Introduction
After the abolishment of slavery in Europe and North America, many people celebrated since the achievement triggered the introduction and passage of human rights clauses to protect mankind from forced labor. Notions of democracy continue to focus on evidence-based approaches that can empower global citizens to pursue their personal and economic goals without any form of abuse or coercion. Unfortunately, cases of torture, oppression, servitude and domestic violence are still reported in different parts of the world. Human trafficking is a relevant topic that can guide the global society to appreciate the challenges many victims go through and take the concept of human rights seriously to protect vulnerable members of society. The persuasive paper presented below gives a detailed analysis of this predicament and how stakeholders can be involved to transform the current situation.
Understanding Human Trafficking
Slavery was a major form of human abuse whereby individuals from societies or races that colonialists identified as inferior were acquired or purchased to provide forced labor in homes, plantations, and manufacturing plants. While many leaders supported such malpractice, the objections from the affected people and their sympathizers forced different countries to consider additional policies and laws to protect all citizens. From the beginning of the 20th century, the global community began to implement additional guidelines and efforts to support all societies to combat all forms of human abuse (Soodalter and Bales, p. 443). The major stakeholders focused on some of the best strategies to promote equality and empower more people in different parts of the world to pursue their economic goals. Such an achievement will make it possible for such organizations to overcome most of the challenges affecting the world, including poverty, female genital mutilation, modern slavery, and child labor.
Human trafficking has become a new reality that appears to merge all the unique attributes of abuse and servitude despite the efforts and measures that different agencies have managed to implement. This questionable practice revolves around the recruitment, acquisition, transportation, and delivery of people to offer mandatory services in different companies or engage in sexual activities or prostitution. Those involved in this criminal behavior usually rely on the use of fraud and force to coerce the victims to do what they want (Sisu). David et al. go further to argue that this form of business might be pursued or executed without the need to move the victims from point A to B (2).
The success of trafficking depends on how the involved criminals or offenders manage to link these three attributes: the act, the means, and the intention or purpose (Schwarz et al, p. 185). According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the first aspect revolves around the activities those involved take into consideration to achieve their aims. Some of the common initiatives include recruitment of potential individuals or candidates, transfer of persons, and harboring (David et al, p. 3). The second link of the trafficking process is the use of different methods to ensure that the identified persons support the intended business. Some of these means or methods include the application of power, force, abuse, and coercion (David et al, p. 3). The targeted victims can receive some financial benefits or promises in order to cooperate and be part of the criminal process. Finally, the purpose of tracking becomes the most important area to consider and get a real picture of the malpractice. The acquired persons are usually exploited to provide forced labor in the targeted regions, donate body organs, or be used for sexual abuse and exploitation.
Due to the nature of this predicament, the UNODC and other international institutions have tried to offer guidelines that can improve the level of consistency and empower more communities to deal with this challenge successfully. One of the outstanding observations is that nations have been encouraged to focus on various criminal activities that present new opportunities for human trafficking. The governments of such countries can go further to identify criminals who launch an act or activity aimed at pursuing this illicit business (Schwarz et al, p. 185). Accomplices need to be monitored since they have made it impossible for the global community to deal with the vice. The challenge of organized crime can be examined from an informed perspective since it creates the support systems and avenues that result in the proliferation of this problem.
Unfortunately, many countries have failed to identify the topic of human trafficking from the right perspective. Some societies and communities even fail to recognize this issue as a major predicament that affects the lives and experiences of many innocent and helpless citizens. The absence of coordinated border security initiatives and efforts has allowed the problem to thrive in different regions across the globe. The failure to understand or monitor the link between organized crime and the increasing cases of trafficked people in the world affects the effort to find a solution (Schwarz et al, p. 185). While these challenges continue to affect the experiences and outcomes of many citizens in different parts of the world, countries a, nd governments continue to identify themselves as democracies with superior systems and Constitutions for protecting their citizens against any form of abuse. This analysis indicates that human trafficking is a complex challenge that portrays an image of the inadequacy, ineffectiveness, and casualness of most of the systems established with the aim of empowering more citizens at the international level to realize their personal and professional objectives without coercion or abuse.
