Evidence of trafficking can be found dating back to the 15th century, which marked the beginning of the European slave trading in Africa. Women, children and sometimes men are forced into labour or commercial sexual exploitation such as prostitution, receiving small wages or no money at all. All over the world, at least 700,000 people each year are being bought, sold and smuggled like modern- day slaves and over the past decade human trafficking has grown up to 68%. There are many different forms of trafficking such as forced labour, child soldiers, child labour, drug trafficking, and sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is a specific type of Trafficking, which involves the selling and forced prostitution of unwilling people. The sex trade includes the transportation, delivery, recruitment and provision of individuals for sexual activities, to make money for higher powers. The most common forms of Sex work involve; Escort agencies, Pornography, Strip clubs, Brothels, Mail Order Brides, Street prostitution and Massage parlors. Most workers are forced into the industry and are subject to acts of violence and …show more content…
This practice has been going on for centuries and only became a political issue in the early 20th century when the agreement for the Suppression of the white slave traffic was drafted. This agreement later led on to further acts being passed, such as the Mann Act of 1910 passed by the United States, which “forbids transporting a person across a state or international lines for prostitution or other immoral purposes. The issue was also later addressed by the League of Nations, who created the 1949 Convention for the “Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of others” which was ratified by forty-nine countries globally. Usually targeted at women and children, sex trafficking is one of the most common forms of trafficking in the world, and can be found on almost every continent. Victims are often in poverty or vulnerable positions such as unemployment, lack of access to education and discrimination before they are introduced to the industry, making them key targets for pimps. Sex Trafficking in the 21st century is a crime, and traffickers can face anything up to 50 years in prison. There are a variety of worldwide organizations currently set up to assist and aid victims of trafficking, such as Stop the Traffik, World Vision, Unicef, Project Act and the not for