Human trafficking problem and solutions

The Unlawful Practice of Human Trafficking

The unlawful selling of people as a commodity to satisfy the demand for commercial sex slavery as well as forced labor is known as human trafficking. It is regrettable that the industry is among the most lucrative and lucrative in the globe. Despite widespread international condemnation, data on the number of victims of human trafficking show that the industry is thriving, with an ever-increasing number of reported cases. The company is thought to have a tenuous connection to both the trafficking and trade in illegal narcotics and weapons. The demands of that having been driving the human trafficking have commercial sex exploitation, and the sex slavery is its constituent parts that make it a success.

The Victims: Children and Women

Children and women make up the largest portion of the victims of trafficking (Feingold, 2005). Again, they do take up the biggest percentage as a result of the demands of sex slavery and sexual exploitation. It is for these reasons that the sex tourism activities have been thriving in many of the developing third world nations. Human trafficking cases are highest in the Middle East because of the unrests witnessed in the region. Women who are fleeing from the violent prone areas have, in most cases, find themselves opting for prostitution. Another significant number of the women are taken to Middle Eastern nations in the form of the sex slaves or for purposes of sexual exploitation.

Data Challenges and Shocking Statistics

Getting reliable data to be used as statistics in this illegal business has always proven to be a difficult task. This can be attributed to the differences evident in the research methodology and the numbers reported by the independent organizations that have been mandated with to conduct studies (Tyldum & Brunovskis, 2005). A scrutiny on some of the figures reveals that they are fictitious. A standard method of conducting these studies should be arrived at so as to capture the accurate and correct figures. At the same time, it will be possible to estimate the scope of the problem clearly. Despite the disparities, the facts about human trafficking have been all time shocking. The International Labor Organization reported that in 2005, the global human trafficking industry made an estimated $31.6 billion in profit (Feingold, 2005). These huge profits serve as incentives for the potential human traffickers in various parts of the world to wish to join the trade.

The Lucrative Illegal Industries

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the commercial sex exploitation trade, and trafficking stands as the highest grossing industries that are illegal (Tyldum & Brunovskis, 2005). The arms trade and the sale of illicit drugs came closely to the human trafficking. Another report in 2002 from the International Labor Organization revealed that the children forced into sexual exploitation and forced labor had by then hit 1.2 million. This number was too high, especially when considering it was more than a decade ago. From these facts, a projection of these statistics to reflect the situation at the moment reveals a shocking state of mankind. UNICEF, on the other hand, has also tabled a report suggesting that the figure of the children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation if approximately 8 million. The United Nations office that deals with drugs and crimes reported that by 2009, the breakdown of the percentage of trafficked people was: 66% for women, 22% for children and 12% for men (Feingold, 2005). The majority of the persons captured in the data were coming from Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Unsettling Facts and Realities

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police provided shocking details about the number of people brought into the country illegally. An estimated 700 undocumented immigrants have been flocking into the country every year for the purpose of commercial sex and sexual slavery (Stewart & Gajic-Veljanoski, 2005). This report was backed up by historical statistics on the previous trends. It was shocking from their revelation that more than 2000 persons were joining the country through the United States (Feingold, 2005). In the US, 50 000 people are illegally brought into the country from all over the world for sexual exploitation and forced labor every year (Tyldum & Brunovskis, 2005). Those trafficked into the Middle East mostly become victims of forced labor for extended periods of time like 16 hours without pay. Besides, they are subjected to whippings, forced sexual relations and abortions. Obtaining their freedom someday in their lives remains a pipe dream till their death.

The Traffickers and the Role of Deception

It is shocking that the majority of the trafficked victims know their traffickers who are either their cousins, neighbors, relatives or friends. They are thereafter likely to end up in countries where trafficking is at the highest. These include Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, The United Arabs Emirates, Nigeria, Netherlands, and Brazil. Some states are used as transit routes or points for the victims. A majority of the victims are duped into holding the belief that they will get employment from prominent boards in the host states. The traffickers even pose with the trafficked women as their spouses, and when marriage has been done, they leave the country to sell the “lover” at a high price.

References

Feingold, D. A. (2005). Human trafficking. Foreign Policy, 26-32.

Tyldum, G., & Brunovskis, A. (2005). Describing the unobserved: Methodological challenges in empirical studies on human trafficking. International Migration, 43(1‐2), 17-34.

Stewart, D. E., & Gajic-Veljanoski, O. (2005). Trafficking in women: the Canadian perspective. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 173(1), 25-26.