Human Trafficking In The United States

For centuries individuals have been enslaved and stripped of their basic human rights. Despite the efforts made to abolish slavery, people still fall victim to this horrid act. Unfortunately, people seldom realize that slavery still occurs in the twenty-first century. Many people have heard the term human trafficking, but many have trouble explaining what it is. So, what do we know about human trafficking? Well, we know that people are simply being held against their own will and being exploited. However, the causes of human trafficking are much more complex than we realize. The exploitation of women and children for profit are one of the biggest global issues we face. Despite what some people may think, human trafficking even occurs here in the United States. If global …show more content…
Human trafficking can easily be explained by its definition, " organized criminal activity in which human beings are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited, as by being forced into prostitution or involuntary labor,” (“Human Trafficking”). However, the definition itself doesn’t explain the broader picture. Human trafficking doesn’t just affect women, according to Greenbaum she states that, “Trafficked persons may be of any race, ethnicity, or gender; they may belong to any cultural or socioeconomic group” (1). The cruel reality is that children also fall victims to trafficking. There should be a global law protecting every child in the world. If the United Nations made children their main priority, then it would be difficult for traffickers to pray on children. The law would decrease the number children being abducted. In addition, it would give orphaned and unsupervised children in impoverished countries the means of being somewhere safe. Of course, it would cost a lot of money for the governments to create mandatory safe houses for children, but it needs to be done. Even if it means raising taxes. The safe houses wouldn’t just cater to orphaned