In order to understand globalization’s contribution to human trafficking, first one must understand human trafficking itself. The definition I shall use in this paper is taken from the United Nations’ Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons:
“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, …show more content…
The concept of supply and demand refers to how “the unit price for a particular good […] will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded […] will equal the quantity supplied” (Wikipedia 2015). The principles of supply and demand can be applied to international trade that has been made possible by globalization through the opening of borders and intensification of global connectivity. A video on YouTube called “HUMAN TRAFFICKING: SUPPLY AND DEMAND” puts it simply, “Supplying countries send. Demanding countries receive.” The occurrences that I am about to discuss in this research paper are the result of needing a way to create a supply to fill the ever-increasing global demands that stem from our growing dependence upon quick and easy access to commodities from across the globe. In several cases, the rising demand for labor, organs, sex, and other commodities and services has become too large to meet through traditional means. As a result, settling demand through illegal means such as human trafficking has become widespread. The aforementioned YouTube video continues, “Sending countries meet the supply for it’s in these places that victims are easily recruited, and receiving countries meet the demand for it’s in these places the sexual industry flourishes,” as well as other industries associated with human trafficking. By opening borders for trade and travel, increasing immigration and migration, and connecting individuals from around the world via the Internet, globalization has set the stage for traffickers to manipulate the forces of global supply and demand in order to make a profit off of innocent