Human Trafficking: It Happens Here, It’s Happening Now Essay Example

called 911, potentially saving Maria's life.

Maria was discovered by the police with her hands and feet chained, as well as experiencing cuts and bruises. She had been held captive for seven months. Sandra, who was found guilty of various crimes including human trafficking and slavery, is currently serving a life sentence. This narrative is a factual account despite its horrifying nature. It is alarming to think that this form of slavery can occur not only in our own vicinity but also in 183 other countries. As an American, I, like many others, was unaware of this issue. Therefore, my primary research query focuses on whether there are genuine efforts being made to combat human trafficking.

This paragraph highlights the active efforts of many Americans in combating human trafficking. It supports this argument by providing definitions and discussing various forms of human trafficking, tiers in the trafficking in persons report, personal stories from victims, and successful initiatives against trafficking in Cambodia, Mexico, and the United States. Overall, it emphasizes that human trafficking is a crime against humanity.

Human trafficking encompasses the coercive recruitment, transportation, or receipt of individuals with the intention of exploiting them through force, violence, deception, or other methods. The U.S Department of State categorizes human trafficking into eight types, including labor trafficking, involuntary servitude, child soldiers, sex trafficking and prostitution, children exploited for commercial sex purposes, and child sex tourism. Labor trafficking specifically focuses on situations where unscrupulous employers exploit their workers through forced labor by manipulating legal loopholes.

Unemployment, crime, discrimination, and cultural acceptance in the workforce impact the helplessness of workers. Female victims often experience coercion

into bonded labor, particularly in domestic servitude, where they are frequently subjected to sexual abuse. The exact number of victims involved in this form of human trafficking compared to sex trafficking is challenging to determine but it happens more frequently. Involuntary servitude refers to when individuals are trapped and fear that escaping will cause harm to themselves or others or when they are kept in a state of servitude through abuse of legal processes.

Involuntary servitude primarily impacts migrants and low-skilled workers who are trafficked from underdeveloped communities to more developed areas. These individuals often suffer physical and verbal abuse, as they are held against their will or acknowledge their captivity. Conversely, child soldiers are children who are forcibly abducted and compelled to work or serve as sex slaves in conflict zones. Those responsible for these illegal activities can be government forces, paramilitary organizations, or rebel groups. The majority of child soldiers fall between the ages of fifteen and eighteen years old, although some are as young as seven or eight.

In various armed conflicts, numerous children are forced to participate, either as combatants or in supporting roles such as porters, cooks, guards, servants, messengers, or spies. Young girls face additional dangers of being coerced into marriages and sexual relationships with male combatants. This significantly increases their chances of becoming pregnant. These compelled sexual relationships put both the girls and the combatants at a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Moreover, some children are even compelled to commit acts of rape and murder against their own families. According to UNICEF's report, over 300,000 children under the age of 18 are exploited

in more than thirty armed conflicts worldwide.

Every year, more than 1.2 million children worldwide are victims of exploitation in the Commercial Sex Trade, where they are treated as objects for sexual and commercial purposes. This form of coercion and violence against children is comparable to modern slavery. Despite being illegal in the United States and prohibited by the UN TIP (United Nations Trafficking in Persons) Protocol, children still become trapped in prostitution. The key factors that contribute to this kind of exploitation include prostitution, pornography, human trafficking, and sex tourism.

Sex trafficking, the biggest subcategory of modern-day slavery, is fueled by the worldwide need for commercial sex. In December 2002, the U.S. Government strongly denounced prostitution as intrinsically damaging and degrading, while recognizing its role in human trafficking. Traffickers take advantage of establishments like brothels and engage in activities such as pimping to enable and sustain the expansion of modern-day slavery.

If prostitution is legalized, there could be a rise in the demand for victims of human trafficking. This would result in more women and children being forced into the sex trade. It's important to note that most women involved in prostitution do not willingly choose this profession and actually want to leave it. A study published in 2003 in the Journal of Trauma Practice found that 89% of women engaged in prostitution expressed a desire to escape but were unable to due to limited survival options. The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report categorizes countries based on their efforts to combat human trafficking.

