Introduction and Thesis
The concept of slavery in the contemporary society has undergone a gradual transformation. Though previously thought to have been abolished in the early nineteenth century, slavery has found its routes and continues in the modern society affecting the majority population worldwide. Modern forms of slavery include forced labor, child exploitation, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. Institutional policies, robust network, and border laws have a significant influence on the existence of contemporary forms of human slavery. Factors that contribute to the propagation of slavery include job opportunities, poverty, and the economic conditions cutting across the various states in modern society. However, human trafficking forms the primary link for the perpetration of contemporary slavery. Therefore, the assessment of articles reveals that history of slavery impacts the modern society in the aspects of sexual exploitation, human trafficking, labor exploitation, and dialectic discrimination with far-reaching effects on the population.
Annotated Bibliography
Choi-Fitzpatrick, A. (2016). The good, the bad, the ugly: Human rights violators in comparative perspective. Journal of Human Trafficking, 2(1), 1-14. Web.
In this article, Choi-Fitzpatrick (2016) describes the early misconception surrounding contemporary slavery to be limited to sexual exploitation. However, he argues that the concept of slavery has undergone gradual expansion to include various forms such as sexual abuse, labor exploitation, and human trafficking. Further, Choi-Fitzpatrick (2016) acknowledges that previous studies focused on the various forms of slavery without recognizing the significance of the entire network of the slave trade. Therefore, it can be understood from his argument that the various forms of contemporary slavery depend on the existence of a robust network and appropriate conditions that necessitates its perpetration.
In this view, the effectiveness of these processes is significant in the enhancement and sustenance of human slavery in the contemporary society. From the article, it is evident that the expansion of knowledge on human rights has significantly influenced the concept of the forms of contemporary slavery. The perpetuation of contemporary slavery is dependent on the existence of channels between the actors involved. The infrastructural improvement as a result of technological advancement and industrialization has widened the scope of the global economy and expanded the global networks of communication. Economic imbalance as a result of industrialization on the global market has significantly influenced human migration and slavery. It is thus arguable that the existence of the various forms of contemporary slavery depends on technological advancement and economic inequality.
Hernandez, D., & Rudolph, A. (2015). Modern day slavery: What drives human trafficking in Europe? European Journal of Political Economy, 38 (1), 118-139. Web.
In their research to determine factors of human trafficking, Hernandes and Rudolph (2015) argue that the success of this modern form of slavery is facilitated by the existence of regulations governing the international relations between nations in the global society. In their argument, institutional policies and border laws have a significant influence on the existence of contemporary forms of human slavery. In their article, an attempt to scale down contemporary slavery requires the establishment of robust legal regulations governing institutions in the global society. It is apparent that weak regulations governing international relationship amongst countries in the global society have enhanced perpetration of contemporary slavery.
In this concept, porous borders as a result of inadequate institutional policies, country laws, and political instability have facilitated and supported the existence of friendly channels of human trafficking. Therefore, it is indisputable that human trafficking significantly contributes and forms the main channel to the various forms of contemporary slavery that include forced labor, sexual abuse, and child exploitation. In this respect, factors that strengthen the establishment of a robust network of human trafficking significantly facilitate the existence of slavery in the contemporary society. Migration of victims to host countries provides a workforce to various sectors of labor markets. However, immigrant workforce faces various forms of discrimination such as child exploitation, inappropriate salary, long working hours, freedom of expression, sexual abuse, and good working conditions. In essence, human trafficking forms the main bridge for the perpetration of contemporary slavery, and hence, the establishment of proper regulations in the global society to curb this trade on human beings constitutes the principal step towards ending slavery and its effects in the contemporary society.
Barrientos, S., Kothari, U., & Phillips, N. (2013). Dynamics of unfree labor in the contemporary global economy. Journal of Development Studies, 49(8), 1037-1041. Web.
