International Crime
Introduction
Human trafficking is the use of force or coercion to transfer, harbor, or otherwise recruit persons against their will to perform acts that may or may not be illegal in nature. It is a vile practice that robs human beings of their free will and degrades them in ways that are unimaginable to any thinking being. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most lucrative and easy practices that those who make a living exploiting others can imagine. While method and practices have been set into place across international borders to keep better tabs on such a horrific business, it still occurs in the current time (Wheaton, Schauer, & Galli, 2010). To stop the exploitation of others, it is necessary for countries and their various agents to work together to halt the trafficking of people.
How Human Trafficking Takes Place
Traffickers do not care who they take, just so long as they find enough bodies to meet whatever quota they need to fill. Language barriers and the lack of any real understanding of a country’s laws help to sow confusion and thereby make the job of the traffickers easier as they can force or otherwise coerce their victims into complying. Once this is accomplished the victim then simply disappears as they are shuffled among the many others that traffickers tend to attract or force into service (van der Wilt, 2014). Should an individual attempt to run or resist it is not uncommon for traffickers or someone in their employ to retaliate with force or other, more creative methods. While much of what is seen on television and in the movies is the effect of Hollywood effects, there are some instances in which the images were seen and are far too close to the truth.
Victims of trafficking are typically females in their adolescent years or older, as well as girls who have not yet matured (Shelley, 2010). Boys and grown men are not nearly as likely to become victims, but their numbers are surprisingly high as well. Worldwide most trafficking victims are women, largely on account of the fact that sexual exploitation is the absolute most prominent form of human trafficking, followed by forced labor (Shelley, 2010). Children as well are far more likely in some regions to be taken than adults, as they can serve more varied purposes and be depended upon to be more docile and easy to control (Shelley, 2010).
Human trafficking is a serious problem not only because it is another form of imposed slavery, but because it is so horribly easy for traffickers to go unnoticed. With the number of missing person’s cases that go unsolved across domestic and international borders per year, it is easy to imagine that human traffickers can kidnap and exploit untold millions of individuals for profit (Wheaton, Schauer & Galli, 2010). More often than not, people are seen as property and given only enough to survive and remain useful, never able to earn their way free at any point during their captivity. Worse than this, some even experience their detention as a means of payment to individuals that hold sway over their lives. Families have even been known to give up children to pay debts or to protect those that are not kidnapped.
Myths about Human Trafficking
There is a significant number of myths concerning human trafficking, but far too often, too many are proven real through the outright horror and degradation that is witnessed by those law enforcement agents that are assigned to crack down on such pursuits. The means by which traffickers operate is varied and involves everything from the simplest methods to the hi-tech. To keep clear of law enforcement, traffickers must take measures designed to stymie the law and continue their trade, which at times includes even going so far as to make their inventory, meaning disposing of their victims, and start a new (van der Wilt, 2014). Trafficking is so widespread that the horrific practice is not as common as would be believed but is still seen as just another facet of business.
Patterns
Coercion is not always physical or violent when it comes to traffickers recruiting new bodies for their trade. In some cases, those who are eventually sold and pushed into this new and modern form of slavery are offered or promised better lives abroad. It is only en route or when they reach their destination that they discover the truth. At such a point, the only manner of freedom they will find is through the traffickers being caught or by other, less attractive means. Besides, Britton and Dean (2014) argue that traffickers are typically not shy about ridding themselves of physical evidence when facing the serious charges that come with their trade.
Discrimination in Human Trafficking
While it is likely that trafficking is not a racially-biased practice, it has still been noted more than once that of the millions that are moved around the world for various purposes, many individuals are not only women but of very distinct ethnicities (Kreidenweis & Hudson, 2015). Wheaton, Schauer and Galli (2010) posit that a significant portion of women that are exploited come from Africa, Europe, and Asia, though many authorities claim that trafficking does not require racial boundaries to operate. While this might very well be true, the facts that have been gathered concerning those who are taken have shown that a high number of individuals are generally from poorer nations where migrants and runaways are prominent (van der Wilt, 2014). By targeting those countries where undocumented individuals are prevalent, traffickers are better able to pick and choose their victims.
In such areas, it is possible for traffickers to go on about their business for extended periods of time without anyone noticing. These actions are enabled by the fact that poverty-stricken areas are far more concerned with other necessities other than law enforcement agencies that might see to their safety, which is another factor that works for the traffickers (Wheaton, Schauer & Galli, 2010). Without a joint effort by law agencies to crack down on such practices it is all but impossible to contain the practice of human trafficking, or to even take note of when it is happening. The only measure that has proved useful over the course of time has been the attempts made to catch the traffickers when their human cargo reaches the point of destination.
Effects of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking can bring in mass amounts of money thanks to the fact that those who suffer as the victims are often not paid or given so little that profits soar. In poor, impoverished countries it is easy for traffickers to take whomever they want and put them to work, earning a living off of the labor of those unfortunate enough to fall into their service. While trafficking can, in fact, stimulate an economy, it often does so at the expense of the workers and anyone else not meant that does not benefit from their labor. Human trafficking does have a positive economic effect but does so unevenly and at a high price to human life (Wheaton, Schauer & Galli, 2010).
