Additionally, religious organizations are encouraged to assist with eliminating this global crime, and an international effort was made to enable their ability to do so. The International Freedoms Act of 1998 protects religion-based human service organizations, such as the Salvation Army, and allows them to practice their beliefs openly including counseling potential human trafficking victims (Zerneda, 2009). These religious organizations prevent trafficking through education and awareness initiatives and they assist victims recover while the UN and other agencies work with governments to capture and punish the recruiters and employers (Goschin, Constantin, & Roman, 2009; Zerneda, 2009). Conclusion Human trafficking began in the early 1900’s and has quickly spun into a global-wide problem. The industry of human sex trafficking is a wide-known problem in the world, but many think it is a social problem that is not a huge concern in the United States. The fact is that every day in the United States thousands of women and children are forced into performing acts of prostitution and sex slavery. These women are usually transported into the United States from other countries and are essentially “held hostage” until they have paid off a debt that will never be repaid. Other groups at risk are young girls that are interested in pursuing a career in modeling. They are promised fame and fortune, being led into another country and having their passports held until they have paid off the debt. Other at risk populations are poverty-stricken individuals from other countries, the homeless, and visitors to other countries that are not familiar with the land. Once these women and girls are transported to the countries in which they will work, they are forced into performing unprotected sexual acts several times a day. They are forced to live in unclean and unsanitary conditions and are at extreme risk for contracting the HIV/AIDS virus and other sexually transmitted diseases. These women will in fact never pay off their supposed debt and will be held in these conditions until they are considered “worthless” and released onto the streets where many will die. In order to combat the problem there are many micro and macro intervention strategies in place to combat the problem. There are global organizations in place to help women deal with the affects of being involved in human trafficking such as the International Organization for Migration. To date they have helped over 15000 women that have been the victims of human sex trafficking. The United States has also launched intervention to combat the problem with the help of Hillary Clinton, the first US politician involved in the fight against human trafficking, beginning in 1995. Although there are numerous interventions available to help victims of human trafficking, it continues to be a problem. References Czerneda, J. (2009). Human trafficking hijacked: Combating human trafficking within an anti-prostitution frame. Dalhousie University Canada. Apollo Group. ProQuest. Retrieved February 1, 2011, from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/portal/portal/secure/homepage.aspx The Future Group (2011) Human Trafficking. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://www.thefuturegroup.org/id20.html Global Snapshot (2010). Human Trafficking: A global social problem. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://global-snapshot.blogspot.com/2010/03/human-trafficking-global-social- problem.html Goschin, Z., Constitin, D., & Roman, M. (2009, Winter). The partnership between the state and the church against trafficking in persons. Journal for the study of Religions and Ideologies, 8(24), 231-256. Apollo Group. Gale. Academic OneFile. Retrieved February 1, 2011, from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/portal/portal/secure/homepage.aspx The Protection Project, "What is Trafficking'" The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. John Hopkins University 2000 www.iast.net.thefacts.htm Statistics (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2011 from www.protectionproject.org. Women and Global Human Rights (n.d.). Sex Trafficking. Retrieved February 3, 2011, from http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/trafficking.html. king