Human Trafficking Around the World

Did slavery end in the nineteenth century? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. There is a new slavery on the rise and it is not specific to the U.S. This type of slavery affects the World. The name of this type of slavery is hidden behind the name, human trafficking. Each year, according to the United Nations, between 700,000-900,000 people are victims to trafficking worldwide. The U.S. Government estimates that between 14,500-17,500 victims are trafficked into the U.S. each year and there are currently 200,000 people in the U.S. who have been victims of trafficking. Human trafficking is hard to define, though. When most people think about trafficking they think of people from another country paying to be smuggled into a country willingly, but the reality is that smuggling and trafficking are two separate issues. Smuggling can be defined as: helping someone to illegally cross country borders, often without identification or papers, for financial or material benefit. Smuggling ends with the arrival of the migrants at their destination. Trafficking starts with smuggling, but ends in slavery. To keep it simple the UN definition for human trafficking will be used to illustrate that trafficking is indeed modern day slavery. The UN defines human trafficking as:

(a) "Trafficking in persons" shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs; (b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used; (c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered "trafficking in persons" even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;
(d) "Child" shall mean any person less than eighteen years of age (UN, 2000, art.3).

As one can see trafficking is a modern day form of slavery. Trafficking supplies human beings for prostitution, sexual servants, sweat shop labor, street begging, domestic work, marriage, adoption, agricultural work, construction, armed conflicts(child soldiers), and other forms of exploited labor or services that may have not been included (Diaz, 2007). Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. It is second only to drug dealing, and tied with the illegal arms industry, in its ability to generate dollars (Diaz, 2007, 108). There are many contributing factors that are involved in the expansion of human trafficking. The overall umbrella contribution to this issue is that human trafficking is extremely profitable and globalization has created an easier way for people to be trafficked.

The main targeted people to be trafficked are women. When trafficked individuals and individuals forced into labor in their own countries are taken into account, there are an estimated twelve million people in forced labor. Of the trafficked, eighty percent on the global market are women and children, and up to fifty percent are under the age of eighteen (Kapstein, 2006, 102). These victims are trafficked from 127 countries and exploited in 137 countries. It is not a far stretch to believe that women and young girls are targeted because they are vulnerable due to economic and social oppression on women and because many of the main forced labor jobs are dominated by females, such as, sex workers, factory workers, agricultural workers, domestic workers, or to be bought as wives. Many women and girls are simply just handed over to traffickers by their parents due to poverty, debt, and hunger. To them selling their daughters are their only choice, and since girls are considered an economic burden it is best to sell them. Some girls go without protest because they feel the need to repay their parents. Many orphans may also find themselves at the hands of traffickers. Traffickers adopt orphans and then illegally sell them.

Globalization makes it very easy to facilitate trafficking today. There are many modern technologies such as the internet that make trafficking efficient and accessible. Another contribution that globalization brings is that many industrialized countries , that the poor seek for a better future, are closing their doors to migration making women desperate to cross the border and thus becoming a target for trafficking. On the flip side globalization has also caused some countries to open their borders to migration. With the fall of the Soviet Union, greater migration travel and trade have allowed traffickers to go undercover (Cummings, 2006). Some individual factors that contribute to human trafficking are: poverty and lack of economic opportunities, economic dependants and children, low education levels or an inability to read and write, physical and sexual abuse, lack of adequate housing, lack of information regarding safe and/or legal immigration, discrimination based on the age and gender of the person, social conflicts, and historical practices of the sale of women and children (Salvador, Human Trafficking and Smuggling). To hook a poor and desperate person in this situation, slavers promise their targets better jobs in distant lands. People are recruited in several different ways such as through fake employment agencies, acquaintances, newspaper ads, front businesses, word of mouth or abduction. Of course, those being targeted will never get that chance. Often times what happens is the slaver will charge a small fee to smuggle the targeted into another country, mainly Europe and the U.S., but when the targeted arrives in the country the slaver tells the targeted that they owe them a huge debt that they are forced to repay by doing some kind of forced labor. The slaver strips the targeted of identity documents and so they have no choice but to be a slave to survive in a new, strange and foreign land. Many victims do not try and escape because their owners threaten to harm their families or tell them that they will be deported and punished by the government of the country they are in.

As was stated before, the main umbrella for trafficking is profit. Human trafficking is very profitable, especially when it comes to the jobs that are supplied by women slaves. The flourishing sex industry holds steady demand for young women and girls, some as young as seven. The annual earnings of the sex industry is somewhere between 33.6 and 84 billion dollars (Cummings, 2006, 136). This is a global crisis. For example, Thailand is one of the prime locations for the sex industry, mainly due to the Vietnam War. It is estimated that sixty percent of Thailand's tourists visit for the sexual "paradise" (Cummings, 2006, 136). Many women are trafficked into Thailand from China, Cambodia, and Laos to make up for the high demand of prostitutes. Of course, the United States is not innocent when it comes to the trafficking of women and girls for the sex industry. In the U.S. it is estimated that forty-five thousand to fifty thousand women and girls are brought into the U.S. for sex slavery coupled with the demand for cheap labor (Cummings, 2006). The spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections are high due to the fact that these women and girls are forced to have multiple sex partners. These girls and women are scared into loyalty with their traffickers. Once in a foreign country they are completely bound to their traffickers for survival.

Women's trafficking is not specific to the sexual industry, as previously stated. Women are also sold for cheap labor. Industrialized countries cut cost and maximize profits by hiring trafficked women. These women have little education and so they have fewer opportunities to work elsewhere. They are easy targets for traffickers. Many factories prefer women and girls because it is said that they are more cooperative that males. Unfortunately, these women and girls are still not safe from the sex industry. Many factories double as a factory and a brothel at night. These women and girls must work all day and all night for little to no pay while the factory owners reap all the profit from these women and girls. And if working in the factory and brothel weren't enough, many factories rape their women and girl workers (Cummings, 2006). Being raped is most often included in whatever job the women and girls might find themselves in, be it as simple as domestic work.

