Human trafficking is an international human rights issue involving an estimated 600,000-800,000 people (largely women and children) who are trafficked across international borders every year. The number of victims trafficked within national borders worldwide exceeds into the millions. Also known as modern-day slavery, people fall victim through coercion or physical force and are introduced into a world of forced prostitution and other types of forced labor.
Quick Facts
- Human trafficking falls 3rd on the world's list of top crimes.
- 80% of all people trafficked are women.
- $9.5 billion dollars is generated through trafficking, with $4 billion of that attributed to the brothel industry.
- Women who have been trafficked for sex experience a tenfold risk of HIV contraction.
- 68% of victims meet the clinical criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.
- 50% of trafficked victims are under the age of 18.
- 71% of trafficked children experience suicidal tendencies.
Growth of Human Trafficking
One of the contributing factors to the increase of human trafficking is the transnational nature of the business. The movement from country to country makes international cooperation difficult. In addition, several countries have governments that are complacent and do not enforce existing laws, or do not have national laws against trafficking. The globalization of the last two decades also creates conditions that allow for greater transnational crime. Low risk of prosecution, extreme profit potential, and poverty are the three biggest contributors to global trafficking.
Obstacles
Trafficking victims often do not seek professional help due to fear of revenge by their traffickers, misunderstanding of the law, and lack of information about available resources. Victims are moved regularly once in a trafficking ring and this affords them little opportunity to develop social groups and personal ties. Since trafficking is a large operation, many victims never know all the members of the trafficking ring and since trafficking is so linked with organized crime, there is a huge fear of safety once an individual(s) is reported. The lack of reporting makes it difficult for law enforcement to gage the accurate number of victims and the scope of trafficking as a whole. Without reporting by victims, perpetrators cannot be brought to justice and the victims cannot get the help they need.
What Can Be Done
Nations must be encouraged to create and implement human trafficking laws. This is an international issue that needs international cooperation and the ability to trust that each country will seek and convict perpetrators. Preemptive education about human trafficking and social services offered to those who are already victims will ensure greater knowledge and a mechanism where victims can be repatriated back into society. Also, continued work to eliminate extreme poverty is key and will help decrease the number of vulnerable victims. Increasing public awareness will help put more pressure on government officials to not only create and govern laws, but to ensure traffickers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
All information taken from the websites of The Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing Persons (ITEMP), State Department Bureau of Public Affairs, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
