Research Paper on End Human Trafficking: 2nd Largest Criminal Activity Worldwide

Introduction

Human trafficking has been cancer that has affected almost every country. According to the UN, human trafficking is the process of recruiting or transforming people into abusive situations by using force or coercion. Currently human trafficking ranks as the second-largest criminal activity in the world. Human trafficking mostly affects women and children due to their vulnerable nature. Human trafficking is mainly associated with forced prostitution among women, but human trafficking occurs in many different forms. Some of them include debt and labor bondage, where victims are forced to work under inhumane conditions and can't have access to their earnings. The literature review describes the social factors that lead to human trafficking from the victim's side. An interdisciplinary approach is used to describe the social factors that influence human trafficking. Using a multidisciplinary approach makes it possible for this study to obtain in-depth answers to the question asked. Using an interdisciplinary approach also enables knowledge to be transferred and implemented from one discipline to another. The US judicial system has come a long way in its attempt to use its influence to eradicate human trafficking. The first major human trafficking raid was in 1995.The police discovered a garment factory in El Monte where 72 immigrants from Thai were forcefully held to work at the factory. The factory owner used physical force and threats to keep them at the factory. In most African cultures, women were viewed as second class citizens, and they were seen to be inferior compared to their male counterparts. Recent studies have identified a connection between human trafficking and harmful cultural practices that make women more vulnerable to human trafficking (UNODC, 2012).

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Factors Leading to Human Trafficking and The Role Society Plays A Victims View

This literature review aims at identifying social factors that influence human trafficking from the victim's perspective. To effectively answer the research question, the following disciplines were used criminal justice, sociology, and communication. Different scholars indicate that although our judicial system has made significant effort t reduce the malice of human trafficking has brought it still has a lot to do. As a country we have set great laws to eradicate the issue, but a lot of effort has to be added to ensure the requirements are implemented. This paper also addresses how different communities encourage and uphold the practice of human trafficking. These communities still support their traditional methods that promote human trafficking by making certain groups of people vulnerable. Several scholars also agree that to lack of public awareness about human trafficking causes this cancer to spread further and further.

Judicial Systems Role in Human Trafficking

A country's judicial system plays a vital role in the eradication of vice from the state. In his article, 'Understanding the failures of the US in efforts to stop human trafficking,' Chanon (2019) described how the law dealt with human trafficking in the past. The US judicial system has come a long way in its attempt to use its influence to eradicate human trafficking. The first major human trafficking raid was in 1995.The police discovered a garment factory in El Monte where 72 immigrants from Thai were forcefully held to work at the factory. The factory owner used physical force and threats to keep them at the factory. The immigrants were forced to work for eighteen hours each day, and they received a wage of six cents for every hour worked. The illegal immigrants had been lured to the country by the incentive of getting a well-paying job. When the raid was made, there was no specific way to deal with the victims since the immigrants were not allowed to work in the country.

In his work, Chanon describes how political discipline was used to make the country ready to deal with such events. Learning from the situation; congress drafted and passed the Trafficking and Victims act (TVPA) in 2000. The action has undergone several amendments since it was given and it is recognized as the most prestigious law that deals with the issue of human trafficking. The act seeks to reduce human trafficking by following a 3 'P' model ("Trafficking Victims Protection Act," 2019). The 3 Ps are prosecution, protection, and prevention. The prosecution aspect covers the passing of appropriate punishment and jailing of human traffickers. Protection occurs by identifying the victims of human trafficking and aiding them in their recovery journey. The state also offers witness protection to the victims as the tracking case is being heard. The prevention pillar is where the judicial system raises awareness about the adverse effects of human trafficking. This campaign aims at eliminating the demand for trafficked people.

Culture in Human Trafficking

Indeed, social class can be identified as a factor that leads to the increase in human trafficking. Social class divides the population into groups with similar socioeconomic characteristics. According to the UN, social inequalities are the differences in income, assets, knowledge, employment and access to medical services and security.

John R, Barner, David Okech, and Meghan demonstrated how the differences in social class lead to human trafficking (Barner, Oketch & Camp, 2019). In their article, the used both humanities and political discipline to addresses the problem of human trafficking. They stated that globalization had fast-tracked the effects of social inequalities. Through globalization, the rich have become more productive and the poor have continued to despair in more poverty. Due to poverty, women in less developed countries are lured into human trafficking by the promises of better-paying jobs. For instance, young Albanian women are attracted by good-paying jobs in restaurants, and then they end up as sex slaves in Greece and Italy.

