Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved (Oxford Dictionaries). When individuals become victims of human trafficking they automatically lose their freedom; the freedom to act, speak, or think is taken away from them. Human trafficking is explained as the transportation or transfer of children, adolescents, or adults for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor, organ removal, or forced exploitation.
According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime the most common forms of human rafficking involves sexual exploitation at 79%, followed by forced labor at 19%. Human traffickers approach individuals who are in a vulnerable state, or in need of safety, love, affection, or financial support. Most of the times traffickers have the profile of a manipulative, dominant, and controlling person, and they exploit their victims for the purpose of money. Unfortunately, human trafficking is one of the most profitable industries internationally.
According to the International Labor Organization the estimated annual profit from the sexual exploitation of individuals is 32 billion dollars (ILO, 2005). Because of the high profits and the low chances of arrest human trafficking is a common business that happens all around the world; it takes place in developed and developing countries. A lot of organizations, like the United Nations and the National Human Trafficking Resource Center have addressed the topic of human trafficking, but communities and agencies need to be more alert and aware regarding this topic.
Adding to that, adults and children must learn to protect themselves from becoming victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking is by no means one of the worst and traumatic experience for a human being Individuals and societies need to do a lot more to help victims of human trafficking, by providing accurate information and facts regarding human trafficking, by addressing the needs and necessities of the victims, and by giving them opportunities to overcome the traumatic experience they have been through.
When it comes to trafficking gender, age, religion, ethnicity, education, and social class do not matter; traffickers can target anyone. Also, the majority of trafficking victims are women between the age of 18 and 24; this is known as adult trafficking (U. S. Department of State, 2005). Adult trafficking often occurs when the victim seeks for love, protection, and money from a third person other than family and friends. Traffickers are either working individually or in groups, aiming to find more and more people to trick into the business of human trafficking, because more people mean a lot more money and profits for them.
As mentioned earlier, adult victims are either in a vulnerable, weak, or lonely phase of their lives. A lot of the times, adult victims of trafficking are being perceived by the society as prostitutes and not as individuals who suffer and endure in miserable situations every day. One would argue that the most brutal and heartbreaking form of human trafficking involves children. The United States Federal Law defines child sex trafficking as the recruitment and harboring of a person under 18 years of age for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
Commercial sex act is an act on account of which anything valuable is given to or received by an individual. According to Kimberly Kotrla, an article author for the Oxford Journals, “recent research suggest that American youths are the most vulnerable to becoming victims of sex trafficking in this country” (Kortla, 2010). in a lot of cases children re trafficked for forced labor, domestic work, as soldiers, as camel jockeys in the Middle East, forced begging, or drug sales. Sadly, most of the children are being trafficked for sexual exploitation and pornography (UN. GIFT, 2015).
Ansar Burney is a leading Pakistani human and civil rights activist. Burney helps and rescues children and adults from any mistreated and cruel conditions; one of these conditions is camel jockeying. The civil rights activist managed to rescue a great number of children from the United Arab Emirates who were serving as camel jockeys for wealthy, sick-minded, and violent adult men. Child uman trafficking is a ruthless industry ruled by thousands of cold blooded people over the world.
They forced children to work in exchange of money, however in the end they take them away from their houses and they sell their small and innocent bodies for a ridiculous amount of money. Often, young girls and boys who at first are victims of forced labor or domestic work, end up being sexually exploited by their employers. The most inhumane and cruel stage that those children experience is first the separation from the family, and then the force of working in unimaginable conditions or engaging in unwanted sexual activities.
Children from low income households, disadvantaged communities, refugees, and children living in developing countries have a higher risk of being victims of human trafficking (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). Adding to that, the majority of most exploited children have a history of sexual abuse and neglect prior to the traumatic phase of human trafficking. Children who have endured painful experiences such as war, domestic violence, social discrimination, and sexual, physical, or psychological abuse are the perfect targets for a trafficker who recognizes the vulnerabilities left by these prior buses.
Also, a great deal of runaway teenage girls and boys end up being tricked in the industry. Most of the times, runaway youth lacks a strong supportive network and they feel vulnerable and alone. “Inside the World of Human Sex Trafficking” is a 2015 Documentary that depicts on the lives of teenage girls and adult women, born and raised in the United States, who are or were victims of sex trafficking. Most of the women, in the documentary, state that they grew up surrounded by abusive and neglectful parents. A lot of them were victims of molestation, rape, and drug addictions while growing up.
They point out that “drugs, alcohol, and having sex were the only things they were good at. ” It is sad and heartbroken to listen and watch young women saying that they have no hope and dreams for the future, that they trust no one, and there is nobody who could help them escape the nightmare of sex trafficking. The United Nations “takes action on the issues confronting humanity such as peace and security, human rights, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, and more” (UN, 2015).
Over the years, the UN has made vigorous attempts in order to address the topic of human rafficking to both developed and developing countries. Also, the organization has made great effort to stop the trafficking in persons. The United Nations has determined the 30th of June as the “World Day against Trafficking in Persons” and urges all the nations to take action against human trafficking. Adding to that, in 2010 the same organization launched the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking which is a detailed plan outlining actions needed to reach the goal of stopping human trafficking.
One of the most significant elements of the plan is the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, to support human trafficking victims through financial, legal, and humanitarian aid (UN, 2010). Moreover, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, governments from 111 nations have come to the agreement of the UN Protocol against human trafficking which provides a detailed definition of trafficking in persons and a common basis for criminalizing the act of trafficking, especially for women and children (UNODC, 2007).
In addition, the United Nations with the help of non- governmental organizations and other individual organizations have organized numerous times local events about action plans o deal with the causes of vulnerability and the impact of human trafficking were being held in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. According to Alicia Kinsman, dir at the International Institute of Connecticut, “The $32 billion tor of victim services worldwide industry of human trafficking has been misperceived as something that occurs outside the United States” (Chinapen, 2013).
Within the United States there are several kinds of sex trafficking networks. One is “typified by Asian immigrants”, and it often breaks down into three kinds of services which are the massage parlor, the brothel hidden in a legitimate business, and he so-called “hostess clubs” or “room salons, which are modeled after men’s clubs” (Tully, 2008). Bridgette Carr, director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at the University of Michigan, states that the global commercial sex trade “exploits one million children” annually; and at least 100,000 children in America are victims of sex trafficking each year.
She also claims that traffickers sell children in big cities and small towns throughout the United States, and points out that often child victims of sex trafficking are frequently viewed as criminals rather than as victims (Carr, 2009). As mentioned earlier, human trafficking appens within all the great nations. However, the US has made numerous efforts to address human trafficking.
The U. S. Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, in October 2000, which includes the banning and prevention of trafficking, the implementation of stricter penalties for criminals, and protection to victims of trafficking both in the U. S. and overseas. It is a significant effort from the U. S Department of Health and Human Services to help victims of trafficking in the United States by “funding service programs” and through “public information campaigns” (Innocents at Risk, 2012).
Adding to hat, the U. S. Department of Labor assets educational programs regarding the prevention of human trafficking and the broad understanding of abusive labor practices. Furthermore, agencies have dedicated resources to educating the public, “training law enforcement, identifying cases and providing services to survivors” (Chinapen, 2013). Also, State legislators have worked to pass laws to apply severe consequences for traffickers and increase protection for survivors. Unfortunately, there is not a single positive outcome from human trafficking. Looking from right to left and from left to right, human trafficking is immoral.