The world deals with many issues that can affect different groups of people. Some issues may occur in one part of the world, but not the other. However, when an issue becomes global we should all be aware of how problematic it is. As humans, we should be concerned with all epidemics that may affect our neighbors or fellow citizens because we could have been in their position. Some of us may only give our attention to current issues and ignore the problems that may not be broadcasted as much as others.
Human Trafficking is one of the many world-wide epidemics that can affect our neighbors without our knowledge. It is an epidemic that leaves its victims with horrifying and disturbing memories that they will forever be troubled by if they do not receive the proper care. The victims who wish to escape the industry may call for help in ways that could be unrecognizable to others, but due to how unaware some people are of this crime, the victims are trapped. The victims are not any different from ourselves or anyone else. They are regular people who may have trouble escaping that life because others may not be able to recognize the act. People could be unaware of this crime because it is not as broadcasted as much as other issues. It could also be due to the hidden nature of this crime, there is not much information to report or discuss. Some individuals may also choose to ignore this issue because it does not affect them. If individuals are unfamiliar with human trafficking, they may not understand it. …show more content…
Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a contemporary form of slavery. According to the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit partnered with the United States Department of Justice, human trafficking involves “compelling or coercing a person 's labor, services, or commercial sex acts”. The predator’s ways to coerce a person can be understated or apparent, physical or psychological. Either of those methods will be used to force a victim into performing services or commercial sex acts against their will. This process of exploiting people happens day after day; for many years and counting. According to The National Human Trafficking Resource Center, The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally, with hundreds of thousands in the United States. That is an abundant amount of victims, but they have only recently began to combat it. The United States passed its first anti-trafficking law in 2000 titled The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Panigabutra-Roberts, 139). There are also other names for this law such as The Victims of Trafficking and The Violence Protection Act of 2000 (NHTRC). However, as of November 2008, 63% of the other 154 countries who have reported human trafficking have passed laws against trafficking (Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 8). There are two major forms of human trafficking; sex trafficking and labor trafficking. However, according to the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime, sexual exploitation is the most commonly identified form of human trafficking with 79% of Americans being able to identify it (Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 6). By definition, “sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person to perform the act has reached 18 years of age” (NHTRC). This form of trafficking tends to be the most identified because it is most visible within a community. Since this act is most visible it is …show more content…
The victims can be men, women, adults or children, foreign or U.S. citizens. They have been identified in multiple environments such as cities, suburbs, and rural areas in several different countries. Local criminals may acquire their victims and sell them to other criminal in destination countries. That could be reason behind the globalization of human trafficking. For example, it has been reported that there have been 95 trafficked victims in Thailand, 90 in India, 46 in Mexico, 37 in the Philippines, and 31 in Haiti (Panigabutra-Roberts, 146). Those numbers may actually be greater, but the government and law enforcements can only base their information off of what has been