Exploitation of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a growing $32 billion dollar a year industry that affects over 4 million people. The growing epidemic generates a great profit that is happening right now in your own city.
So what does human trafficking look like? Human trafficking does not always look and happen the way that most people think.
Most people think it is some kind of kidnapping scheme where a network of kidnappers take women off the streets and lock them up in the back of their cars or even basements while forcing them to have sex with them.
In most cases, this is not the situation. While it may not be the case for 100% of the time, it can happen but its not very likely or common. It is not the common form of trafficking, but do you know what it looks like?
Often times it looks like an abusive relationship where the victim feels trapped and builds dependency on the abuser. The victim is then forced to have sex with others and sometimes even themselves. In many cases, the abuser is someone that we may know. It can be the victims parent, friend, or even their intimate partner.
It can look like a person who comes from a history of an abusive childhood with parents who manipulate their own child into thinking they are doing this out of love.
It can look like a person who came from an unsupportive environment who was only seeking for help and someone they could rely on.
The standard narrative is that trafficking is inescapable because the victim has either their identity stolen, are locked away, or held as a hostage. Escaping from human trafficking can be very difficult because the victim may be financially dependent on their trafficker, too far manipulated where it is socially difficult to remove themselves from the relationship, or because the fact that they still love them and can’t seem to break away.
There are many factors that may contribute to human trafficking: poverty, low socioeconomic status, abusive relationships, family dysfunction, and emotional distress. Many factors of one’s life can influence the likelihood of human trafficking because of the position the victim may be placed in. Human trafficking does not discriminate, so it means that people of all genders can be trafficked.
On a side note: although sex workers are not trafficking, it sex workers can easily be manipulated into trafficking victims and trafficking survivors can choose to do sex work. Sex work is not the issue here, but the abusive discourse of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is a crime that is hard to spot because many case the victims and trafficker looks like any ordinary people. However, there are ways we can help identify our roles in identify and assisting those who could be potential victims. A few things to be aware of and that we can use to identify potential trafficking are: if the person is working or providing sexual acts in exchange for benefits, not able to come or leave as they wish, has a manager/person who can not leave their side, recruited by someone who is suspicious, or is paid cash without record.
Another things to take notice of in potential victims are: their mental health status, feelings of anxiousness or paranoia, the lack of control, the kinds of clothes they wear, and not being able to speak and provide for themselves.
The pressure that comes from the risks factors of poverty, low socioeconomic status, history of abuse, and family dysfunction — plays a crucial role how an individual may be impacted by human trafficking. When someone is placed in a situation where they are not able to provide from themselves while receiving no support, they are put in constant distress. The stress that comes from the lack of support and in both housing and food insecurity leads to the likelihood of human trafficking. When someone is faced with such difficult situations, desperation begins to sink in.
When someone is placed in a state of desperation, it is easy to find the individual to take upon actions that they normally will not engage in. This segment is when individuals will fall into the traps that comes with the promises that are offered from traffickers. In reality, the offers made are too good to be true. Traffickers will offer the desperate individual promises of employment, housing, or someone to “protect” them. This allows a leeway for exploitation, and for the trafficker to take advantage of their victims. The victim then falls into their trap, where they then receive extremely low wages while having their identity stripped away from them. Most cases the victims belongings of personal identification are taken away from them, making it almost impossible to escape. This puts the victim in the same position from where they have started, which is back to living in extreme poverty — again.
An individual’s environment is very important because it affects their likelihood for certain risks. Unfortunately, people who has been affected by poverty, family dysfunction, or a history of physical/emotional abuse have a greater likelihood of human trafficking than the people who are more wealthy with great social support.
Furthermore, human trafficking is a societal issue that affects all of us, whether it may be directly or indirectly. It is happening right in front of our faces — to our daughters, friends, and peers.
Even though this is a growing epidemic, there are strides we can to help protect and prevent the growing number of victims. Those who are victims of human trafficking should never be put to blame, so it is important to reinforce support for the victims, as well as spreading awareness of this global issue.
