Human Trafficking and Drugs
Following the illegal drug trade, human trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the world. Human trafficking is “the trade of humans for forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others”. Often it is women and children who are victims of human trafficking. A lot of women who are sex workers have been trafficked and then forcefully put into the sex industry. Poverty was and is still one of the leading causes of human trafficking. Women are stuck in situations where the only solution available to them is to sell themselves for the sake of survival (Ottisova, 334). Nowadays it is more common for women to be abducted from vacant parking lots or when walking alone. These women are snatched in their lives and forced to slave for the rest of their lives. The issue has grown so much over the years with the numbers of victims growing rapidly. One of the reasons why human traffickers continue enslaving these women and children is the huge paycheck they gain. Often those who are enslaved in the human trafficking system are also victims of the illegal drug trade (Dell, 1742).
The estimated amount of people who are stuck in this modern-day slavery is around 20-40 million. Most of these cases are undocumented so to get one solid number is impossible. Only .04% of human trafficking cases are documented which means millions of cases internationally are hidden (Dell, 1744). Out of the 20-40 million estimated humans trafficked, 71% are women and girls and 29% are men and boys. The reason for girls and women being common targets for traffickers is they are easier to abduct and bring more money from forced sex. The women commonly targeted are stuck in poverty and are helpless. In the US a lot of abductions from common places are occurring also. Women are being kidnapped from parking lots of popular supermarkets, thrown into vehicles while walking (Dell, 1740). Another common occurrence that is occurring is fake jobs being provided to women only for them to be enslaved in this underground crime.” Other women answer job advertisements for positions abroad such as dancers, waitresses, and nannies, only to find themselves held against their will and forced into prostitution and sexual slavery.” women who are trafficked overseas are usually brought into America where they are forced to sell themselves. In 2018, 51.6% of human trafficking cases involving children being traded for sex. A lot of these children are from the foster care system and were trafficked due to their needs. Young girls who get stuck in the system are often 12-14 and have run away from home. These girls are manipulated into the system by older men who then take control of their lives and imprison them. With the number of innocent women and children being human trafficked growing daily, more resources need to be provided on how to free the women stuck and how to keep this from occurring in public.
One of the main reasons human trafficking is growing worldwide is because of the huge payout the traffickers acquire. According to the ILO report from 2014 “human trafficking earns profits of roughly $150 billion a year”. From the 150 billion gained, $99 billion if, from commercial sexual exploitation, $34 billion in construction, manufacturing, mining, and utilities, $9 billion in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and $8 billion is saved by private households that employ domestic workers. The amount of profit is what allows for human trafficking to continue. The number of prosecutions of human traffickers is extremely low. “According to the 2017 State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, there were only 14,894 prosecutions and 9,071 convictions for trafficking globally in 2016.” “Of the estimated 16 million forced labor victims worldwide, only 1,038 cases of forced labor were prosecuted globally in 2016, according to the US Department of State.” “In 2016, the Department of Justice convicted a total of 439 human traffickers, up from 297 in 2015 and 184 in 2014.” these numbers show why human trafficking is growing instead of being shut down. Because so many cases are undocumented, this allows traffickers to continue with a minute chance of being caught.
The causes of human trafficking are very diverse, they are vastly impacted the political, social and economic factors among others. The local circumstances like harassment, and political instability could highly motivate individuals to migrate in search of a better and satisfactory lifestyle. The vulnerable population in the society likes the displaced population and orphans are easily attracted to the idea the human trafficking (Dell, 1742). The exercise of entrusting young children to strangers or new neighbors is dangerous and it could promote human trafficking, these “trustees” can sell the children for money and vacate to new areas (Zimmerman, 10).
Some parents sell their kids to places with improved life or higher opportunities with the expectation that these children will escape the hardships, hunger or chronic poverty. In addition to these hardships, the existence of leaky borders that are supervised by corrupt officials facilitates this heinous act (Dell, 1741). The law enforcers at the boundaries are sometimes reluctant to conduct thorough searches due to complacency and negligence. The governments, therefore, either directly or indirectly contribute to human trafficking by failing to put the adequate measures to stop this vice. It should, therefore, ensure that there are adequate legislation and political goodwill to curb this menace.