It seems unbelievable in this day and age that such a vile and yet profitable illegal activity can continue to flourish. It is a sad world when women and girls are forced into labor or sex slavery, and have to work this way for nothing. So what other factors keep trafficking afloat? Next in line are corrupt leaders and politicians who, of course, are driven by greed. As with any profitable business there are people who overlook the pain and suffering of others for their own personal gain. As of 1999 there were 154 countries that had laws against trafficking although the penalties range from mild to severe (Cummings, 2006, 146). There is a great increase in the amount of effort put forth to stop trafficking, but corrupt individuals of power prevent efforts from moving too far forward. Leaders around the world, cops, border guards, etc. all gain from allowing trafficking to continue. There must be something that can be done. When it comes to combating human trafficking, social workers are in great need.

According to the U.S. Department of State there are many areas that social workers are needed to reach out to other countries. Congress last year strengthened anti-trafficking legislation and provided more that seventy million in funding worldwide for efforts to end slavery. The jobs for social workers that the U.S. is funding are: rehabilitation and work training centers for victims, jobs in special housing shelters for victims, and information and awareness campaigns. According the National Association of Social Workers; human trafficking is a devastating human rights violation and a human tragedy, but social workers can help in at least three ways: first, identify victims of slavery and trafficking and assist them to get help; second, serve in the organizations that specialize in assisting trafficking victims and improving upon the current 'promising practices' of rehabilitation and reintegration; and third, educate vulnerable populations about the dangers of human trafficking as a form of prevention (Salett, Modern-Day Slavery).

When it comes to identifying victims of slavery, social workers must be trained in how to ask the right questions and how to look for small clues that may suggest a person is coerced into a life of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Some clues for social workers to look for are: multiple people in cramped space, people living with their employer, inability to speak to individual alone, employer holding identity documents, evidence of being controlled, inability to move or leave job bruises or other signs of battering, submissive, fearful or depressed demeanor, or recent arrival from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Canada, Africa or India. Some examples of questions that social workers might ask are: how much does your employer pay you regularly, is this the kind of work you expected to do, what do you do on your day off, have you stayed in contact with your family, does your family know how to contact you, have you been to a doctor or dentist recently, do you have your passport/ID, and if not, who has it (Salett, Modern-Day Slavery)?

After identifying a trafficking victim, social workers need to make appropriate referrals to social service provision and advocacy groups specializing in assisting trafficking survivors. Survivors each have some critical decisions to make, including whether they wish to collaborate with law enforcement officials. Such decisions affect whether survivorsalso may affect their own safety or the safety of their loved ones in their countries of origin. These high stakes require that social workers and relevant agencies have accurate and up-to-date information to share with survivors so they can make informed decisions (Salett, Modern-Day Slavery).

When it comes to the serving in organizations it is important for social workers to be up to date when it comes to laws regarding human trafficking in the U.S. and in the victim's country. The 'best practices' in helping trafficking survivors rebuild their lives are still being researched, tested and written. Therefore, social workers have a role in identifying 'promising practices,' improving upon them, and reporting lessons learned with other practitioners (Salett, Modern-Day Slavery). Finally, it is very important for social workers to educate vulnerable populations about the dangers of human trafficking. This is especially important because this raises awareness about the issue. When awareness is raised knowledge about the issue reaches those who have not heard of it. It provides the power to help prevent trafficking from occurring to vulnerable people groups.

Human trafficking is modern day slavery. This type of slavery not only effects the U.S., but it effects the world. These victims need someone to make a stand on their behalf. These victims need social workers to step up and be their voice.

References

Bertone, Andrea M. 2000. "Sexual Trafficking in Women: International Political Economy and the Politics of Sex." Gender Issues 18: p 4.

Cummings, Nina and Andrea Parrot. 2006. Forsaken Females. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC.

Delgado, Melvin & Kay Jones, & Mojdeh Rohani. 2005. Social Work Practice with Refugee and Immigrant Youth. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, INC.

Desyllas, M. C. 2007. "A Critique of the Global Trafficking Discourse and U.S. Policy." Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 34:57-79.

Diaz, Mariel, & David Engstrom, & Tricia Hilliard, & Loring Jones. 2007. "Globalization and Human Trafficking." Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 34:107-122.

Human Trafficking. 2007. "A Web Source for Combating Human Trafficking." Washington D.C.: Human Trafficking, Retrieved December 1, 2007

(http://www.humantrafficking.org)

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(http://www.socialworkers.org/diversity/affirmative_action/humantraffic1206.pdf)

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Samarasinghe, Vidyamali. 2003. "Confronting Globalization in Anti-trafficking Strategies." Brown Journal of World Affairs 10:91-105.

Sharma, Nandita. 2005. "Anti-Trafficking Rhetoric and the Making of a Global Apartheid." NWSA Journal 17:88-111.

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Especially Women and Children." Retrieved May4, 2008

(http://www.uncjin.org/Documents/Conventions/dcatoc/final_documents_2/convention_%20traff_eng.pdf)

U.S. Department of State. 2004. "Facts About Human Trafficking." Washington, DC: Bureau of Public Affairs, Retrieved May 3, 2008 (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/33109.htm)

U.S. Department of State. 2005. "U.S. Cooperates with Europe to Combat Sex Trafficking" Washington, DC: Bureau of Public Affairs, Retrieved May 3, 2008 (http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2005/Jan/06-705748.html)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2006. "Administration for Children and Families, the Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking."

(http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking)