Combating Sex Trafficking in the United States - Essay Example

and Section # of Combating Sex-trafficking in the United s Slavery is loosely defined as employment where a person is made to work, but is not paid for it. This sort of employment is often without the persons consent and is in poor working environments. Slaves have existed for centuries, and while they were once considered legal to own, the question is whether we today have progressed much further from those prehistoric times. In todays modern, civilized society, a world where human rights are given such considerable emphasis and so many laws, acts and bills have been passed to protect those rights, it seems that slavery would be a forgotten and lost concept. Sadly however this is not true. Slavery in every sense of its meaning is still alive, whether it be in the form of exploiting humans for forced labor, or more prevalently, as members of a world wide illegal sex trade and trafficking industry. Statistics from the International Labor Office show that there are 12.3 million victims of forced labor and commercial sex trafficking trade throughout the world at any given time. Shocking as those figures are, what is more shocking is that many of these human sex slaves are employed in fully legal trade rings, such as legalized prostitution or pornography. This happens not in one country or two, but in countries all over the world, the United States included. Are the laws that legalize prostitution and pornography contributing towards the promotion and encouragement of sex trafficking and commercialized sex trade? Furthermore, if there are laws that encourage these industries, where do these victims find their sanctuary? These are the questions this paper aims to investigate and to argue that the only way sex trafficking victims can be kept away from the industry, even if the industry itself is not shut down, is through effective communication between the ICE, the local police and social workers. Human trafficking is a practice prevalent all across the world. There might be differences in the way the humans are marketed or transported but ultimately it all follows the same process. The victim is lured into the traders ring under false pretenses or promises of a bright future in another country, through lawful, legal employment. Once the victim agrees and the process of transporting them begins, their legal documents are taken from them and they start to be blackmailed, with threats of deportation, arrest, violence or safety. Helpless, the victims have to follow the orders of their captors which often translate to joining either the forced labor trade or the sex trade. The female and children victims of human-trafficking mostly end up in brothels, some of which are legal, which clearly indicates that legalized prostitution and sex-trafficking are linked (Kara, 2008). Why is then that nothing is being done to separate those who are voluntarily in the industry and those who are forced into it? The prime reason for that is probably a lack of understanding and communication. Authorities feel that most sex workers that work in legal brothels or pornography have a way to earn a living without having the necessary qualifications to work in other jobs. Another reason this illegal trade employs these victims is that it is one of the most profitable criminal activities, generating an estimated $9.5 billion each year. Because they want the industry to expand, they hire these victims illegally, making it the third most profitable destination for them, with first and second being drugs and weapons trafficking respectively but according to observers, within ten years, human trafficking will surpass drugs and weapons trafficking to become the most profitable criminal activity in the world. As said in Karas book, …the most effective measures to eradicate the global sex trafficking industry are those that reduce the aggregate demand for sex slaves and consumers through an attack on the industrys immense profitability. Trafficking even occurs within the United States, from one state to another, in most cases, completely legally, even in the cases of children under 14 (Kotrla, 2010), which shows a serious lack on behalf of the authorities who at so many levels interact with these victims, yet still do not see what is happening. Laws have been introduced to combat the issue of human-trafficking, particularly when it is for the sake of sex-trafficking rather than labor, as illustrated by NYS anti-trafficking laws implemented during Elliot Spitzers administration. This very fact however was what later caused a rift in the laws, with someone saying that more focus needed to be placed on labor trafficking and others believing more needed to be placed on sex-trafficking. Furthermore, there have been allegations that the ICE (US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) does not to do enough to combat the matter, and in fact might help to encourage it by certain laws that do not assist the immigrants, rather it renders them helpless enough to have to rely on someone else, even if it is a criminal influence and a life no better than a slave (Hepburn & Simon, 2010). If the focus of the ICE is on eliminating illegal immigrants, and the government is on closing down the sex industry, who will look after the interests of that woman or child who has been brought to America under false pretenses and is now being made to work against their will as a sex slave? Laws in the United States do naturally exist to counter human-trafficking, and efforts are being made to wane the industry, but the fact remains that there is a conflict of priorities. Some consider the purpose of the TVPA to be assistance and protection of those that are victim to human trafficking, while others feel the purpose should be to combat illegal immigration at the root of it. No one, in the mean time, is focusing on who the real victims are. Social workers that exist to protect the rights of children should also investigate to protect the rights of these victims. When the ICE is searching for illegal immigrants, they should also investigate and know how the immigrants got to America, and why they are there, whether by choice or by force. Illegal residents might be afraid to go to the authorities in fear of deportation but social workers should step in and assure them of their safety and rights despite whatever their legal status may be. Similarly, local police should have a more thorough knowledge of the activities proceeding under their domain, and thereafter analyze whether those involved are in it voluntarily or by force. With each authorities pinning it on the next and overlooking it as the responsibility of any agency but their own, the result is that those who are the greatest victims of the situation have nowhere to resort to for safety or sanctuary. In fact many of them dont even understand that sanctuary is even a possibility (Kara, 2008). Is it not then the job of these authorities to reach out to them and provide them with that sanctuary? Social workers should seek to find these victims, as they would children of abuse or animals of abuse, and then contact the ICE if necessary, in a way where they would not have fear of deportation, or arrest, without warrant or a fair trial. The police on the other hand should play a role in helping social workers seek out these victims, thus creating a working ring where all three collaborate in an effort to protect these victims. The sad fact of the matter is that the International sex trafficking industry is one that is so highly profitable, and on a general scale, quite easy to implement, that is is almost impossible to expect that any easy solution will arise to combat it, or eliminate it completely. That said, until there is a hope for eliminating it, which will only arise if international organizations, and then organizations on a national level, such as the ICE or even local police, make an effort to monitor and take a stand against it, focus should be laid on those who are the victims in the entire situation: men, women and children who dont know whats happening at a government scale or an intentional scale, but are only aware of the slave-like conditions they are living in. There are many contradictions that are difficult to work out, such as whether legalization of the sex industry will be overall more advantageous, or whether keeping it illegal will be more beneficial, and most authorities seem to be focusing only on that. It may be many years and failed attempts before a solid solution to the problem is found, but be that as it may, one thing however is certain: legal prostitution and pornography encourages the sex trafficking industry, whether on one general scale level or the other. Until there is hope for a solution, there needs to be a harmonious efforts from the various agencies, and most of all sound collaboration between the authorities and those who get the least benefit of all of this, get the most harm out of all of it, and most tragically of all, have the least say in it all. References Alsgaard, H. Uncovered: The Policing of Sex Work 2010 Hepburn, S. Simo, R. Hidden in Plain Sight: Human Trafficking in the United States, Springer Science and Business Media 2010 Holman, M. The Modern Day Slave Trade: How the United States Should alter the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in Order to Combat International Sex Trafficking more Effectively, Texas International Law Journal Vol 44:49 2008 Kara, S. Sex Trafficking: Inside the business of Modern Slavery 2008 Kotrla, K Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the United States, National Association of Social Workers 2008 Read More