[Institution Title]
The different social structure theories perceives that societal, financial, and social arrangements or social structures are among the prime cause of deviant and criminal behaviors. Given this effect, it has been significantly noted that because of this society is placed at the mercy of it these institutions to help preserve order and help protect the integrity of man’s basic human rights. Many believed that crimes had only been conceptualized when the world began embracing “order” and started formulating social institutions in the likes of government and trade. While these institutions are believed to be the herald of civilization, it has brought significant atrocities and adversities that curtails the rights of the people. Although social structure is viewed to facilitate for a civilized nation, it tends to deliberately accompany criminality.
This paper aims to discuss one ramification that has been caused by the formation of social structures. This particularly refers to human trafficking, one of the biggest atrocity committed by an organized syndicate that takes advantage of the desperation of people particularly in less developed nations. This paper identified globalization, the dawn of capitalism and the migration of people to have directly constitute to his social issue. In addition, this paper will significantly use the short video presentation entitled Prostitution along Immigration Routes by Tiffani Bateman (2011) to give a visual of what the discussion in this paper will focus.
Bateman: Prostitution along Immigration Routes
In a short video presentation that lasted a little more than 3-minutes, the discussion centers on the causes of human trafficking . The video named poverty and social trade policies to particularly spearhead the cause of human trafficking and violation of human rights. In addition, the director of the video also emphasized on migration being another effect that drove people to partake in such a heinous human social crime. Further on, the video presentation suggests that traffickers take advantage of the vulnerability and the desperation of people to utilize them to profit from them for cheap labor and commercial sex.
In the video it narrated how people from different nations, particularly in the Third World Countries, are being transported to urbanized and developed nations for various reasons. Among these includes prostitution and force labor, however, less severe as with the concept of slavery. The director of the video narrates how traffickers work and how they manipulate and lured the people from depressed areas to sell their organs, work for a relative small fraction of the minimum fair wage and even partake in the illegal practice of commercial sex. The video claims that there are in fact, two reasons for these practices. The first is the dawn of globalization which strongly manipulates people into the principle of capitalism. Second is the uncontrolled and the growing organized system of a structure social deviant organizations, often referred to as “syndicates”. Finally, the migration of people due to the large incompatibilities of the requirements and competencies to gain professional employment.
Analyzing the content of the video, it processes the principles embodied in the social structure theory in many aspects. First, the video asserts that the disadvantaged social class will always be identified as causing the crime. Theorists support that because the lowest class are always on the down state it creates forces of strain, frustration and disorganization that create crime . Second, the video stresses that because of the immense effect of poverty, people from the depressed areas are forced to participate in the unlawful practice that involves the trafficking of people for the purpose of commercial sex and domestic servitude. Finally, the video enumerates that immigration, specifically undocumented immigration facilitates for crime to flourish and the most prevalent of which involves human trafficking.
Social Issues: Human Trafficking—Organ Selling, Force Labor and Prostitution
The video addressed one major social predicament. This refers to human trafficking. Needless to say, there were three commonly identified reasons for human trafficking which this paper will discuss. These include organ selling, force labor and prostitution.
Organ Selling
In the book entitled Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge the author narrates how globalization has caused the transmigration of people that comes with globalization . However, the author suggests that the transmigration is not always intentional or voluntary. In fact, this when the transmigration has been in pursuit of expolitation and this usually involves trafficking of people.
Another riveting story was presented in the book entitled Kidney for Sale by Owner: Human Organs, Transplantation and the Market talks about the ordeal that forces people to sell their kidneys. It identifies poverty as the major reason why people particularly from third world countries have with no other option but to sell their organs for a price. It also states the tragic fate that these peddlers had to endure from hospitals, third party representatives and even the buyers and users themselves. The book is able to present a demographic profile of the typical vendors of owners along with their country profile. Considering this precipitating factors, in 2011, the book Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Illegal Immigration: International Management by Criminal Organizations the author cited several problems associate with organ donation. It eventually considers the role that nationality with regards to organ donation. The book also had to narrate the correlation of the violation versus the possibilities of rewards of organ donation.
