When people think of slavery, they think of African Americans on plantations in the 1800’s. Unfortunately, slavery is still prevalent today, and it’s happening all over the world. Many innocent civilians lose their freedom due to human trafficking. Human trafficking is a growing problem that happens in many places, but if people come together there is a way of trying to prevent it from happening. The African slave trade was the first form of human trafficking. In 1820, America passed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery (Curry, 2007). Quickly replacing the slave trade was white slavery.
White slavery is more of what human trafficking is today. White slavery is acquirement- by use of force, dishonesty, or drugs- of a white woman or girl against her will for prostitution (Oster, 2015). Even though it has been around for a while, it is still rapidly growing and bringing in money. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry, collecting $32 billion in the United States (Baldas, 2012). Worldwide, the net worth of the industry is around $150 billion. Many victims are fearful of law enforcement because the women are committing a crime.
However, they should not be punished for their actions because nine times out of ten they are being held captive or forced to do this work. Victims also worry about their pimps finding out they went to the police (Alvarez, 2016). Although these victims live in constant fear, many people are unaware of their suffering. There are two types of trafficking: sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking. Forced labor happens in other countries. 12. 3 million people are victims of being forced into labor trafficking. 14,500-17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year (Baldas, 2012).
Human trafficking is considered modern day slavery. Many young girls are taken from less developed countries and then sent all over the world (McBane, 2014). Other victims are runaways. 800,000 children are reported missing each year and half of those children will live out on the streets. 70% of those runaways become victims of human trafficking within 72 hours of being out on the street (Kessler, 2015). 74% of those kids were either in social services or foster care (polarisprohect. org, 2016). Once they are taken, their pimps now dictate their lives.
Pimps control the prostitutes, arranging clients for them and then taking all their earnings away. A pimp controls 90% of the victims. The average pay for a client is $400 an hour. Most of the girls and women said that were forced to have sex over a dozen times a day. That money goes straight to the pimp (McBane, 2014). If the prostitute comes home short of $400, they risk abuse from their pimp. Society today is oblivious to what really goes on in local backyards. St. Cloud, Minnesota is one of the biggest trafficking areas (Bodette, 2016). Pornography, sexism and economics fuel a culture of exploitation.
In the last three and a half years, 104 men were found buying girls for sex. Between January 1st, 2013- July 11, 2016, at least 81 of those 104 men were convicted. Eight of those men admitted to having sex with girls who were under the age of 18. Ironically, the men who are caught are typically white, 40 year old men who have decently paying jobs with a family at home. Statistics show that’s 58% of the buyers are married, and 74% have a family (Schwarz, 2016). This is sickening and something needs to be done to lower the numbers. The men that exploit these women are adding fuel to the fire of a horrific industry.
Internationally, there are 20. 9 millions victims of human trafficking. People find themselves vulnerable when in poverty or out of a job. When they search the web and find offers overseas, they are promised careers that pay well. That is how most traffickers feed on their prey. Worldwide, this is the fastest growing illegal business, and the majority of human trafficking happens internationally. Furthermore, sex exploitation is the most common form of human trafficking, with a staggering 79%, and forced labor with 18%. 20% of trafficking victims are children.
Meanwhile in West Africa, almost 100% are children. Ironically, women make up about 30% of all traffickers (McBane, 2104). Although this business is very powerful, it is being fought. There are many organizations to help raise awareness of human trafficking. The woman’s foundation of Minnesota was established in 1983. Their main focus was to start pushing for a social change to achieve equality. When human trafficking became such a broad issue they pulled people together all over the state of Minnesota to build a $5 million dollar campaign raising awareness (wfmn. org).
The main priority of the Woman’s foundation is to house the victims and provide proper treatment for their mental health. Another foundation is The Polaris project. The Polaris project is another huge organization working together to end human trafficking. The Polaris project is a non-profit organization that works throughout the U. S. They as well are trying to prevent modern day slavery and combat the issue (Polarisproject. org). The National Human Trafficking Resource Center is hotline that many victims call to seek help. The hotline is open 24/7 all year long.
More than 27,000 cases were reported to HNTRC in the last eight years. The resource center averages about 100 phone calls a day. The issue of human trafficking is also being brought to light through the use of media. There have been books and movies created to make this problem feel more real. The book Caged written by Molly Venske is to inform the readers of the brutal reality of what goes on around the world. The main plot of the story is an elder woman in search of the kids she once took care of while their father was selling them in brothels across the continent in Greece.
No matter how crazy my world was, I had to do something” (Venzke, 2016). Molly took her writing skills and went to work on raising awareness on sex trafficking. There have also been movies involving the problem of sex trafficking. Taken is a movie that correlates to trafficking. The plot of the film is a seventeen-year-old girl that goes to study abroad with her friend. While they were there sex traffickers took them, which then gives the viewers a little taste of how gruesome trafficking is. The Taken franchise deals with a real life problem (Amandaofhappiness).
Trafficking leaves victims empty, which can lead to serious health issues. Some sex slaves never get a second chance at a life, once they are victims of the trafficking business. Even though some manage to escape the life, the memories and abuse will haunt them forever. Trafficking comes with both mental and physical problems. Most of the women are battered, raped and stabbed, but the traffickers would consider that “rough sex” (Grimes, 2010).
35% of the women in the US, and 7% internationally had major bones broken when getting interviewed. 0% of US women reported to having bruises. There are many victims that blame themselves for what happened. Most often than not the slaves believe they caused this problem. PTSD and depression are the two main psychological issues that play a role in the victims’ life (Venosa, 2015). Many broken victims lie awake at night terrified to go to bed because they have nightmares that still continue to linger in their heads. When victims get out of the cycle of trafficking they are living in the world, but not actually.
No one else can relate to what they went through, so most victims tend to shut themselves out. Their social interactions start to lack, and they distance themselves from friends and family mainly because they are so humiliated (cmda. org). Clearly slavery did not end with African Americans years ago. The business of human trafficking will continue to flourish if people don’t realize how severe trafficking is. Human trafficking is still a growing problem in many places around the world, but by raising awareness the end of trafficking can happen.