According to Barrientos, Kothari, and Phillips (2013), inadequate job opportunities, poverty, and the economic conditions cutting across the various states in the modern society influences the existence of labor exploitation as a form of contemporary slavery. The authors argue that the existence of job opportunities in various international markets influences the migration of individuals both locally and internationally in search of financial empowerment. Poverty among various individuals, majorly from undeveloped nations, stimulates individual desire to migrate in search for better standards of living hence making this class of citizens vulnerable to slave labor.
Thus, the scope of labor exploitation, from their argument is multi-dimensional and involves child exploitation, free labor, and forced labor. It is thus arguable that social and environmental conditions affecting different countries are factors that facilitate the perpetration of slave labor in the contemporary economy. These conditions along the global economy form the basis for worker migrations, child labor, and labor exploitation. Globally productive economies provide job opportunities and attract vulnerable communities from less developed economies. These immigrants are vulnerable to labor exploitation and face humiliating experience due to the opportunistic nature of the employers, limited job options, and freedom of movement in the host countries. Essentially, the contemporary slave labor involves long and harsh working conditions, less pay, and child exploitation by employers. The unfavorable working conditions experienced by employees do compromise their rights in these economies. Therefore, it can be argued that poverty constitutes the main factor influencing the existence of slave labor in the modern-day economy.
Gotch, K. (2016). Preliminary data on a sample of perpetrators of domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation: Suggestions for research and practice. Journal of Human Trafficking, 2(1), 99-109. Web.
Gotch (2016) describes that sexual exploitation is the major form of modern-day slavery in the United States. In the article, psychological factors and environmental influences are the basic elements that enhance the propagation of sexual exploitation. Psychological contribution involves the characteristics and the mental condition of the affected population. Compromised the state of mind among the offenders in regards to their perception of social morals negatively impacts on values and beliefs that precipitate this form of modern-day slavery. The environmental characteristics include factors of economic development, job opportunities, and poverty conditions affecting the population. These conditions undermine the human rights and predispose individuals to the various forms of sexual offenses.
Thus, the effects of this form of modern-day slavery on the victims include low self-esteem, depression, health-related conditions, and social stigmatization. From the article, it is apparent that management of the various forms of social characteristics that incorporates medical interventions and psychological characteristics is an essential instrument in repression of sexual exploitation as a form of modern-day slavery. However, it is worth noting that regulatory policies and religious institutions within the borders of the modern society significantly influence the propagation of sexual exploitation. Therefore, the establishment of robust policies governing institutions and individual engagements and streamlining the contribution of religious institutions in human development plays an essential role in controlling vulnerability of populations and propagation of sexual exploitation within the borders of the modern society.
Winant, H. (2014). The dark matter: Race and racism in the 21st Century. Critical Sociology, 41(2), 313-324. Web.
From the article, Winant (2014) argues that the concept of racial slavery has gradually transformed to dialectic prejudice and state discrimination. It is understandable from this argument that dialectic discrimination associated with skin color has influenced the perception and perpetration of the contemporary slavery. It is worth noting that the contemporary society classifies population along superior and inferior context based on their dialectic link to their skin color. Additionally, uses of language with a particular accent may result in an individual experiencing prejudice. Based on the language difference, a person suffers an automatic form of judgments on education, social status and wealth.
Hence these perceived judgments may lead to unjustifiable treatment of the individual. In the article, it can be understood that state discrimination encompasses lack of equity in institutional policies and state interrelationship policies. Institutional policies denote the existence of regulations governing employment opportunities, legal justice, gender bias, and religious inclination. In the modern society, it is arguable that given institutional policies governing different countries, minority groups have endeared long periods of discrimination on employment, place of residence, accessibility to standard education, and social amenities in the host countries. On the concept of state interrelationship, policy formulation is centered along economic development. Interrelationship policies along the concept of travel, trade, and labor favor economically developed countries while discriminating against the less developed nations. Thus, in state discrimination, regulatory policies along the borders of the contemporary society play an essential role in the perpetration of social exploitation.