|
Human Trafficking is the deplorable act of transporting
a person against their will for the purposes of exploitation.
It is a form of modern day slavery in which the basic
rights of the victim are repeatedly and continuously violated.
Most trafficking victims are women and children from
poor socioeconomic backgrounds. They are commonly lured
with the promise of employment opportunity in a restaurant
or factory, only to be striped of their papers upon
arrival and forced into sexual servitude or bonded labor.
A trafficker may use force, deception, coercion, fraud,
or other forms of intimidation to obtain, harbor, and
traffic their victim.
The United States Department of State estimates that
“600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children [are]
trafficked across international borders each year, approximately
80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent
are minors”. This figure fails to account for
victims who are trafficked within national borders,
likely representing a significant portion of all trafficking
victims. In fact, if domestic trafficking were to be
included, up to 4 million persons per year would be
considered victims of human trafficking.
Globally this modern day slave trade represents a ten
billion dollar a year industry. The vast majority of
trafficking victims are sold into prostitution, sexual
servitude, or other forms of sexual exploitation. Human
trafficking to support bonded labor is also widespread,
as is the trafficking of children to serve in military
conflicts in various regions of the world.
Further Reading
|
email this
