Human trafficking according to the United nations is “the enrollment, carrying, transfer, receipt or harboring of people by use of force, fraud, abuse of power, threats, abduction, payments in achieving the consent of an individual having control over another individual with an intention of exploitation. Human trafficking has been in existence worldwide for hundreds of years. From the ancient Roman Greeks, and medieval period up until now, human beings have been subject to physical and sexual slavery. Some form of slavery existed before the 15th century, and the beginning of the 15th century marked the beginning of Slavery in Africa by the Europeans with the Africans being transported from Africa to Portugal. In the mid 16th century, the British joined the Portuguese in the slave trade (Rodriguez 77). The trade later increased due to the development of plantation colonies. Later in the same century, countries including France, Spain, Holland, Sweden, North America, and Denmark became involved in the slave trade.
During the slavery period, close to 600,000 slaves were brought to the US, and most of them went to sugar plantations Brazil and to the Caribbean. Slavery in the Northern states was abolished during the end of the 18th century (Rodriguez 137). The 16th president of the USA, Abraham Lincoln was against slavery and he supported the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery in the USA. In his last speech, he gave a recommendation for the extending of voting rights to the blacks. “It is also unsatisfactory to some that the elective franchise is not given to the colored man. I would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent and on those who serve our cause as soldiers” (Lincoln Home Historic Site, “Lincoln on Slavery”).
In 1904, an international agreement was created against the slavery on migrant women and children. These efforts were however affected by the First World War. The first convention, which became legally binding to all countries, was signed in 1949. This convention was referred to as the “United Nations Convention of the Traffic in persons and the Exploitation the Prostitution of Others” and The United Nations Protocol against Trafficking in Persons” was adopted in 2000. Despite these conventions, human trafficking is still a big challenge to most countries.
Categories of Human Trafficking
Trafficking for sexual exploitation
This is the most widespread form of human trafficking in the world. The thriving demand for commercial sex is the key contributing factor towards sex trafficking. In this type of human trafficking, children, men, and women from underdeveloped countries and some parts of the developed countries are enticed by promise of getting decent jobs into leaving their home countries and travelling to what they deem will be a better living. Those who are involved in the trafficking provide fake transport documents, and they use an organized network to transfer them to the destination country (SOCA, “Types of Human Trafficking”). The victims will always find themselves being held in cruel conditions and forced by their masters into sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation includes abusive sexual acts done on them without their consent including pornography, escort work, and prostitution.
Forced Labor
Victims of forced labor trafficking are recruited and transported using coercion and deception. This form of exploitation involves victims being compelled forcefully to work in harsh conditions and submit some big percentage if not all earnings to their traffickers. Most of the victims come from developing nations and compared to sex trafficking, forced labor is hard to identify and estimate (SOCA, “Types of Human Trafficking”). To achieve obedience, the victims are always subjected to verbal intimidation and sometimes violence. In most cases, the victims are always in congested single dwellings. According to the International Labor Organization, the following elements give an indication of forced labor; -
Debt bondage
Confinement and movement restriction
Threats of condemnation to the authorities on victims with illegitimate status
Retention of the identity documents including the passports
Intimidations or actual harm on them
Wage reductions violating the agreements made previously.
Domestic Servitude
This form of trafficking involves the forceful coercion of the victims to work in private households. Victims are always confined to the masters’ houses, and they are always forced to perform duties such as housekeeping and childcare with little or no pay. Victims always live an isolated life with no freedom, comfort, and privacy. Most of the victims trapped in this form of servitude are subject to sexual abuse and those who attempt to escape receive serious physical harm (SOCA, “Types of Human Trafficking”).
Organs trafficking
This is the latest and the rapidly growing form of human trafficking. This form of criminal activity involves the trafficking of humans with an intention of using their organs especially the kidneys. The contributing factor behind the increase in organ trafficking popularity is the increased demand for the organs needed for transplants. This increase in demand has been attributed by the increased cases of diabetes, which necessitates kidney transplants (SOCA, “Types of Human Trafficking”). This practice puts the lives of the victims at risk because the harvesting of the organs are always done in concealed conditions with no medical follow.
