Human Sex Trafficking

For ages, sex trafficking has not only been a problem over seas, but it is a current on going problem in America. Did you know that according to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year and more than 70% are female and half are children.

 Human trafficking can be described as many things. It is often called “modern slavery”.  While I was reading this section, I thought to myself, what is the dictionary meaning of human trafficking? So, I looked it up and here is what Webster’s Dictionary says: (an) “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)”.

            Before I began to read the section, I saw that there was a sub-header that read Sex Trafficking.  The question that first came to my head was how do the “predators” find their “prey”. From what I have heard, it mostly happens when people are traveling in foreign countries, but while I was reading, that is only a small percentage of where the victims come from. Many of them are homeless or jobless or desperate and looking for a way out. The predators promise a better life for these victims, but when in reality they just want them to do everything they ask. These things can range from hard labor to sexual slavery. (Lehmiller)

            With all the news stories on the trafficking, it was a surprise to me that people didn’t know what it really was or what it all entails. While looking on YouTube for video information about Human Trafficking and came across a college in Nebraska that did a Human Trafficking awareness project. The students all have similar explanations on Human Trafficking, but they all are different in their own way. 

The FBI put out an article on Sex Trafficking back in March of 2011. They say that, "the business of human sex trafficking is much more organized and violent". With that being said, there is a list that the FBI has made for officials to indicate the behaviors and characteristics of a person who is the victim of human trafficking. Here it is:

General Indicators

• People who live on or near work premises
• Individuals with restricted or controlled communication and transportation
• Persons frequently moved by traffickers
• A living space with a large number of occupants
• People lacking private space, personal possessions, or financial records
• Someone with limited knowledge about how to get around in a community

Physical Indicators

• Injuries from beatings or weapons
• Signs of torture (e.g., cigarette burns)
• Brands or scarring, indicating ownership
• Signs of malnourishment

Financial/Legal Indicators

• Someone else has possession of an individual’s legal/travel documents
• Existing debt issues
• One attorney claiming to represent multiple illegal aliens detained at different locations
• Third party who insists on interpreting. Did the victim sign a contract?

Brothel Indicators

• Large amounts of cash and condoms
• Customer logbook or receipt book (“trick book”)
• Sparse rooms
• Men come and go frequently

There are many laws that protect victims of sex trafficking. For example, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act is the "reauthorization reasserts the U.S. Government’s leadership role in the fight against modern-day slavery and was passed as an amendment to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), which strengthens protections for women threatened by domestic violence" (Humanity United). With is act in place there is hope that one day there will be an end to human trafficking and people will no longer be exploited. 

 

Works Cited:

http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/march_2011/march-2011-leb.pdf

The Psychology of Human Sexuality by Justin J Lehmiller

http://www.endslaveryandtrafficking.org/trafficking-victims-protection-reauthorization-act

http://www.merriam-webster.com

http://fightslaverynow.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/17_humantraffic.jpg