The reason this is a detriment is that if wealth is not distributed evenly and justly, the economy will eventually be forced to decline as the rich stay rich and the poor continue to get poorer. This action leads towards higher unemployment, poverty, and inequality the likes of which has not been experienced since the early days of slavery (Wheaton, Schauer & Galli, 2010). Even back in those days this practice was abhorrent to many, despite the fact that it was committed far more openly and without nearly the amount of pressure upon those buying and selling human beings. Back in the first days of slavery, it was considered natural to buy and sell people for various purposes. Some even sought to improve the lives of their family by entering willingly into servitude.
These days virtually no one will attempt to place themselves purposely in such a role, though in hard times, many people will, in fact, look to those offering a promise of work. This is the promise and the lie that traffickers are so adept at telling that traps a great many in their schemes. While some willingly accept that such a role is their life at that point, others will seek to escape or otherwise disrupt the plans of their captors. Many of those do not fare so well no matter if they survive or not. According to van der Wilt (2014), the trauma of human captivity often stays a great while with such individuals if they do escape, materializing as a mild to a debilitating form of PTSD. Those who do not escape are either punished in some manner or eliminated more often than not.
There is no standardized profile of the victims that suffer through human trafficking, though in children, there are many factors that make certain individuals more susceptible. Children are targeted far more by traffickers in any case as young people who suffer through histories of sexual abuse, violence; issues with esteem and social support often make the most enticing targets (Hepburn & Simon, 2013). Many times it is because they fight less and will not put forth as much struggle, doing what is demanded of them without offering resistance. In this manner, it is possible for traffickers to capitalize on an already broken spirit as the human participant is shuffled from one destination to another.
In poorer countries and even in more affluent regions runaways and the homeless, be they children or adult, are all at risk to become victims. These individuals often have no one that will miss them and a fragile to nonexistent social support that will seek to find them once they are gone. Without any ties to a community or society, it is all too easy for traffickers to find their victims (van der Wilt, 2014). Considering that individual countries have experienced an alarming outbreak when it comes to the rising numbers of homeless, sexually assaulted, and runaway adolescents, there is no real mystery how this hidden and illicit industry has continued to thrive.
Who exactly are These Human Traffickers?
There is no solid definition as to who is a trafficker or an enabler, as the truth is that anyone could fill either role. What is accurate and easily definable about traffickers is that they use any and all means to lure innocent people to their purpose. Be it the promises of work, wealth, or even love, traffickers develop their own methods of ensnaring their victims before they set them to work. In some cases, they prey upon families that are seeking to send their sons and daughters off to find gainful employment. In others they simply find as many as they can to serve their needs until they are finished and then ship their assets home, often penniless, or dispose of them in another fashion (Kreidenweis & Hudson, 2015).
Even worse than being forced to work without pay, however, is the fact that some traffickers will insist that their human stock owes them for the trip to their destination and for the privilege of being cared for (van der Wilt, 2014). In these cases, the victims are brought from one country to another owing a debt that is likely never to be repaid. Usually well over a thousand dollars or more, such debts are paid off slowly and with whatever amount of interest a trafficker wishes to charge, as well as added expenses that are incurred when a victim finds that they require food, clothing, and other materials vital to survival. Very few manage to work this debt off, and even then, they are more likely to remain in the employ of the trafficker rather than find their way to another profession or line of work.
Enablers are those who operate with the aid of procuring whatever the traffickers need to perform, be it resources, the actual victims, or even the venues that the traffickers will use for their practice. Those who partake of the services that are offered by human traffickers are also enablers, even if they do not know as much. For those who do know the act of taking service from the human stock is just as heinous as the act of trafficking, if not more so. To understand that another person is suffering and to do nothing indicates a rather serious deficit of moral character and can also constitute participation in the illegal act of trafficking (Britton & Dean, 2014).
Prevention
Given that the average citizen living in a slum, ghetto, or otherwise impoverished region is so desperate to survive and make a sustainable living, it is far too easy for traffickers to approach and offer a better life. Raising awareness is not enough as within such areas it is also likely that many if not most of the citizens affected are uneducated and willing to do whatever it takes to escape their current state. Some might even feel that such a life is better than that which they are leaving, no matter that the freedoms they have given up are worth more than the servitude they have unknowingly walked into. The act of preying upon the desperate and the hopeless is one chief reason why traffickers are so dangerous and so successful (van der Wilt, 2014).
Another detriment to law enforcement and its efforts to institute any heavier presence against trafficking is the fact that some countries just refuse to acknowledge that such a heinous crime could ever occur within their borders. It is understandable to feel shame that such a practice could occur within one’s country, but hiding it away or denying it entirely has no other effect than to allow such crimes to continue. To actively combat trafficking it is necessary to raise awareness within law enforcement as well as the public (Britton & Dean, 2014). If there is a better understanding of what to look for and situations to avoid the trafficking industry would likely take a very significant hit.