John and his colleagues also discuss the emerging trend in human trafficking where trafficked victims help the offender to recruit more women. Since those already trafficked are from poor backgrounds, they have access to other vulnerable women in their social class. Most of the trafficked women help their offenders become they are afraid of them. At times the women are rewarded with little freedom and some money incentives when they help our other women.

Although human trafficking occurs in places with high levels of social inequalities, it is not a third-world problem. The US which is a developed country has an alarming number of women who are trafficked domestically. Most developed countries serve as destinations for human trafficking. Countries like Spain and France serve a human trafficking destination for domestic servitude and sex slavery. Japan has a growing rate of human trafficking due to entertainment visas, which are not subject to a lot of inspection by state officials.

Some cultural practices Condon and facilitate human trafficking. Legal and artistic disciplines will be used to discuss this factor. Most African cultures consist of traditional methods that prove to be harmful to specific groups of people. In most African cultures, women were viewed as second class citizens, and they were seen to be inferior compared to their male counterparts. Recent studies have identified a connection between human trafficking and harmful cultural practices that make women more vulnerable to human trafficking (UNODC, 2012).

In Norah Hashim journal (2017), she identifies African cultures whose practices encourage human trafficking. West African countries such as Benin, Ghana, and Togo practice the 'slave to gods' religious tradition, which promotes human trafficking. According to this tradition, young virgin girls from the Ewe community are selected and sent to traditional shrines where they work and serve the priests. The young girls end up living at the sanctuary as sex slaves and domestic workers for the priests. Once the girls are sent to the shrines they are referred to as Trokosi which means slave to god. These Western African communities also have a religious practice whose aim is to lower crime rate by punishing an entire family for the wrongdoings of a single-family member. When an individual commits an offense, the family is required to send one of their young girls to serve at the shrine for the family to earn God's forgiveness. The Trokosi serves the priests throughout their lives, and once they die, the family has to sacrifice another girl to replace the dead Trokosi.The priests take up ownership of the girls. Most priests don't allow families to visit their daughters once they become Trokosi.

Different humanitarian groups spearheaded the ban of the trokosi practice. Ghana declared the Trokosi practice illegal in 1998 after much pressure. However, 15 years down the line research estimates that 3000-5000 Trokosi still serves at the shrines. By analyzing the legal culture, it can be identified that most Western African countries had legal system allowed human trafficking. In Ghan, the practice wa declared illegal in 1998 therefore, in previous years, it was lawful and reasonable to engage in the practice. When Ghana banned the tradition, it had already subscribed to the UN convention of 1926 to suppress slavery. Together with other West African countries, Ghana had also pledged to follow and support the UN convention of children's rights made in 1989 and yet the Trokosi practice, which undermined those rights was practiced in those countries.

Public Awareness in Eradication of Human Trafficking

Most governments and non-government agencies have designed different campaigns to raise awareness about human trafficking. The UN declared recognition as a vital tool that can effectively combat human trafficking cancer. Although human trafficking is a global factor, awareness should begin at the local level.

In Jeremy Wilson's articles, awareness is discussed in two different approaches. Knowledge can be directed to the public and also to law officials (Wilson & Dalton, 2008). Public awareness of the issue helps to prevent people from becoming victims. Knowledge enables people know that the problem exists and that they should be cautious especially when traveling to other countries seeking employment opportunities. Public awareness directed to law officers helps them identify victims and provide them with better services. Through outreach and education, law officers learn how to identify victims and distinguish different trafficking cases. Raising awareness about the issue in the community can help community members raise the alarm when they identify suspicious activities that can relate to trafficking. Public awareness can help identify more trafficking cases.

Media plays a vital role in raising public awareness. Scholars such as Farrel and they (2009) demonstrate how the general mindset about human trafficking has changed from an issue of human rights to a criminalization issue to a matter of national security. According to the two scholars, mindset also affects their attitudes and response towards human trafficking.

According to Bishop, Morgan & Erickson (Bishop Morgan & Erickson, 2013), public awareness about human trafficking is affected by age and gender. Analysis of his results indicates that older people especially females are more aware and sympathetic towards human trafficking. Women become more aware and compassionate since most of the time they are the victims.

In O'Brien's (2016) journal he identifies a problem with the current public awareness raised about human trafficking. He demonstrates that the one-sided approach implemented by many anti-trafficking campaigns render the campaigns to be ineffective. Publ...