Dangers and Realities
A report released by UNODC in 2019 revealed that human trafficking and organized crime were some of the leading challenges that different nations would continue to face throughout the 2020s. In the presented document, around 79 percent of all victims were being sought for sexual exploitation and prostitution (UNODC, p. 2). This misbehavior targeted young girls between 12 and 18 and women before the age of 45 (Haltiwanger).
In countries that presented their findings, it occurred that females contributed to the largest number of victims. Individuals intended to provide free or forced services and labor amounted to around 18 percent (David et al, p. 3). However, the process of collecting the information could not have yielded positive or accurate results due to the nature of this criminal act. The effect of this kind of malpractice on children is an area that different stakeholders have been taking seriously. Experts believe that around 20 percent of the targeted victims are usually children below 17 years of age (Schwarz et al, p. 187). The statistics were also worrisome in some regions, such as Mekothe ng in China and West Africa, since young individuals amounted to almost 100 percent (Haltiwanger). This trend meant that many underage individuals were disempowered and even incapable of pursuing their goals or completing their studies successfully.
The exact number of victims of human trafficking across the world is hard to guess due to the secretive nature of malpractice and the unique roles different criminal gangs, leaders, and wealthy people play in their respective regions. David et al. indicate that the problem might even be more pronounced in many regions across the globe due to the fact some victims tend to be enslaved without being moved to a different country (p. 4). Despite such gaps in information gathering, UNODC estimates that around 40 million people are forced to engage in different forms of modern slavery in the world today (David et al, p. 3). The hidden nature of this misbehavior has continued to threaten the implementation of superior strategies and measures to protect, identify, or even rescue more victims.
Different agencies and institutions in the United States have been on the frontline to monitor the nature of this problem and present superior approaches to address it. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), around half a million people tend to be trafficked into this country from different parts of the world (UNODC 4). Some of the common sources of such individuals include the Philippines, Africa, and Mexico (UNODC, p. 5).
The trend has been complicated by the fact that some of these people are usually part of the process in an attempt to find new opportunities (Haltiwanger). However, the greatest majority of the victaresares eventually involved or forced to engage in forced labor or commercialized sex (David et al, p. 5). Children have also been a primary target for those who continue to support the nature of this illegal trade or business. Some of the states that engage in this form of vice include New York, California, and Texas (Schwarz et al, p. 187). These statistics show conclusively that the problem of human trafficking remains pervasive and continues to affect the fate and experiences of many people from different parts of the world.
Human trafficking is capable of affecting the experiences of the affected persons and makes it impossible for them to pursue their dreams in life. First, the victims are separated from their spouses, family members, or relatives. The majorityy of them lose their life experiences completely since they eventually find themselves in foreign societies characterized by diverse cultures that differ significantly from their own (Haltiwanger). Such an occurrence amounts to sa erious violation of a person’s rights and liberties. The problem worsens since chances of getting back to their normal ways of life diminish significantly after they have been transported successfully.
Second, psychological torture becomes a new reality that these individuals have to tackle continuously for the rest of their lives. They find it hard to receive any form of psychiatric stress since their entire lives depend on the decisions and expectations of their new masters. This challenge explathe ins the why majority of them eventually die before they can access someone to share their experiences with (David et al, p. 3). The available statistics are also incapable of shedding more light on such an area due to the nature of this business.
Third, some survivors who manage to escape and go back to their societies find it hard to cope and re-pattern their experiences. Majority of those who had gone through different forms of brutality and sexual violence will be unable to lead normal lives thereafter. This outcome is usually possible since they encounter numerous psychological problems, including guilt, depression, traumatic stress, and even memory loss (Haltiwanger). Some of the victims eventually harbor or develop suicidal thoughts that make them unproductive members of their respective societies. A big percentage of these individuals will be unwilling to share their experiences and pains with others due to the emerging feelings of remorse and shame.
Fifth, young children who become entangled in this kind of business will have their goals in life shattered at a tender age. They are usually transported and used as sources of cheap labor in different industries. They lack the relevant mental and moral support, education, and proper food (Soodalter and Bales, p. 451). They become disoriented and live every new day with a purpose for life. Some of those who manage to escape later in life find it hard to go back to their countries or regioa ns due to lack of the relevant information or resources. Chances of becoming homeless and helpless increase significantly.
