WARRENSBURG, Missouri — The movement of goods, people and communication is at an unprecedented level today. Human trafficking is a largely hidden crime that has only recently gained the attention of law enforcement, human rights advocates, policymakers and even the media. This is a touchy subject that has been seen in countless headlines lately, causing people to ask questions and give it the attention it deserves.
As U.S. citizens, we live in a country that mostly benefits from the effects of globalization. We tend to make the assumption that we do not struggle with the negative consequences of globalization, nor do we face the same humanitarian issues that developing countries do. Slavery may have been abolished in 1865 with the 13th Amendment but slavery is not dead. Now is the time to educate yourself and get your human trafficking questions answered!
What is Human Trafficking?
According to the Polaris Project, “Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and is now considered the third-largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world.” The U.N. defines Human Trafficking as “the recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation.”
Human trafficking’s definition consists of three core elements:
- The action of trafficking which means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons.
- The means of trafficking which includes threat of or use of force, deception, coercion, abuse of power or position of vulnerability.
- The purpose of trafficking which is always exploitation.
Is Human Trafficking Migrant Smuggling?
No. Trafficking is not smuggling or forced movement. Although the distinctions between trafficking and smuggling sometimes overlap, they are not the same. Trafficking does not require transportation or border crossing, does not only happen to immigrants or foreign nationals and does not require physical force, physical abuse or physical restraint. Contrary to popular belief, the consent or payment of the victim is also irrelevant. Migrant smuggling involves consent and the eventual arrival at the migrant’s destination—whereas human trafficking victims are exploited. Smuggling is also always transnational.
What are the types of Human Trafficking?
According to the UNODC’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, sexual exploitation was noted as by far the most commonly identified form of human trafficking, making up 79 percent—followed by forced labor at 18 percent. These statistics could present some bias because sexual exploitation is reported most and has become the most documented type of trafficking in aggregate statistics. The forms that are under-reported include forced or bonded labor, domestic servitude and forced marriage, organ removal and the exploitation of children in begging, the sex trade and warfare.
Whom does Human Trafficking Affect?
The question of who is affected has a simple answer—everyone is affected. Whether someone is a product of modern day slavery or purchasing a product that involved human trafficking, they are affected. In order to narrow who is being affected in terms of proximity, there are three general areas to understand who are considered trafficking victims in the United States according to the Polaris Project:
- Minors involved in commercial sex.
- Those age 18 or over involved in commercial sex via force, fraud or coercion, and children.
- Adults forced to perform labor and/or services in conditions of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery, via force, fraud or coercion.
How is Human Trafficking Criminalized?
The actual criminalization of human trafficking is important when understanding what human trafficking actually is. The U.N. reports, “the legislative definition should be dynamic and flexible so as to empower the legislative framework to respond effectively to trafficking which: occurs both across borders and within a country (not just cross-border), is for a range of exploitative purposes (not just sexual exploitation), victimizes children, women and men (not just women, or adults, but also men and children), [and]takes place with or without the involvement of organized crime groups.”
This means that any person whose actions, means and purpose follow the Trafficking Protocols are criminals and human traffickers. There is no one consistent face of a trafficker. According to the Polaris Project, traffickers can include a wide range of criminal operators, including individual pimps, small families, loose-knit decentralized criminal networks and international organized criminal syndicates.
Where is Human Trafficking taking place?
This is a global crime that affects nearly all countries in every region of the world. Between 2007 and 2010, UNODC reported victims of 136 different nationalities were detected in 118 countries across the world, and most countries were affected by several trafficking flows. Furthermore, more than 75 percent of the trafficking flows considered are short to medium range. This means that the majority of the trafficking victims are trafficked within the region of origin.
Why is Human Trafficking happening?
Unfortunately, human trafficking is a market-based economy that exists on principles of supply and demand. It thrives as a result of conditions in which high profits can be generated with low risk. There is no easy answer as to why it is happening.
Globalization is allowing multinational corporations to compete at unprecedented levels. MNCs are often resorting to outsourcing labor to avoid the high-cost of labor in the United States. Essentially, MNCs are benefitting from poorer economies’ lack of wage regulation, labor laws and inexpensive natural resources. Because of this global hegemonic system in which we live, it is also making it difficult for people in developing economies to obtain jobs. Therefore, human traffickers target these vulnerable individuals with the promise of a better life and a steady job.
Each year about 17,500 individuals are brought into the United States and held against their will as victims of human trafficking. Globalization is a major contributor to both the demand for human trafficking as well as the increased efforts to help stop human trafficking. As larger economies continue to compete on global levels, the need for cheap labor and cheap products will continue to be prevalent until we do something to break the cycle of poverty. It will also continue to be an issue as long as people turn a blind-eye to what is happening in their very own communities.
– Eastin Sewidan
Sources: National Institute of Justice, Polaris Project, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 1, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2
Photo: Flickr