Criminal Justice Human Trafficking What Term Paper

They may be sold to another owner after they arrive, and since most agreements are verbal, they are easily broken. Another startling fact in human trafficking is how many victims enter the trade willingly, because of the need to provide income for their families. Researchers Cwikel and Hoban note this is especially true in Russia, where many former Soviet Union countries have privatized education and health care facilities. Russian women often enter the sex trade via trafficking as a way to earn wages for education and health care expenses for the rest of their family. Often, victims come from poor, third-world countries. Researcher Miller states, "Desperate and gullible populations, especially in developing and transitioning countries, are susceptible to the promises made by recruiters (including family members) of a better life in another place, especially promises of paid work, marriage, or domestic service" (Miller). Thus, the practice preys on the most vulnerable populations of the world.

While women are common victims of human trafficking, children are often victims of this practice as well. Shockingly, many families desperate for money sell their own children into the trade. Another writer says, "However, not all victims are promised a better life when entering the sex trade. In some instances, family members sell children to the owners of brothels that are visited by sex tourists" (Matthews). Others are coerced by false promises. Another researcher notes,

At 15 Shadir accepted a job that promised good clothes and an education. It proved to be a case of false advertising -- a typical ploy of traffickers -- for the job actually took him to a rural village in India where he was forced to work 12 to 14 hours a day producing hand-woven carpets. His only payment was two helpings a day of lentils and rice. When Shadir was unable to work, he was severely beaten (Miller).

This is not an isolated case. Children are common human trafficking targets because they are innocent, able to work hard, and often have no family to search for them. In addition, many foreign countries do not regulate prostitution, and many children are trafficked into the sex trade in these countries, to serve customers who have a taste for children and child abuse.

Unfortunately, human trafficking has a long and varied history. In more modern history, human trafficking took place in the seventeenth century onward as natives from Africa were captured and transported to America, Latin America, and beyond as slave labor. However, the practice of human trafficking has its roots in ancient history, as far back as Biblical times. Cwikel and Hoban continue, "Moving women between countries for the purposes of work in prostitution dates back to Roman and Biblical times and was a major concern among social reformers of the late 19th century who fought against the 'White slave trade'" (Cwikel and Hoban). Another important historic aspect of the trade is the continuing fascination among men for foreign, "exotic" women to please them. Cwikel and Hoban note, "This has been a traditional marketing angle in the sex industry, dating back to Roman times when the hetaerae, or foreign women, commanded the highest prices for sexual services" (Cwikel and Hoban). Thus, exotic foreign women command more interest and more money, and the practice of importing women for sex continues today.

Later in history, human trafficking in slaves became a major form of smuggling humans for profit and forced labor. The white slave trade still exists today, but modern innovations, such as the Internet have changed the face of human trafficking in many ways, and have made contacting and abducting victims even easier than ever before. While most of the victims end up in the slave trade, others are forced into domestic service, hard labor, or other forms of work.

References

Cwikel, Julie, and Elizabeth Hoban. "Contentious Issues in Research on Trafficked Women Working in the Sex Industry: Study Design, Ethics, and Methodology." The Journal of Sex Research 42.4 (2005): 306+.

Matthews, Stacey. "International Trafficking in Children: Will New U.S. Legislation Provide an Ending to the Story?." Houston Journal of International Law 27.3…