Running head: HUMAN TRAFFICKING 1

Human Trafficking
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Human Trafficking

Introduction

Human trafficking is a global crime that leads to a loathsome abuse of dignity and human

rights, which adversely affects women and children. It is the illegal act of transporting people

from one geographical region to another to force them into sexual exploitation and cheap forced

labor. It is similar to modern-day slavery because, just like in the olden days, the trafficked

people are deprived of all their fundamental human rights (Patt, 2009). Due to the highly

pervasive nature of humans, the market for children and adult females is high, and they account

for a large sum of victims of human trafficking. Human traffickers usually sell their victims to

rich people as mail order brides, expose them to the world of commercial sex and collect the

profits as their pimps after their prostitution and pornography stints, stripping or exotic dancing

(NCBI). Defined under U.S federal law victims of human trafficking include children and adults

18 or older involved in sex trade, coerced or deceived into commercial sex act, or any form of

labor services against their will (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, & Grady, 2016). It is also important to

know a victim does not have to be physically transported from one location to another for the

crime to be under human trafficking (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, & Grady, 2016).

Significance of the study

The significance of this study is to make everyone aware of human trafficking and its

effects. Much as children and women are the primary victims, men should also be mindful since

men are the preferred gender for hard forced labor. This research also aims to teach community

members how to identify red flags and how to report them, thus increasing surveillance and

making the streets safer. Last but not least, information is power. By creating awareness of the
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more at-risk people, we teach them how to protect themselves and others. Also, preventing a

crime before it happens, helps save lives.

Definition of Terms

Coercion is a plan purposed to make an individual believe that failure to do something

will result in severe consequences for them. It could also mean the threatened ill-treatment of the

legal process.

Involuntary servitude is a condition where a person is forced to perform an activity by

threatening them that failure to do so will result in serious harm for themselves or someone else.

Commercial Sex Act defines any sexual activity performed, and in return, anything of

value is given or received.

Debt Bondage is a situation where a person gives themselves as security for a loan until

the loan is paid off.

Body

Most human trafficking victims usually come from the direst of situations and are lured

by the promise of a better future elsewhere. It explains why most of the victims come from

Africa and the more inferior parts of Asia, where opportunities are usually limited. Due to the

poverty mentioned above, some parents sell off their children in order to offset their debts. Some

are tricked into believing that their children will be provided with a better life elsewhere and

what kind of parent would not want a better life for their child? It’s also important to know

human trafficking victims can be any race, age, gender, nationality, U.S. citizen, and foreign-

born individual. They may come from all socioeconomic group (Myths and Misconceptions,

2020). The traffickers are usually highly manipulative and use whatever means necessary to

control their subjects even if it means keeping them drugged-out the whole time.
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The process of human trafficking is complicated and very dangerous too. The trafficked

people who are low-risk people turned into highly profitable and disposable commodities

(Ottisova, Hemmings, Howard, Zimmerman, & Oram, 2016). These victims are usually taken

from their homes, taken to a midway point(s) where they await the final transportation to the

intended place. Human traffickers can operate in organized international networks or as smaller

groups of the occasional traffickers. More often than not, human traffickers are natives to the

recruits and travel to receiving countries and back home a lot. They find it easy to recruit people

based on false promises of a better life. Traffickers are also usually multilingual due to frequent

travels (Ottisova et al., 2016). Most times, these people also have roles that could put them in a

position to know the most vulnerable in society; an example is people who work with refugees.

Human trafficking has severe effects on the people involved. Some of these are trauma

on the trafficked individual, suicidal thoughts, psychiatric issues and depression, lower levels of

self-esteem, and suicidal tendencies among them. Let us not forget that for victims sold into

commercial sex work, there is the ever-present threat of exposure to sexually transmitted

infections. Also, human trafficking violates human rights, are a threat to communities,

perpetuates a patriarchal society, leads to economic losses to governments and lead to loss of

future productivity and earning power due to lack of education.

Not only does human trafficking violate human rights but it also puts the person at

harmful social, health, economic conditions. These victims can experience intense physical

abuse, psychological trauma, drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, and infectious diseases

(Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, & Grady, 2016). Due to these traumas nurses can come in contact

with these victims and not even know it. Victim identification is a critical first step in stopping

this heinous crime. As nurses we should become will informed with victim identification and the
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policies and procedures in place at the hospital we work at. If there is not a policy in place be the

persuasive force to begin a policy in the workplace. One should also become familiar with

services and hotlines in their areas and be an advocate for these victims (Mason, Gardner,

Outlaw, & Grady, 2016).

The USA was the first country in the world to provide laws to protect individuals against

human trafficking. One of these acts is the “Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000," which

has stipulations that prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecutes traffickers. Another act

is the “Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015," which was implemented to improve the

USA's reaction to the issue by providing support for victims. Moreover, the “Preventing Sex

Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014” was implemented in order to help protect

the youth in the foster care system by doing regular screenings, thus reducing the number of sex

trafficking cases (Ottisova et al., 2016).

Even though human trafficking is a menace, there are steps we can take as a community

to help reduce the number of cases. It can be achieved by raising awareness on different forums

where people can learn and express themselves (Kiss, Yun, Pocock, & Zimmerman, 2015).

Through schools, communities can work with children with family problems as an anti-

trafficking strategy. Survivors can be used to pass a more realistic and relevant message to their

target groups. It helps build their self-esteem and confidence too. Women groups can be

established to mentor and take action in the event of problems. Community surveillance could so

far be the best method of preventing trafficking as we are all our brother's keepers.

Conclusion

Human trafficking is both a human rights concern as well as a social issue. It is because;

it not only affects the rates and dignity of the concerned individual but also has a direct bearing
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in the community and society at large. This awareness of human trafficking is aimed at

safeguarding the rights and dignity of women and children, so to succeed, the inclusion of the

community is vital. Moreover, the weaknesses in law enforcement provide a big loophole in the

fight against the issue of human trafficking. If the laws and regulations put in place were actually

enforced, cases of trafficking would be very few. Education is key when it comes to this kind of

crime victims of sex trafficking are less likely to reach out for help due to fear ( Myths and

Misconceptions, 2020).

I believe it is very important for people in the health care industry to become aware of

the signs of human trafficking and to take on the courage to say something and be an advocate

because you could potentially save someone’s life by doing so. A quote I like to live by and one

of the reasons why I became a nurse is from Martin Luther King Jr, “ Our lives begin to end the

day we become silent about the things that matter.” Human trafficking should matter to every

individual because it could happen to anyone at any time.

References

Kiss L., Yun K., Pocock N., & Zimmerman, C. (2015). Exploitation, violence, and suicide risk

among child and adolescent survivors of human trafficking in the Greater Mekong

Subregion. JAMA Paediatrics, 169(9), e152278.

Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Outlaw, F. H., & O’Grady, E. T. (2016). Policy & Politics in

Nursing and Health Care. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Myths and Misconceptions. (2020). Retrieved 29 April 2020, from [Link]

campaign/myths-and-misconceptions

Ottisova, L., Hemmings, S., Howard, L., Zimmerman, C., & Oram, S. (2016). Prevalence and

risk of violence and the mental, physical, and sexual health problems associated with

human trafficking: an updated systematic review. Epidemiology and Psychiatric

Sciences, 25(4), 317–411.

Patt, M. (2009). HumanTrafficking and Modern-Day Slavery. Massachusetts, MA: University of

Massachusetts.