Human trafficking is fast becoming a major problem which involves both labor exploitation and sexual exploitation of the victims. Human trafficking takes place in almost all countries of the world today. Both women and men could be victims of human trafficking, however, the group affected most worldwide are young girls and women. Most of these females are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Human traffickers target young girls and women because these are the people who are adversely affected by discrimination and poverty. Those two factors lead women to have little or no access to education and employment opportunities among other resources. These make the women desperate and vulnerable because they can easily fall into human traffickers’ traps.
Trafficking of women is a huge nightmare for millions of women all over the world who have found themselves held captive in abusive and exploitative environments. The women are sold and bought like any other business item and are treated with little or no dignity and human decency. The extent of human trafficking and slavery in the world is estimated by most human right groups to be between 27 million and 12.3 million people. These women trafficked are enslaved and coerced into bonded or forced labor, sexual servitude as well as involuntary servitude.
Trafficked women face various permutations of slavery. However, all those forms of slavery have similar characteristics. First, the women are coerced to work for little or no pay. They are controlled and owned by their cruel employers who mistreated and dehumanized as if they are beasts of burden. Such women are always confined in one place, their freedom of movement is withdrawn from them and even their communication with their loved ones is completely cut off .
The most common and familiar reason why women are enslaved and trafficked id for sex. Women and girls from all over the world are tricked into thinking they will be offered good jobs and education. These women are then flown to different countries or even their own countries and forced to engage in non ethical activities of sex working against their own will. Some are made to work as strippers in night clubs .
Sex working is done in different ways. Some women are held captive by one individual who will keep on abusing them sexually. Others are employed in low paying jobs such as house helps then their bosses force them into sex. Some women are enslaved and used as sex objects by forcing them into working in brothels as prostitutes to earn their bosses money. Another form of sexual slavery is when the trafficked women are forced to work in stripper clubs where they will definitely end up being subjected to sexual harassment .
The young women all over the world face the risk of being trafficked because of their vulnerability. The act of women trafficking is usually common in urban centers. This is where the greedy individuals who trade women for money are found. Money is the main reason behind human trafficking. These women are traded like livestock. The traffickers lure their victims with either money or better living conditions into their traps. Such women have gone on to suffer the most horrible experiences of their lives .
Traditionally, women’s trafficking was just a vice, however, currently, trafficking women is considered a lucrative business for the traffickers. Usually, the traffickers have well organized networks and connections which they use to execute their moves while at the same time evading the law. For example, the traffickers operate their business around the world using disguised identities and forged documents to legally move people from one country or continent to another. Their victims remain naïve and unsuspecting when they see that all legal procedures are adhered to and their movement is facilitated. However, they experience rude shocks of their lives when they start being treated violently and carelessly when they arrive at their intended destinations. The women are at times locked up in brothels where they are raped, abused, beaten when they resist and many other forms of mistreatment .
The women traffickers at times take advantage of unprotected and porous borders to move their victims from one country to another illegally. For instance, the border between Nepal and India is known for the smuggling of women and sex slaves into India from Nepal. The border is unprotected, porous and insecure hence; making the environment conducive for women traffickers to do their trade. These traffickers lure their victims by deceiving them that they will offer them lucrative and well paying jobs in India among other opportunities and benefits. In Nepal, it goes as far as using promises of marriage to attract women’s attention and luring them into slavery in India. Such women end up in lodges, mines and other terrible places where they are mercilessly subjected to torturous activities as well as being abused sexually .
The women are usually naïve and do not suspect anything fishy when they are approached with these lucrative offers. Most of them are oblivious about human trafficking. The women have little or no information which makes them gullible to human traffickers’ deceptive and dirty tricks. The United Nations defines human trafficking as a vice that involves recruiting, receiving or transporting individuals against their will and fraudulently or other forceful measures. Therefore, the taking advantage of individuals’ race, economic status or gender is all categorized as human trafficking. Sex slavery is then intertwined into human trafficking when the victims of human trafficking are forced into sexual harassment and exploitation when they reach their destinations .
