Thiyagu

Abhinav Thiyagu
Mrs. Marsella-Jensen / Mrs. Faitel
English 10H, Period 6
6 December 2021
Global Issue Profile: Human Trafficking
In the year 2019, Polaris claims to have helped with 11,500 reports of human
trafficking. The situations collectively had 22,326 survivors, 4,384 traffickers,
and 1,912 suspicious businesses. Those numbers are believed to only be a fraction
of the real problem and show that human trafficking is frighteningly underreported
(“Human Trafficking Facts”, par. 5”). Human trafficking is a topic everyone is
aware of though very few fully grasp the true scope and severity. Human trafficking
is frequently caused by poverty, corrupted countries, and contractor immunity
meaning the abuse of workers is permitted, which results in the deterioration of a
victim’s mental state, motivation to traffic, and victims going through the
criminal justice system and treated like a criminal rather than a victim.
Human trafficking is caused by people vulnerable due to extreme poverty, countries
with conflicts that are prone to exploitation and corruption, and contractor
immunity which allows for the abuse of workers. According to the Washington Post’s
book review of ‘Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight’,
individuals in poverty are more susceptible to being trafficked. People in poverty
are easier to take advantage of since they are so desperate to make money. To add
on, syndicates pose as humanitarian groups and exploit poor families, promising to
take their young ones for a better quality of life when in reality, they are sold
into slavery, prostitution, or as child soldiers. The book review also sheds light
on how many countries have laws that are used against trafficking victims rather
than helping them. An example of this is shown in Italy and the United Kingdom
where laborers that are brought in illegally can be punished as illegal immigrants.
The laws in most countries punish the victims for crimes they were coerced into
committing. The book discusses how contractor immunity gave permission for the
abuse of workers. Traffickers took advantage of this to exploit workers and avoid
the justice system (Hepburn and Simon, par. 7). These elements were the overall
stepping stones for the tremendous influence of human trafficking as it affected
millions across the globe.
According to the Secretary of State, 24.9 million people are affected by human
trafficking globally. 24.9 million is about three times the population of New York
(Pompeo, par.1). Women and girls constitute the majority of all recorded human
trafficking instances, accounting for 49 percent and 23 percent respectively.
Furthermore, the Council on Foreign Relations claims that females make up 99% of
the sex trafficking industry and 58 percent of victims in other commercial
industries (“Human Trafficking in the Global Era,” par.12). Anti-Slavery
International, a registered charity in the UK, reports that out of all the victims,
8 million “victims of forced labor in the private economy are affected by debt
bondage” (“What is Bonded Labor?”, par. 9). The victim’s need for cash leads to
them selling their labor for a loan. They are unable to get out of poverty because
of the limited access to justice, education, and jobs so they are stuck in this
endless cycle over generations (“What is Bonded Labor?,” par. 10). The Migration
Data Portal explains that in 2016, any given day had about 40 million victims of
modern slavery. Modern slavery is defined as the recruitment, transportation,
harboring, or receiving of people without consent to do so with the intent of
exploitation. Of these 40 million people, about 25 million people were recruited
for forced labor and 15 million people were involved in forced marriages (“Human
Trafficking,” par. 19). These underlying statistics highlight the huge influence of
this issue and nations as a whole have been impacted as well.
Every country has been touched by human trafficking in some way but not all
countries are affected the same. According to the “2021 Trafficking in Persons
Report”, a government report by the US state department, concludes that China and
Eritrea are the 2 countries most affected by human trafficking. China was found to
have a government policy or pattern that resulted in forced labor (“2020
Trafficking in Persons Report,” p.88). In China, there are only about 335
identified victims, 64 women and 271 men, but there are many more unidentified
victims (“China,” par. 19). China had hosted the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
projects, where key recruiting channels and labor conditions were poorly maintained
by PRC authorities, thereby resulting in those who were exploited went unnoticed
(“China,” par. 1). Eritrea’s government does not meet the requirements for
eliminating trafficking and also seems to not be making any efforts to do so. The
government did take steps to address trafficking and even coordinated a plan with
an international organization but the government hadn’t reported any
investigations, prosecutions, convictions, or identification of trafficking victims
(“Eritrea,” par. 1). Without the compliance of all countries, it's harder to get an
accurate number of people affected.
This issue while, affecting individuals regardless, increases in pervasiveness as
its impact on women is greater. Women and men are disproportionately affected by
human trafficking. Women make up a larger portion of victims when compared to men.
Human trafficking was seen as a crime that affected mostly females who are
trafficked for sexual exploitation, though “over time, a higher percentage of men
have been identified as it has been acknowledged that men can also be vulnerable to
many forms of human trafficking, including sexual exploitation, and the
identification of such cases has improved”. Age doesn’t seem to affect the
proportions as children have relative proportions to adults for males and females
remain about the same (“Human Trafficking,” par. 7). Age doesn’t affect the chances
of being trafficked nearly as much as what gender someone identifies as, so women
are more probable of getting trafficked than men no matter the age.
All around the world, human trafficking affects the mental state of victims.
Additionally, peopl are incentivized by the profits of trafficking and according to
the OVCTTAC, a component of the Office for Victims of Crime, the psychological
abuse from experiencing human trafficking can lead to severe implications regarding
mental health which include post-traumatic stress disorders, drug misuse,
depression, and anorexia. Of the young victims of trafficking between the ages of
10-17, about 12% try to harm or kill themselves in any given month (“Mental Health
Needs,” par. 1). It’s also important to consider the profits made by a trafficker.
