What is Human Trafficking and Who Fights It?

Human trafficking is the equivalent of modern-day slavery. It is defined as " the movement of people through violence, deception or coercion fro the purpose of forced labor, servitude or slavery-like practices" (anti-slavery). Its victims include everyone-children, teenagers, men and women. It involves forcing victims to work against their will and controlling them-where they will work, when, and if they even get paid. Approximately 800,000 to 900,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders worldwide, and between 14,500 and 17,500 of those victims are trafficked. Into the U.S., according to the Department of State (acf). According to the International Labor Organization in 2005, they estimated that 2.4 million humans have been trafficked (acf). People who are trafficked are subjected to all forms of abuse including force, fraud, sexual exploitation, forced labor or a number of other things. Human trafficking occurs across every continent and is an incredibly lucrative industry.

All kinds of people are trafficked. Vietnamese may be trafficked for the hotel industry. West Africans are trafficked. Philippine women are trafficked for domestic work. Actually domestic work, restaurant work, janitorial work, sweatshop work, and agricultural work are among the industries that use the most trafficked people.

There are many reasons as to why this problem just seems to be growing and growing. One is that trafficking results in easy profits, and people everywhere are "into" profit. Another reason involves the growing problems of the poor. As people get poorer and poorer around the world, the things they are willing to subject themselves to to earn any money at all are shocking. There is still much discrimination against women, which would account for many industries in trafficking. There is a general lack of information about the dangers of human trafficking, and there is a lack of penalties for traffickers. The general public doesn't always know how to identify these people and how to help them. All of these factors lead to this growing problem.

Human tracking grows because there are so many ways to create fear for the people who are targeted and brought in for human trafficking. Employers can put these people in bondage of a debt. In other words, the people must continue working in order to satisfy their debt. The employers isolate them from having contact with other people, including their families. This way they will not come into contact with people who might be able to help them. Employers might confiscate the passports or other legal documents, making it impossible for them to try to get out of their situations. Employers often use the threat of violence to themselves or their families if they try to get help. There is also the fear of shaming the family or community. Employers can trick many of the victims into thinking that they themselves are the ones who have committed the crimes or done things "wrong." Employers can threaten to call the INS to have them deported, and many times, they do not want to go back to the previous form of oppression. Employers can also hold their wages for them. This is provided as a service but obviously prevents them from escaping. They have nowhere to go without their money.

One group who campaigns for human rights is called Anti-Slavery International. This group's goal is to draw attention to this international problem and to help protect and serve trafficked people. They perform many services to end human trafficking. One thing done by this group is to ask governments to pass legislation to guarantee minimum standards of protection for these people. Since trafficking is the second largest industry in the world, they have much work to do (afc). There are many other organizations who work to prevent human trafficking as well.

There are other things that have been done to stop human trafficking. One is that in October of 2000 the Trafficking Victims Protection Act or TVPA as it is commonly called made trafficking a federal crime. Anti-Slavery International and other organizations then offer services to help this federal law into practice. For example, they provide many services to trafficked people. They provide refugee resettlement and medical care. They provide shelter and legal assistance and job training. One thing that makes it so hard is that even if these people would be freed, many of them have nowhere to go and no viable skills to escape the enslavement. They may well go from one bad situation to another. This is where organizations like Anti-Slavery International come in. They try to help these people get on their feet after escaping or being freed.

Another goal of this group is in the field of victim identification. This is tricky because it is best to target groups that have expertise or organizations that the victims of this crime trust. These groups will be able to identify many more victims that the average individual. Particularly vulnerable to human trafficking are groups such as the homeless, at risk students, young girls, migrant farm workers, prostitutes, or young women for beauty parlor or nail care work (acf).

Lastly a goal of this group is to help communities in dealing with human trafficking. These victims are many times inconspicuous, so they are much harder to spot. There may be a language barrier between the victims and the general public which makes getting help much harder. What this organization wants people to know is that these people are not criminals; they are victims. The government can help them. They want the general public to be award of how to recognize a victim and what to do if a victim is found. For this reason, a major part of their efforts is a 24/7 toll free hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

In order to stop this horrible human rights violation, the right steps are being taken. Educating people and communities to identify victims of these crimes is a tremendous part of the plan. Most people aren't even aware of this phenomenon. Occasionally there may be the rare news report, but these are isolated. The toll free hotline is a great idea for those who want to learn more as is connecting with the organizations who would serve these people. Homeless shelters, free clinics, welfare programs, and programs for children of poverty in schools would be good places to target.

However, the punishment for human trafficking must be greatly increased to dissuade people from trading someone's life for a little money. These people should be punished with all the severity of the law. Educational institutions need to continue to educate about human rights and the sanctity of life so as not to turn out citizens who would enslave someone for profit. Lastly, all people need to be paid a living wage in this country. If that were done, many would be less vulnerable to human trafficking. Around the world, no one can control the actions of other countries, but again, we need to create people who aren't' in the business of selling human lives.

Works Cited

Trafficking. Retrieved May 14, 2007 at http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/antislavery/trafficking.htm

Administration for Children and Families, Retrieved May 14, 2007 at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/