The trafficking of women and young girls is determined by demand and supply. The factors that determine supply and demand in human trafficking have different impacts but all lead to similar results of human trafficking. Poverty is the main determinant of supply in human trafficking. In poverty ravaged societies, there are definitely high unemployment rates, illiteracy and suffering which makes the girls and women more vulnerable to being lured into slavery. These women fall for these tricks because they want to achieve economic viability so as to cater for their families as well as manage their own welfare as women. Because the women are socially and economically disadvantaged, they end up agreeing to follow the traffickers who lead them into the trafficking nightmare and sexual exploitation .
Another factor contributing to women trafficking is the cultural practices in society. In societies where early marriage is allowed, men take advantage of such culture to by convincing poor parents into giving away their daughters in the name of marriage. The traffickers then sell of the young women. Demand factors include globalization and migration. Develop nations are characterized by high sex demand driven by money and lavish lifestyles. The poor people in poor nations are therefore trafficked to developed nations to work in the sex industry .
New cultures like sports have become very popular in the world today. When such events are held, they come along with other activities like sex work. Human traffickers take this advantage to lure young women to such places and trade them for money. In Germany for instance, during the world cup, prostitution was at its peak. The event is characterized by people who come from different cultures and hence sexual misbehavior is more likely to occur hence causing high demand for women, which opens the door to human traffickers .
Human rights organizations and women advocates all over the world have been raising their concern over the ever increasing cases of women trafficking. They have started programs aimed at curbing the human trafficking of women especially for commercial sex. They claim it is a type of gender related violence and violation of women and human rights. The United Nations has through its commission for Human Rights body, UNHCHR, has taken special measures to examine the conditions of women trafficking worldwide and make appropriate recommendations on how to stop this inhuman vice. This will involve placing harsh court sentences for those who will be caught participating in human trafficking. Another recommendation is to make strict rules to govern international and national migrations and movements of individuals to ensure that not a single person is being moved for fishy and selfish reasons .
There are many other groups that are fighting to stop women trafficking and sexual slavery. In the United States, a group called Soropomist was launched in 2008. This group aims at creating awareness about the inhuman practices against women such as sexual slavery and women trafficking. A date was set aside, on December 2nd as the Abolition of Slavery International day. The movement educates the public about sex slavery. There are also contacts available where suspected cases of sex and women trafficking can be reported in the United States .
Generally, women and sexual trafficking can be addresses by stopping the causes of these vices. Governments and human rights organizations worldwide can make laws which will prevent such cases from happening such as, harsh sentences for those convicted of trafficking humans, sealing border movements and making thorough searches to avoid trafficking. Sex work should also be made illegal to stop the demand for sex workers. Sexual slavery and women trafficking is an unethical and illegal activity which should be done away with completely in the world today. The rights of women should be obeyed and respected. The vice is on the rise and speedy measures are required to stop it. There should be comprehensive and universal laws and rules that will be flexible enough to be applicable worldwide as well as dealing with women trafficking efficiently .
Works Cited
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Dempsey and Madden. ""Sex trafficking and criminalization: in defense of fminist abolitionism"." University of Pennsylvania Law review 158.6 (2010): 1729-1778.
Kimm, Susanne and Brigit. ""Discourses on forced prostitution, trafficking in women, and football: a comparison of anti-trafficking campaigns during the World Cup 2006 and the European Championship 2008."." Soccer & Society 11.6 (2010): 815-828.
Mcsherry, Bernadette and Kneebone. ""Trafficking in Women and Forced Migration: Moving Victims across the Border of Crime into the Domain of Human Rights."." The International Journal of Human Rights 11.6 (2008): 67.87.
Tameshnie and Deane. ""Cross-Border trafficking in Nepal and India-Violating women's Rights."." Human Rights Review 11 (2010): 491-513.