Similarly if there is a need to trail down the significant contribution of on the opening of ports the book, Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition: Change and Identity has successfully emphasized the role of trafficking in the Islamic community. As mentioned the Muslim’s view on specific medical conditions and procedure. In one of the discussion the author mentioned how the Muslims modified its tradition to accommodate modern technological breakthroughs in the field of medicine. It also mentions an important provision on how the Arabs tend to discriminate on organ donations. This was supported in the book entitled Health Care Reform Simplified: What Professionals in Medicine, Government, Insurance, and Business Need to Know the author discussed about human organ trafficking and how it has reached a global concern. The author narrated how organ donation is becoming a business for some and even reaching international market to conduct its illegal operations.
However, it is not only the Muslims who were experiencing trafficking. Ko Swan Sik’s Nationality and International; Law in Asian Perspective directs the readers to understand how Asian countries are comparative less suspecting on immigrants who wanted to visit their countries. In addition, the author also highlights the Asian’s receptiveness to foreign nationals from the context of having less demanding citizenship requirements. The Right to Have Rights: Citizenship, Humanity and International Law talks about the intricate relationship of the concepts of citizenship, humanity, nationality and politics. In which case, the author argues that for the sake of humanitarian purpose certain provisions extending to the application of nationality and citizenship may be waived. Among these humanitarian purposes include organ donation and delicate medical procedures. In addition to the massive organ trafficking, prostitution has been named as one of the most severe and most common ramification of migration. Almost equivocally, prostitution runs parallel to the unwanted effect of migration. It is deemed the most efficient means to trade considering the vulnerability and sensitivity of human character to lust and desire for the gratification of biological urges. The society thrives within the idea that because of one’s desperation for survival in an unknown for which the uncertainty of gaining professional employment may not be entirely welcoming for immigrants. Hence, prostitution is being lured to people especially women who desperately wants to earn money.
Prostitution
Comparatively, prostitution has been the result of globalization considering that it has made sex commercialized. In the process of commercializing sex, a human person has become a commodity that can be exchanged for an unfair price. While there had been justifications that it commodify only the concept of sex and not the human person, commercial sex cannot be identified independently from the person who partakes in this untoward commercial practice. Traffickers even argue that they do not force women to choose the manner that involves the concept of commercialize sex. It is in fact, an assistance to people, immigrants most especially to gain employment and means to survive in an unknown territory. While this justification is without any acceptable basis, prostitution has continuously malign the social structure that creates and even out the unbalanced discrepancies in professional and non-professional employment. Over the course of time, sex has become a widely accepted need of man for self-satisfaction and personal gratification. Human urge particularly hunger, thirst and the need for sexual gratification has warranty become particularly necessary to survival. In fact in the hierarchy of needs, the basic biological needs has identified sex as particularly necessary for personal satisfaction and growth. Given this situation, sex like any other basic biological needs has made sex as a focus of immediate needs to be satisfied in order to provide a personal state of equilibrium which helps in the process of efficient and effective functioning.
For quite some time, Japan and Brunei had been the ideal destinations of migrating prostitutes because the demand for such profession was intense. This was during the latter part of the 50’s last until mid-90. In fact, Japan recognizes sex as an industry. However, one has to carefully note that the sex industry in Japan should not be held synonymous to prostitution. Prostitution in Japan is illegal following the Anti-Prostitution Law of 1956 which states that "No person may either do prostitution or become the customer of it” . While it is difficult to understand, the Japanese sex industry allows everything imaginable except of sexual intercourse. Many traffickers become lured into recruiting women from the Philippines, India and Africa to come to Japan and become a legal “entertainer”.