The Department of State classifies countries into tiers according to their government's adherence to the minimum standards

set by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and their efforts in addressing this issue. Tier 1 countries fully comply with the TVPA's standards, while Tier 2 countries are actively working towards meeting these standards but have not yet achieved full compliance.

Countries on the Tier 2 Watch List are making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards of the TVPA, but they are not fully meeting them. These efforts may be in response to a high or increasing number of severe trafficking victims, insufficient evidence of improved anti-trafficking measures compared to the previous year, or commitments to take further action in the future.

Tier 3 countries are nations that do not fully comply with minimum standards and have no active efforts for improvement. Cambodia serves as a source, transit, and destination country for individuals - men, women, and children - who are forced into labor and sex trafficking. Additionally, Cambodians often travel to neighboring countries like Thailand and Malaysia in search of employment but frequently become victims of sex trafficking, domestic servitude, debt bondage, or forced labor in sectors such as fishing, construction, and agriculture.

According to the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in 2011, Cambodia had a total of 149 victims of human trafficking returned from Thailand. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSAVY) acknowledged receiving 106 out of these victims. In the same year, over 100 male Cambodian victims who were coerced into working on Thai fishing boats managed to escape or were rescued during Indonesian raids. These men revealed that they had been misled by Thai boat owners regarding their employment duration

and payment amount. Some of the Cambodian men also shared accounts of severe mistreatment by Thai captains and being compelled to remain onboard for up to two years. Meanwhile, in rural Cambodia, there was a young girl named Kim who resided with her family in a stilted thatched-roof house.

Kim's family lived like this until her father died. After his death, Kim's mother had to find work at the Thai border because she didn't have enough money to support her children's education. Eventually, Kim's older sister took her to a nearby town where she was sold to a massage parlor as payment for a gambling debt. Before leaving Kim alone with unfamiliar men, her sister received a large sum of money. It is important to note that many massage parlors in Cambodia are actually brothels and the owner's son suggested introducing Kim to this trade. Additionally, Kim was forced to watch explicit videos and observe other girls interacting with clients so she could learn how the business worked.

Mexico is categorized as a Tier 2 country in the TIP report, indicating that although its government does not fully meet the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, it actively strives to align itself with these standards. Mexico plays a significant role as both a source and transit point for victims of sex trafficking and forced labor. Vulnerable groups within Mexico consist of women, children, indigenous people, individuals with disabilities, and undocumented migrants. Mexican women and children often become victims of sex trafficking either within Mexico or when they migrate to the United States due to false job opportunities or deceitful promises of

romantic involvement.

Despite the overall dangerous situation in Mexico due to drug cartels, the city of Tenancingo has mostly remained safe. However, an insidious threat lurks within this city – sex trafficking. Located eighty miles away from Mexico City, Tenancingo is known as the main hub for sex trafficking in the country. The New York Daily News reports that three-story houses within gated communities thrive as venues for prostitution and sex trafficking. This sex trafficking network in Tenancingo has also expanded beyond the city streets over the past two decades, with its impact reaching as far as fueling prostitution in New York City.

In the small Mexican town of Tenancingo, young boys aspire to become pimps. They grow up in a community known for trafficking sex slaves to New York. Emilio Munoz Berruecos, who was raised in a neighboring village and now operates a local human rights center, explains that this practice has been ongoing for the past fifty years. In 2011, the New York field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended 32 sex traffickers, with 26 originating from Tenancingo. To carry out their illegal activities, each family in the town sends their youngest and most attractive men on journeys across Mexico. These men dress impeccably as salesmen and drive luxurious cars to attract women they encounter at bus stops or while leisurely strolling in parks. Once these women are enticed, they are forced into prostitution.

The women are imprisoned in Tenancingo's "security houses", where some claim they were continuously sexually assaulted. If they have children, these kids are kept in the town so that the "pimps" can maintain control over

them once they are sent to red-light districts. While some go to Mexico City, many ultimately end up in Queens, where customers can arrange for their services by using phone numbers displayed on cards, key chains, or bottle openers, according to authorities. One survivor, aged 24, stated that she spent two months in Tenancingo after being taken there by her "boyfriend" to meet his family. It turned out he was a pimp, and she was coerced into becoming a prostitute on New York City's streets. In 2009, she managed to escape from her apartment and assisted ICE in apprehending the leader of the criminal family.