Abstract
Human trafficking is a major societal issue in the current global set up. Complications of labor and competition in businesses have ensured that human trafficking is one of the most widespread crimes in the world. According to some scholars, it is considered as a form of modern-day slavery given that people are traded like commodities and forced to engage in activities they do not endorse – in essence, they are denied the right to personal autonomy thus making the whole practice unethical. Many issues surround human tracking, and they can be viewed from multidimensional perspectives such as ethics and morals.
To understand the issues that encompass human trafficking in the contemporary setting, this research will provide a comprehensive and holistic meaning of human trafficking. Further, this research conducted an in-depth and extensive study of the ethical theories breached by human trafficking. More importantly, germane interventions and solutions to this problem were considered, and this will be discussed in the course of this research paper.
Introduction
Human trafficking has been defined as the transportation, transfer or recruitment of human beings, by use of deception, abduction, coercion, and fraud. Many times, human trafficking is enhanced by a position of vulnerability especially with financial rewards in sight (“ASEAN ministers”, 2017). Towards this end, exploitation includes but is not limited to all types of sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery and activities related to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs (Human Trafficking, n.d).
Nagle (2008) argues that globalization and regional integration have equally contributed to the fast growth of human trafficking. Additionally, it is the third most widespread crime in the world after drugs and weapons smuggling. Several things have led to the fast growth of human trafficking. Many of the victims are turned into slaves, working in manufacturing and construction industries. Further, many victims have been absorbed into sex tourism. The research paper focuses on the common types of human trafficking, the ethical issues involved, and the possible solutions that can be implemented to reduce human trafficking cases.
According to National Human Trafficking Hotline (2017), there have been 4,460 human trafficking cases in the US in the past one year. The stated number has reduced due to several mitigation exercises by governments and other stakeholders. Interestingly, areas that are near a coastline have higher frequencies of human trafficking compared to areas that are not near large water bodies. It can be argued that the stated premise is correct due to the ease of transportation. Indeed, a majority of victims are transported to different countries via sea. The stated phenomenon paints a negative picture of the efficacy of US coastline officials.
Types of Human Trafficking Cases
Sex Trafficking
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (n.d), sex trafficking is the most common form of human trafficking not just in the US but globally too. Statistics estimate that 79% of human trafficking cases reported worldwide are sex-related. Sex trafficking involves forcing women and men to have without their consent. It can be considered a risk factor for the high cases of sexually transmitted diseases. In most of these sex trafficking cases, women are the most affected as opposed to men. In 2017 alone, there have been 5,593 reported cases of sex trafficking in the US. Common areas where sex trafficking thrives include:
- Hotels and motels, where 588 of the cases were reported
- Illicit massages and spa establishments, which contributed to 561 cases
- Online advertisements and unspecified venues recorded 411 instances
- Residence-based commercial sex exploitation had cases amounting to 366
- Unspecified places recorded 261 cases (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” 2017).
Labor Trafficking
Labor trafficking is the exploitation of people’s skills through the use of force, threats, and coercion. It is the second most common type of human trafficking and contributes to 18% of the human trafficking statistics annually.
Estimates put labor trafficking cases in 2017 at 1,064 which is a slight reduction from the previous year. One of the most used justifications of labor trafficking is that the labor provided is cheap and thus helps reduce the operational costs of the companies involved in some of the rackets. Child labor is one of the leading forms of forced labor worldwide, and it is more prevalent in developing countries. Some of the venues where this kind of human trafficking is commonly reported are industrial areas, farms, restaurants, and other menial jobs.
Ethical Issues Facing Human Trafficking
It is important to note that consent should be put at the center of the moral argument in an attempt to consider the ethical issues that surround human trafficking. In these human trafficking cases, the affected persons often have no will of their own; they are denied the ability to consent or not to consent to the activities being shoved down their throats. Through the egoism model, it can be argued that each person has the right to make decisions that would ensure the maximum benefit of their own. The premise implies that since the victims are denied the ability to make decisions for their interest, the whole concept of human trafficking becomes unethical.
Further, the utilitarianism ethical approach states that “the result of an action determines whether the act is moral or immoral (Hollander, 2016). Most human trafficking cases that go unreported mainly end in murder, suicide, permanent physical injuries, or contraction of infections. From the utilitarian facet of the ethical prism, this renders human trafficking unethical and immoral.
Solutions to Human Trafficking
Currently, there are limited solutions in the fight against human trafficking. The most common stance against human trafficking globally was the UNODC trafficking protocol of 2010. Other means that can be employed to fight this scourge are:
- Facilitation of human trafficking awareness which will improve response to such cases when reported and the level of documentation which at the moment is not entirely desirable
- Encouraging formation of volunteer groups within the community
- Promoting conscientiousness, morality, and inquisitiveness among consumers as some of these products might have been manufactured with the help of forced labor
- Creating an awareness campaign of the human trafficking hotlines (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” 2017).
Conclusion
Human trafficking is a serious contemporary issue, and the numbers involved are alarming. From a statistical perspective, these cases are not reducing which implies the methodologies being applied are currently not adequate or efficient enough. Therefore, countries, especially those with a coastline, need to be more vigilant and invest more effective interventions that could reduce this societal moral cancer. Human trafficking is unethical and immoral by all means as it defies all the principles of humanity and ethics. Finally, perpetrators of these human trafficking case and their accomplices should be subjected to strict and harsh prison sentence which will act as a form of rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence.
References
ASEAN ministers, senior officials to foster greater cooperation vs transnational crimes. (2017). Web.
Hollander, S. (2016). Ethical utilitarianism and the theory of moral sentiments. Adam Smith in relation to Hume and Bentham. Palgrave Macmillan & Eastern Economic Association, 42(4), 557.
National Human Trafficking Hotline (2017). Web.
Nagle, L. E. (2008). Selling souls. The effect of globalization on human trafficking and forced servitude. Wisconsin International Law Journal, 26(1), 13-28.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (n.d). Web.