Sociological Analysis Of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is one the world 's largest illegal crime rings that profits from the sexual and physical exploitation of individuals making it a violation of human rights. Annually there are about 17,500 victims that are smuggled into different countries such as the United States, and are forcefully trafficked into a variation of crime rings (Chisolm-Straker, 2006). Human trafficking is most often described as a form of modern day slavery because of its mistreatment and exploitation of the trafficked individuals (Lee, 2007, p.1). There are several situations that lead to the trafficking of individuals, and victims are forced to work in a number of different markets. This includes areas such as manual labour where victims are often left …show more content…
This issue is important to the field of sociological research because it is one that affects the attitudes and functions of societies not only in western countries but around the world. Human trafficking is a lucrative business that exploits individuals, manipulates, and bends the norms pre-established within society. The purpose of this essay is to deconstruct the crime ring of human trafficking and analyze it from a sociological perspective to see how it has morphed different aspects of society such as norms, interpretation of symbols and the socialization of victims. This essay will present the changing dynamics of norms in society and analyze how illegal processes can be rationalized if they are considered functional and beneficial to dominate groups even though they exploit others. This is accomplished 1) by examining the dynamics of power and how exploitation is the core function of these illegal crime rings from a Conflict Perspective; 2) by arguing how this illegal business continues to grow due to its rationalization and the incorporation of bureaucratic ideologies from a Functionalist counter argument ; and finally, 3) by analyzing how human trafficking reinforces roles that specifically victimizes women and perpetuates inequality presented by Conflict Feminist, as well as a looking at symbols within these trafficking countries that normalize the behavior with a Symbolic Interactionist …show more content…
Unlike Functionalists, conflict theorists focus on how society "ought" to be. Karl Marx argues that inequality and stratification are ideologies perpetuated by the bourgeoisie as a tool of control (Brym, 2016). According to Marx, for inequality to be abolished society must transform from Capitalism to Socialism making the move from individualism to collectivism. Furthermore, Conflict Theory is one of the main paradigms related to the issue of human trafficking. Conflict theorists focus on the vulnerable groups within society and how they are exploited by others who have more power, within this argument the idea of the bourgeoisie and proletariat arises(Brym, 2016). One of the key sociological concepts that relate to human trafficking is the idea of stratification. Stratification is the placement of individuals within different classes (ex. lower middle, upper) based off factors such as wealth and income (Liska & Warner, 2001). Many of The trafficked individuals are members of the lower class stratification, and due to this boundary, they suffer from poverty and unemployment. Additionally, the lack of jobs and the high cost of living allows exploitation to arise. Due to the process of privatization and the lack of government intervention, individuals turn to crime ringleaders as a means of fulfilling their basic needs. Privatization is the process of transferring ownership of properties or