Child Soldiers
This unique form of human trafficking involving the illegal and forceful recruitment of children to act as soldiers or sexual prey in the conflict zones. Rebel groups, paramilitary organizations or the government forces can perpetrate these practices. Estimation by UNICEF indicates that close to 300,000 underage children are been exploited worldwide by more than 20 conflicts. Most of the abducted victims are used as fighters while others are illegally used as messengers, cooks, porters, spies, servants or guards. Most young girls are sexually abused by the militants making them stand at a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted Infections or getting pregnant. Some of the captured children are sometimes forced to kill their families. Child soldiers are often wounded or killed in the battlefield with the survivors suffering from psychological scarring and traumas. This irreparably damages their development and hence making them face rejection from their communities (SOCA, “Types of Human Trafficking”). The use of child soldiers is evident in Asia, Africa, America, and some parts of the Middle East.
Economic effects
Human trafficking impedes economic growth in the United States because economic gain and freedom of choice are significant components of productivity. Human trafficking alters the local economies’ structure adds to the law enforcement and the bureaucratic burden at all government levels. A lot of funds have been used in combating the problem of human trafficking. For instance, the American government since 2001 has provided US$ 447 million to other governments and international organizations to help in eliminating human trafficking (M’Cormack, “Helpdesk Research Report”). Furthermore, about 40 law enforcement task forces on the problem of human trafficking between 2004 and 2006 have received over US$17 million from the US Bureau of justice assistance (M’Cormack, “Helpdesk Research Report”). These funds may have been used in other development initiatives.
The cost of exploitation and coercion cannot be measured in monetary terms, but there Is a clear indication that human trafficking for instance child labor represents a loss of productive capacity of persons who would have otherwise have gains from improved health and increased education (Russell, “Prop 35 looks at impact of Human trafficking”).
Social effects
Human trafficking has a direct effect on the families of the victims. It destabilizes family ties, and in most cases, absence of women leads to family breakups and neglect of the aged and the children. Most of the victims in the United States who return to their homes become victims of stigmatization and are more likely to engage themselves in drug abuse and criminal activities (M’Cormack, “Helpdesk Research Report”). Trafficked children always have psychological problems thus hindering their development. Human trafficking in the United States also increases immigration problems, crime and decreased welfare and safety for the defenseless populations.
Effects on National Security and Rule of Law
Human trafficking ranks third in criminal activities, generating about US$ 10 Billion in profits and this might huge crime syndicates. Organized gangs and criminal groups finance their activities such as the drug trade using Human trafficking money. Additionally, human trafficking undermines the efforts by the government in exerting authority over its entire territory thus jeopardizing the security of the vulnerable population. Moreover, bribes from the traffickers undermine the government efforts of fighting corruption (M’Cormack, “Helpdesk Research Report”).
In conclusion, the federal governments in the USA have made some substantial efforts towards curbing human trafficking within and outside its borders. In 2002, the US government adopted the most significant anti-trafficking legislation, “Trafficking Victims Protection Act” (TVPA) having the following components; - Prevention of trafficking, protection of the Victims of trafficking and prosecution of the traffickers and uncooperative nations. .
Work Cited
Lincoln Home Historic Site. Lincoln on Slavery.National Park Service, N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov.
2012. < http://www.nps.gov/liho/historyculture/slavery.htm>
M’Cormack. Helpdesk Research Report: The impact of human trafficking on people and
countries. Governance and Social Development Resource centre, 2011. Web. 9 Nov
2012. < http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/HD780.pdf>
Rodriguez, Junius. Slavery in the United States a social, political, and historical encyclopedia.
Santa
Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2007. Print.
Russell, Kat. Prop 35 looks at impact of Human trafficking. Daily Sundial Website, 2012. Web.
9 Nov 2012. < http://sundial.csun.edu/2012/11/prop-35-looks-at-impact-of-human-
trafficking/>
SOCA. Types of Human Trafficking. Serious Organized Srime Agency Website, 2012. Web. 9
Nov 2012. < http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/an-overview-of-human-
trafficking/types-of-human-trafficking>
