Essay Example on Human Trafficking: Exploitation Across Racial, Geographic Lines

Introduction

Human and sex trafficking is a criminal act that affects almost every community in all racial and geographic boundaries. It is a sinister threat that is hard to track, quantify, and dismantle. Ford (2014) described it as the exploitation of a person through coercion, force, or fraud for purposes of forced labor, commercial sex, or involuntary solitude. This problem is becoming common in the US and Indian Country. Among the diverse populations affected by this problem, indigenous people globally are at particular risk for both labor and sex trafficking (Goodwin, 2017). The 2015 annual report of the Attorney General disclosed that human traffickers target individuals thought to be vulnerable (Goodwin, 2017). The vulnerability exists in numerous forms, including poverty, age (minors), previous experiences of abuse, chemical dependency, lack of support systems, and involvement in foster care programs (Logan, 2015). Traffickers often use different techniques to control individuals at risk (Pytalski, Burns, & Villegas, 2016). They impose mental, emotional, and sexual abuse on the person; lure individuals struggling with substance addictions by enabling these addictions; withhold funds or identifications required to travel or access help; and threaten their prey.

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Literature Review

Native American women are often highly targeted for human trafficking, and for a long time, have fallen victims of human trafficking. This problem began in the past when the US government sanctioned prostitution and sexual abuse (Brunson, 2018). During colonization, political leaders belittled Native American women and girls by exposing them to sexual abuse and subjecting those who resisted expansion to physical abuse, rape, and racist verbal abuse (DeMatteis, 2016). These political ideologies and actions created the foundation for the objectification of Native American women. Today, statistics show a troubling trend of human Trafficking in Native American women with the increased levels of domestic violence, set trafficking and sexual violence experienced by this population (Department of Justice, 2017)

Human Trafficking presents in two forms: - labour and sex trafficking. According to the data collected by the International Labour Organization (ILO), about 25 million victims were victims of forced labour in 2016 (Farley et al., 2016). Of this population, close to 16 million individuals were victims of labour exploitation in private sectors like construction, domestic work and agriculture (Flay, 2017). Around 4.8 million females and one million children were subjected to sexual exploitation (Ford et al., 2017a). Today, more than 40.3 million people are victims of human trafficking, with most of them being women (Ford et al., 2014b). According to Goodwin (2017), human trafficking is caused by extreme poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, unemployment, lack of education, and demand for cheap labor. Despite the growing pattern of human trafficking, the federal government has established policies such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Violence Against Women Protection Act (VAWA).

Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study is to find out the pattern of human Trafficking in American Indian/Native American population. The research also purports to determine the causes and effects of human trafficking in the target population. Additionally, the research intends to identify the appropriate policy to be implemented as a measure for addressing human and sex trafficking. Also, the study aims to discover the vulnerable populations and the target groups of human trafficking.

Methodology

Data was collected qualitatively through secondary research methods involving books, journals, websites, and articles. To optimize the process of data collection, a simplified, but a broad definition of human trafficking was used. Human Trafficking exists when a person is recruited into prostitution, labour or other services through force, coercion, and fraud. In the case of a minor, no compulsion is needed. Reports of ILO, National Congress of American India (NCAI), International human rights clinic, Department of Health and Human Services, Human trafficking civil rights, Government Accountability Office (GAO), and GAO the US Census Bureau Statistics aided in completing the research. Peer-reviewed journal articles such as American Indian Law Review and other materials related to human trafficking were used to conduct the study.

Section 1 - Size and Scope of the Problem

Native American women and girls are highly vulnerable to sex trafficking. Studies show that Native American women experience the highest rates of sex trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual violence in the United States (Logan, 2015). The US Census Bureau Statistics reported in 2010 that 28% of Native Americans were living in poverty compared to 15% of the general population (Weedn, Scovel, & Juran, 2014). Also, the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey done by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that approximately 27% of Native American women had been raped in their lifetime compared to 18% of American women (Goodwin, 2017). Other than Native Americans, Indian children are also vulnerable to human trafficking because they enter foster care more frequently compared to American children. Goodwin (2017) posited that Indian children enter foster care twice the rate of all American children