Finally, the nature of this criminal malpractice is a leading cause of unknown deaths and unnamed bodies that tend to be buried frequently in different regions across the globe. Throughout the human trafficking chain, some people lose their lives due to the abuses and cases of torture they have to go through (David et al, p. 3). Those involved find ingenious ways to dispose of their bodies while at the same time avoiding being detected. Consequently, this kind of malpractice has continued to affect the lives and experiences of many people across the world.
Strategies to Deal with Human Trafficking
The above statistics and facts reveal that the global society has failed to consider additional measures and policy mechanisms to tackle this pervasive problem of human trafficking. It would be appropriatr the all communities, governments, and corporations to identify this topic and realize that there is a need to study it. The subject remains relevant in this modern era since it has the potential to guide more people to understand the facts surrounding it and be willing to engage in additional practices and strategies to protect more potential victims (UNODC, p. 4). The acceptance and acknacknowledgmenthuman trafficking will become an evidence-based approach for finding evidence-based solutions that can change or transform this planet (Konrad et al, p. 739). When communities treat it as irrelevant, chances are high that they would be unable to focus on superior measures to protect more lives and make it possible for more children to pursue their goals as future adults.
The international community needs to focus on this predicament and consider the importance of a multiagency approach to find sustainable solutions. The example of the United States has revealed that mathe jority of the targeted people are from foreign countries. A coordinated model means that different organizations and governmental agencies will share resources and information to identify the potential areas and loopholes that make such a sector to industry (Nuñez). The acquired knowledge will influence the formulation of mechanisms and coordinated efforts that will reduce the number of victims. The collected data will also make it possible for the government to make or consider superior policies to deliver better results. The replication of this model at the international level will minimize the current challenge ad make it possible for more countries to deal with this vice.
Community awareness is a powerful practice that has resulted in paradigm shifts in a number of areas, including community health, medical care, nursing, and security. The consideration of this practice will guide and educate more citizens about the paths and procedures that criminals use to recruit or get potential candidates for trafficking. These individuals will acquire new information regarding the procedures and actions assocwith iated this global problem (Konrad et al, p. 739). They will also appreciate the challenges and predicaments the victims go though from the first day. This knowledge will make it easier for them to be involved, detect possible criminals, and prevent acts that have the potential to support this sector. More people will be ready to protect their vulnerable relatives by ensuring that they are not threatened by this form of crime (Sisu). This approach will deliver positive outcomes by minimizing the number of cases recorded in different parts of the world.
Functionalism and conflict theories have become powerful models for analyzing such behaviors and why they remain common in many countries or societies across the world today. Such frameworks guide policymakers to examine the root causes of criminal tendencies and consider the importance of providing powerful systems that can empower the targeted people and equip them awith dequate resources to become successful members in their respective societies. In a study by Sisou, it occurred that human trafficking was a social problem that analysts and theorists could explain successfully using the concept of community. When citizens lack guidance or economic support, chances of engaging in criminal tendencies tend to increase significantly.
Due to the challenges of poverty, inequality, and lack of job opportunities, more people consider additional ways to overcome them to lead their lithethey way they would want. The potential obstacles that might affect their strategies to achieve their potential become less significant. The use of such theories can, therefore, guide societies to invent ingenious measures to protect more victims from human trafficking (Nuñez). The provision of proper support systems, healthcare, and economic empowerment initiatives will play a positive role tinreducing the negative impacts of this vice.
Finally, all stakeholders in this problem need to support additional studies and researches in an attempt to present superior insights for dealing with it. The important approach is to view human trafficking as a relevant topic that many people and agencies have ignored over the years (Zimmerman and Ligia e1002437). A new change in this field will result in an informed understanding about the ofs associated with it and support the identification of additional solutions. Such gains will make the world a better place and protect more people from this form of abuse.
Conclusion
The above discussion has identified human trafficking as a topic that many agencies, communities, and governments have been taking for granted. Such a malpractice has become a new opportunity for organized criminal gangs and sponsors to pursue their goals without detection. Consequently, the number of victims has risen sharply within the past decades. The realities and problems associated with this misbehavior need to trigger a paradigm shift whereby a multifaceted approach would be recommendable to deal with it and protect the greatest number of global citizens from all forms of abuse, torture, and sexual exploitation.
References
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Nuñez, Christina. “The 7 Biggest Challenges Facing Refugees and Immigrants in the U.S.” Global Citizen, 2014. Web.
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