One should also try to remember how the Geisha of Japan works because this is similar to the Geisha’s role that these traffic women must do. However, the Geishas of Japan have the highest social status and recognition of the state because of the craftsmanship and elegance that the Geishas possess. Regardless of the legalities, many of these women who are trafficked to Japan to become a part of the sex industry of the country had experienced one of the most gruesome atrocities. There had been reported incidence of abuse not to mention the cases of murder and grave physical injuries that have involved the trafficked women who were sent to the country to become a commodity for sale under the sex industry system practiced in Japan.
Force Labor
In remote countries like India and Africa, women and even children are being commercially trafficked for two purpose. The first reason for trafficking women and children in Africa and India were for cheap labor. The need to meet the demands of globalization for maximum profit and productivity at minimal cost and expenditure, organizations need people who would be willing to work and be subjected to unfair working conditions. People from the mentioned countries are experiencing a great deal of poverty. People are starving, uneducated and ignorant of their rights. These situations makes them gullible and easy target for abuse. Again, as mentioned earlier the traffickers would be vigilant as to take advantage of these unfavorable life condition to lure people into choosing to partake in any means possible to ensure their survival. This is taken advantaged by the traffickers by means of offering to provide options that would not necessarily require any complicated process of employment, in which the reward can be immediate. Given the remorseful and seemingly stagnant progress in the depressed areas, people have no other option but to take the easy way out.
Social Structure Theory and the Conflict Theory
The enumerated situated are among the concrete examples of the social conflict theory. According to this theory, the principle of capitalism is the reason why these social issues had materialized. Considering that globalization has made everything nearly commercialized, it also compromised human social values. It also formulates to process the ideology that everything has an equivalent price regardless of whatever it is. Thus, it lead to the commodification of everything that holds value for human survival and are classified as objects—tangible or otherwise, that significantly brings satisfaction to man. This include sex considering that is satisfy a human biological urge, which if not provided would result to the unstable human social experience. The conflict theory is a manifestation or a result of globalization. It harmonized that because capitalism has strongly lured people into thinking that they need an object for their survival and personal satisfaction. As a result, these people becomes too overwhelmed into desire to attain that object and depends their efficiency, productivity and even happiness to the gratification of such whims and desire. Many would call this strategy as marketing. Needless to say, this has led to a great deal of human injustice like human trafficking and sexual assaults.
On the other hand, the social structure theory supports that the social institutions facilitates for the atrocities relating to organ selling, forced labor and prostitution. The social structure creates an imbalanced system in which the influential and the elites have the greater control. Nevertheless, the criminals have also gained access into this cluster which eventually also gave them the opportunity to be included in the upper classes. This allowed the traffickers the ability and the influence to transport people from one area to another and submit them to activities that are socially considered and classified as deviant. The social structure is not always positively motivated. While many believes that a structured system would prevent chaos and fosters organization, it can also have an inverse implication. Included in this negative effects are the social issues discussed earlier.
References
Bateman, T. (Director). (2011). Causes of Human Trafficking [Motion Picture].
Cherry, M. (2005). Kidney for Sale By Owner: Human Organs, Transplantation and the Market. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
Coen, M. (2011). Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Illegal Immigration: International Management by Criminal Organizations. New York: Ios Press Inc.
Haviland, W., McBride, B., & Prins, H. (2010). Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Kesby, A. (2012). The Right to Have Rights: Citizenship, Humanity and International La. Massachussettes: Oxford Universirty Press.
Ministry of Justice Japan . (1960). The administration of the anti-prostitution law in Japan. Tokyo: Ministry of Justice in Japan .
Parks, D. (2012). Health Care Reform Simplified: What Professionals in Medicine, Government, Insurance, and Business Need to Know. New York: Apress Publishing.
Rahman, F. (1998). Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition: Change and Identity. Chicago: Kazi Pubns Inc.
Sik, K. S. (1990). Nationality and International Law in Asian Perspective. Boston, Massachusetts: Martinus Nijhoff.