It is undeniable that human trafficking is widespread not only in the United States but also in the entire world. According to Ford (2014), human trafficking is one of the largest criminal industries in the world. Today, the industry is receiving a rapid growth because it earns global profits of around $ 150 billion per year for the traffickers (Goodwin, 2017). Of this value, roughly $ 99 billion comes from commercial sex exploitation (Logan, 2015). The International Labour Organization estimates that around 40.3 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking. This business is rapidly growing with approximately one million people being trafficked every year. In the US alone, more than 50,000 people are trafficked each year, most often from the Philippines and Mexico (Pytalski, Burns, & Villegas, 2016). Women, children, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) youth are most likely to experience human trafficking. Estimates indicate that 75% of victims of human trafficking are women, and 27% are children, meaning that females are highly targeted by traffickers (Goodwin, 2017). It is because women are used by traffickers to provide commercial sex, which is the most profitable business for traffickers in the human trafficking industry. In 2018, over 51% of the active cases of human trafficking in the US were sex trafficking with children as victims (Pytalski, Burns, & Villegas, 2016).

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, between 240,000 and 325,000 children are at risk for sexual exploitation (The International Human Rights, 2014). The department reported that runaway children are particularly at risk of being trafficked into the sex industry. Research also indicates that (LGBT) youth often experience family rejection and homelessness, which puts them at high risk of becoming sex-trafficked. (Weedn, Scovel, & Juran, 2014) Estimates show that their families reject 26 % of LGBT adolescents because of their sexual orientation (United States Commission on Civil Rights. 2018).

LGBT group accounts for about 3% to 5% of the US population. However, the US Department of Health and Human Services found that these individuals make up to around 40% of the runaway and homeless youth population (Pytalski, Burns, & Villegas, 2016). Once one the streets, their chances of becoming victims of human trafficking are high. These susceptibilities rank women and children as profoundly affected victims of human trafficking.

The victims, particularly women and children, together with their families, are mostly affected by this problem. The victims can experience devastating psychological effects and after the experience of human and sex trafficking. Many survivors may end up encountering depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, memory loss, and other severe forms of mental trauma (Weedn, Scovel, & Juran, 2014). The victims may also suffer physical injuries such as broken bones, burns, concussions, and other injuries consistent with assault (Logan, 2015). The families and friends of the victims are also affected by the problem. The members of the family may be overshadowed with stress, grief, and anxiety due to the absence of their loved ones.

Section 2 - Causes and Consequences of the Problem

Causes of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking has been caused by the following factors: homelessness and family rejections; weak immigration policy, demand for cheap labor/sex; chronic poverty and economic isolation; fractured families; the reduced presence of law enforcement; increased exposure to violence; and lack of employment opportunities (Department of Justice, 2017). Of the above factors, poverty is one of the leading contributors to human trafficking. Extreme poverty not only influences people to become traffickers, but it also drives parents to sell their children into slavery (Brunson, 2018). Many victims are obtained from underdeveloped regions in Southeast Asia, Central, and South America, and sold in more developed areas in the Middle East, North America, and Western Europe (DeMatteis, 2016).

High demand for cheap labor and sex also causes human trafficking. Underlying the economy informs that a market only exists with demand and supply in place. The need for cheap labor and commercialized sex creates opportunities for traffickers to exploit people (Farley et al., 2016). Victims can work in hotels, restaurants, agricultural fields, construction sites, nail salons, and tree planting fields. They can also take care of the elderly at home. Another significant cause of the problem is the lack of proper human rights for vulnerable populations.

In some countries, marginalized groups lack proper institutionalized human rights, which attract the attention of human traffickers (Weedn, Scovel, & Juran, 2014). Traffickers can prey on these groups because law enforcement does not vividly protect the targets. Lacked education has also caused human trafficking. It leads to reduced employment opportunities and knowledge of human rights. Most individuals who have fallen victims of human trafficking are reported to lack education and employment (Pytalski, Burns, & Villegas, 2016).

Consequences of Human Trafficking

Victims of human Trafficking often experience devastating physical health and psychological consequences during and after the experience (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). As Weedn, Scovel, & Juran (2014) noted, many survivors may undergo depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, traumatic brain injuries, memory loss, and other severe forms of mental trauma.

Pytalski, Burns, & Villegas (2016) researched with 107 survivors of human trafficking across 12 US states to determine the consequences of sex trafficking. According to this study, 99% of the respondents said that they experienced physical health problems after being trafficked (Pytalski, Burns, & Villegas, 2016). 96% stated that they had encountered a neurological problem, 86% said they had general health conditions, 69% had injuries, 67% had cardiovascular problems while 54% experienced denta.