UNICEF concludes, after extensive research, that traffickers make about $150
billion a year. Furthermore, its one of the largest crime syndicates, trailing
after the drug trade. Human beings, in contrast to drugs, which can only be sold
once, are sold numerous times. Getting started does not necessitate huge
investments as the cost is relatively minimal compared to the exponential profits.
People desperately in need of money may turn to trafficking because of the profits
and low investments (What Fuels Human Trafficking, par. 3). Finally, Carolina
Villacampa, a professor of criminal law, argues that victims are treated as
criminals when going through the justice system because of how trafficking is
legally defined. Being trafficked for criminal exploitation doesn’t legally fall
under the category of being trafficked (Villacampa and Torres, par. 7 ). Criminal
exploitation “refers to trafficking carried out for the purpose of forcing the
victims to perform either activities that are considered unlawful or antisocial,
such as begging or prostitution in places where it is illegal, or those that
directly constitute crimes”. Crimes like illegal entry into the country and being a
drug mule are common when being criminally exploited (Villacampa and Torres, par.
3). Criminal exploitation trafficking victims are not legally recognized victims of
trafficking and are seen as criminals. This means that when being presented at
court, they are presented as a defendant and not a victim (Villacampa and Torres,
par 11). The serious consequences of this issue have negatively changed the world,
which has forced proper action to be taken in order to decrease these high
statistics.
Countries such as China and the US, international authorities such as the EU and
UN, as well as private organizations such as Hershey’s and Apple, have all been
working to keep human trafficking low. They all provided solutions to minimize the
damage done by trafficking but some of the efforts are more effective than others.
China and the US have both tried to help the situation by establishing laws but
there is a visible difference between how much it actually helps. International
authorities like the UN and EU have joined forces to shed light on human
trafficking to the general public. Individual companies such as Apple and Hershey’s
can’t make changes themselves without the help of other private organizations but
by working together, they are supposedly stopping human trafficking within their
companies. It’s important to remember that just because an effort was made, it
doesn’t necessarily mean the situation is getting better.
The US announced they strengthened their “law enforcement, juvenile justice, and
victim services human trafficking initiatives at its Office of Justice Programs
into the new Human Trafficking Division within DOJ’s OVC, to further efforts to
combat human trafficking in the United States by aligning funding, training,
assistance, and other resources,” and have shown the results. The US is currently
at tier 1, meaning they are fully complying with the TVPA’s minimum requirements.
The US put in an effort to keep up with the requirements and limit trafficking in
its own country by doing so (2020 Report on Human Trafficking, par. 1). To contrast
the efforts of the US, China is a tier 3 country that “hasn’t made significant
efforts but cooperated with international authorities,” and you can see this in the
statistics they present regarding the matter. A tier 3 country is a country that
doesn't meet the minimum standards and doesn't seem to be making an effort to do so
(2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: China, par. 1). Similar to efforts made by
several countries to lower human trafficking rates, international organizations
have also stepped up to make reforms.
International Authorities such as the EU and UN have both made great efforts to
help fight against trafficking. The EU has adopted the Lisbon Treaty that
“harmonises the definition of the crime and the penalties. It further sets robust
provisions for the protection, assistance, and support to victims, as well as
provisions to prevent the crime and provisions to better monitor and evaluate our
efforts”. Victims are now given the opportunity to come back to society and recover
from the traumatic experiences that would have gone through. The UN has been
working to spread awareness about the issue to young individuals. More than 50% of
trafficking victims are below the age of 18 so spreading awareness to young minds
is crucial. The UN is currently running a “dynamic new global project run in
conjunction with the UN that aims to engage and raise awareness among young people,
helping them learn about the issues surrounding human trafficking” (Dearnley, par.
7). The UN believes that the first step toward prosecuting traffickers and
eliminating human trafficking in the future is to first understand the
unfathomability of the crime which cannot be isolated from external factors
(Dearnley, par. 5).
Individual companies can’t make changes themselves without the help of other
private organizations. 2 companies that have made efforts toward stopping human
trafficking within their companies include Apple and Hershey’s. According to
Apple’s statement regarding efforts being made to combat human trafficking, they
have implemented Apple’s Anti-Human Trafficking Policy that undeviatingly prohibits
trafficking and involuntary labor within the business and supply chain. The policy
applies to all employees, people doing business with the company, and business is
done on Apple’s behalf (“2020 Apple Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery in
Supply,” p.3 ). This policy by itself isn’t enough to ensure that employees are
actually following the policy. The company enforces the policy through their audit
to make sure everyone is in compliance and anyone breaking the policy is fired and
prohibited to do any business in reference to the company. According to the
Washington Post, Hershey’s pledged they wouldn’t use cocoa harvested using child
labor but when Hershey’s was asked about whether or not they still follow the
pledge, an executive was unable to confirm anything and simply said that he was
unable to make any claims (Whoriskey and Siegel, par. 12). Only about 80% of the
cocoa beans Hershey’s purchased have been from certified sources (Whoriskey and
Siegel, par. 46). The other 20% is unaccounted for is suspected to be the cocoa
bean harvested using child labor. Even though the company claims to be using cocoa
that wasn’t harvested by children, it is strongly suggested that they still do and
shows that rules and regulations aren’t enough to stop human trafficking within a
company but rather the enforcement of the said rule.
Human trafficking is a very serious issue and will continue to grow unless everyone
does their part and helps fight against the threat. Spreading awareness about
victims could drastically slow down the number of victims caused by trafficking.
The main causes include poverty and exploitation within countries but with enough
effort, can be fixed. If regular citizens recognized and reported suspicious
activity regarding trafficking, the number of people affected would go down
significantly.

Source Check
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