Social Issue
Nowadays, minority groups in the U.S. face numerous challenges connected with social, political, ethical, and other issues. Human trafficking is one of the most severe ways of harassment that humanity has ever faced. In this research paper, the issue of human trafficking concerning minorities will be discussed in detail; the measures of addressing the problem and dealing with it will also be analyzed.
The issue of human trafficking became documented only at the beginning of the 21st century. This phenomenon was defined as a new crime in 2000 when the U.S. passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) (Austin & Farrel, 2017, para. 1). As defined by Bryant-Davis and Tummala-Narra (2017), “human trafficking, whether sex trafficking or trafficking for labor, is the exploitation of people through force, fraud, or coercion” (p. 152). According to Dirks and Hinton (2016), “human trafficking is the second most profitable illegal industry in the world” (p. 57). For many years, this issue has been an important research subject.
People are exploited for numerous reasons: many studies emphasize that victims are mostly sexually abused or used for labor. According to Dirks and Hinton (2016), women and children are the groups that are especially vulnerable to human trafficking, and children and teenagers frequently become victims of commercial sex. Human trafficking is followed by the psychological and physical distress of victims, leading to global negative health consequences (Zimmerman & Kiss, 2017). Not all people survive such harassment or return to their previous mental or physical condition, which makes the issue necessary to be solved.
Human trafficking is a serious social problem concerning people in all countries around the world. However, it is important to understand that minority groups can be especially vulnerable to such a way of abuse. Dirks and Hinton (2016) confirm that it is difficult to collect data about the number of minority representatives being trafficked around America. First, sexual abuse is difficult to identify as it is often not followed by any physical signs. Then, language, social, and cultural barriers can also be obstacles to a proper assessment of the situation (Dirks & Hinton, 2016). Moreover, some people do not report the abuse due to fear or other personal reasons.
There are certain reasons why the minority groups of the U.S. are in more danger in comparison to other social classes. First of all, as Bryant-Davis and Tummala-Narra (2016) emphasize, “cultural oppression in the form of racism and ethnic bias” plays a crucial role in the problem (p. 152). According to the researchers, marginalized people, especially women and children, “may be viewed as commodities to be used for the purposes of perpetrators who hold more economic or social power” (Bryant-Davis & Tummala-Narra, 2016, p. 154). The researchers add that “racially and ethnically targeted groups are at increased risk for poverty, homelessness, low-quality education, and acts of violence” (Bryant-Davis & Tummala-Narra, 2016, p. 157). As a result, it is possible to notice that human trafficking is closely connected with social stratification and dominance over minorities. Furthermore, other aspects, such as unawareness of the victims about how to report their abuse, can be a problem for documenting cases of human trafficking among minorities.
Although the problem is evident, it is difficult to collect enough data concerning the issue. Many immigrants are undocumented, and it is impossible to estimate the number of human trafficking victims. However, many measures have already been taken to prevent the situation from the decrease. In the next part of the paper, one of the organizations addressing and managing the issue will be analyzed.
Social Action
As the problem of human trafficking is a critical issue demanding thorough consideration and urgent actions, many organizations dealing with the problem have already been created. Some of these foundations and unions are concerned about specific groups of population or separate countries; some of them deal with slavery as a global problem. In this part of the research paper, the action of the Polaris Project against human trafficking will be discussed, and specific examples will be analyzed in detail.
Polaris Project is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, which has proven to be one of the most effective foundations combatting human trafficking. The organization was founded in 2002 with the mission to address the problem of slavery and prevent it in the future (“Data and research,” n.d.). There are three main directions in which it works to solve the slavery issue. First of all, its National Human Trafficking Hotline provides support for victims of the crime. Then, the company operates a real-time dataset that allows tracing the dynamics of human trafficking. Finally, since one of the goals of the company is to predict the spread of slavery in the future, it creates strategies to eliminate the problem (“Data and research,” n.d.). To better understand the measures taken by the organization, it would be appropriate to discuss the specific examples of its activities.
The organization emphasizes that domestic workers, such as house cleaners and nannies, can be in danger of human trafficking. According to the recent article published on the Polaris website, this sphere of occupation is mostly female, with many immigrants employed (“Positive steps towards protecting house cleaners,” 2019). To eliminate the risk of this group of people being abused, Polaris established bills of rights for such workers. Since many of these people come from abroad with their employers, many of them do not speak English and are not aware of U.S. government institutions. Therefore, under the assistance of Polaris, the U.S. Department of State launched an expanded registration program (“Positive steps towards protecting house cleaners,” 2019). Such measures can reduce the isolation of these workers and protect them from the violation of their rights.
Another example of the Polaris activity is connected with providing support for people who survived human trafficking. The supervisors working for the organization consult the victims of slavery via a hotline and consider every individual case. The problem that specialists emphasize is that sometimes the victims of the crime are viewed as criminals, as they are typically involved in illegal actions against their will. In response, Polaris specialists provide report cards for every state to define the laws that work in every case of abuse (“State report cards,” 2019). This measure helps human trafficking victims clear their criminal records to start a new life free of injustice.
The company has achieved outstanding results concerning anti-human trafficking measures. It takes part in creating slavery-related bills and laws and collaborates with many international organizations like the International Organization for Migration and has several awards for its contribution to the global changes. Annual statistics, educational articles, and other measures allowed the organization to significantly contribute to worldwide combatting against slavery and establish constant control over the situation.
In conclusion, human trafficking is one of the crucial problems existing today; it is a severe crime that is difficult to control and predict, and minority groups are more vulnerable to harassment. However, necessary actions have already been taken to prevent the situation from the increase. With the help of local and international anti-slavery organizations like the Polaris Project, new strategies and will allow solving the human trafficking problem.
References
Austin, R., & Farrel, A. (2017). Human trafficking and the media in the United States. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia. Web.
Bryant-Davis, T., & Tummala-Narra, P. (2016). Cultural oppression and human trafficking: Exploring the role of racism and ethnic bias. Women & Therapy, 40(1-2), 152–169. doi:10.1080/02703149.2016.1210964.
Dirks, A., & Hinton, S. (2016). Human trafficking of Latino immigrants: Our responsibility as social workers. Change of Colors. 2016 Conference Proceedings. 56–60.
Data and research. (n.d.). Polaris Project. Web.
Positive steps toward protecting house cleaners, nannies, and other domestic workers. (2019). Polaris Project. Web.
State report cards: Grading criminal record relief laws for survivors of human trafficking. (2019). Polaris Project. Web.
Zimmerman, C., & Kiss, L. (2017). Human trafficking and exploitation: A global health concern. PLoS Med. 14(11), 1–11. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002437.