Law enforcement has some agencies that are working together to gather as many information and intelligence as they can to combat this problem. While the crime itself is hard to track and even more so to halt, the victims at least can be helped by being given temporary asylum or even permanent visas that can allow them to remain in whatever country they have been relocated. Reunification, if possible, is preferred of course and will be attempted, but overall the goal is to stop the flow of human trafficking (Eriksson, 2013). This goal is quite vast and more than a little exhausting, but at this time, it is still the intention of law enforcement officials around the globe to halt such a heinous crime.
The obvious choice to stop the trafficking would be stronger laws and stricter punishments once the individuals that are responsible are caught, but likely as not this means nothing until such an occurrence comes around. With that in mind, it has become important to several organizations interested in stopping trafficking to work directly with the victims that are recovered. This process can be a risky proposition as the trauma that many individuals suffer could be too much to demand that they revisit the subject, but it could also be a significant advantage should they agrees. Besides, any victim that lives to tell their tale in captivity is essentially another step closer to ending the industry of human trafficking (van der Wilt, 2014).
Additionally, several organizations focus mainly on educating and preparing their youth and by extension their less fortunate members of society towards the dangers of being abducted (Kreidenweis & Hudson, 2015). The act of warning is a start, but the act of educating an individual is akin to effectively arming them against what may or may not come in their future. Many organizations have come to see the value of involving the general public in this matter. In this manner, the traffickers and the enablers alike are rendered largely powerless as people are taught the danger signs and how to respond.
Sadly not everyone who is taken into the practice of human trafficking is abducted into such a life. Some choose to enter the sex trade in favor of life that might make them nowhere or potentially cause them irreparable harm. The matter of choice is the most difficult to understand for many, but it is by no means justification to abuse and neglect those who do in fact choose this option in life. Some organizations fight for equality in every facet of those industries that people want for themselves that involve trafficking. Through at least this small measure it is possible to lessen the effects of human trafficking and empower those who seek to make their way forward in life (Eriksson, 2013).
Overall, the practice of human trafficking does not survive without people who are ignorant and otherwise unwilling to face the problem. Empowering people and educating them in the manner what to look for, what warning signs to be aware of, and how to go about reporting instances of abduction and trafficking can cause a severe blow this form of modern slavery. In doing this, it becomes possible to alleviate at least the concerns that arise from those who are at high-risk for being taken. There is no sound and sure method to stop human trafficking, like corruption, deceit, and criminal acts are a naturally recurring part of any society (Shelley, 2010). But in attempting to make a difference life is at least bettered in some regards for those who suffer such degradations.
Those organizations that do combat human trafficking on a regular basis do so in regards to how trafficking affects their societies, which limits them in some ways but makes them efficient in a more local sense. For a worldwide effort to abolish or even diminish the numbers that trafficking affects a united effort must be done across all borders (Wheaton, Schauer & Galli, 2010). There must be a compromise between countries as to how best to address and then attempt to fix the problem. This fact is likely part of why trafficking still exists, as, despite all their best efforts, many countries still prefer to keep matters such as this in-house well removed from international attention. Should more countries ever unite for this purpose, as is needed, then trafficking would become far too risky to continue as it is now.
Conclusion
The act of human trafficking is a dehumanizing process by which individuals are abducted and then forced to work for very little or nothing at all. Traffickers often take those who are considered to be at most risk such as runaways and those who have endured physical and sexual assault in their life. Many of those taken are children and adolescents, as they constitute nearly half of all persons who are pressed into service. Of the many taken the greatest majority are girls and women, who are often pushed into the sex trade.
Measures and methods are being used to combat human trafficking, but they still miss many individuals worldwide. Many are abducted after following the promise of wealth or even affection. Some choose to sell themselves into this modern form of slavery, finding that it is a better life than the one they left. In any case, trafficking is little more than servitude gained by coercion or abuse of some sort. To fight human trafficking, it is necessary to promote awareness so that traffickers and enablers alike are openly seen for what they are and what they do. While law enforcement agents around the world are doing all they can to stop this heinous crime, traffickers are still finding other ways to do business.
References
Britton, H., & Dean, L. (2014). Policy Responses to Human Trafficking in Southern Africa: Domesticating International Norms. Human Rights Review, 15(3), 305-328. doi:10.1007/s12142-014-0303-9
Eriksson, M. (2013). The Prevention of Human Trafficking -- Regulating Domestic Criminal Legislation through The European Convention on Human Rights. Nordic Journal Of International Law, 82(3), 339-368. doi:10.1163/15718107-08203001
Hepburn, S. & Simon. R.J. (2013). Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Kreidenweis, A., & Hudson, N. F. (2015). More Than a Crime: Human Trafficking as Human (In)Security. International Studies Perspectives, 16(1), 67-85. doi:10.1111/insp.12066
Shelley, L. (2010). Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
van der Wilt, H. (2014). Trafficking in Human Beings, Enslavement, Crimes Against Humanity: Unravelling the Concepts.Chinese Journal Of International Law, 13(2), 297-334.
Wheaton, E.M.; Schauer, E.J. & Galli, T.V. (2010). Economics of human trafficking. InternalMigration, 48(4): 114-141.
