Human Trafficking, The Modern Slavery Essay
Introduction
Human trafficking is a big problem all around the world. Every year, thousands of men, women and children are kidnapped by traffickers, and forced into sexual exploitation and slavery. In this essay, I will talk about the causes of human trafficking and what effects it has on the victims, families, and society.
Causes
The cause of human trafficking is mainly the organized criminals that kidnap and abuse the victims. Their main purpose is to get rich by exploiting people. These people usually are cold-hearted and they do not have any morals or sense of social justice.
Another reason that causes human trafficking is that governments in those countries are very weak, and they usually do not do anything to help or at least try to help. Therefore, the criminals have more chances of kidnapping people without worrying about getting caught easily.
The final cause of human trafficking is that society has a lack of awareness of its dangers. Not many people really care about human trafficking as they do not know the dangers of it. There may be a lack of attention given to the problem in education and the media.
Human trafficking happens all around the world, even in rich countries. The countries that I will be writing about are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vietnam and the U.S.A.
The Congo.
Human trafficking is a very serious problem in the Congo. The human trafficking in the Congo is usually for forced prostitution and forced labor. The government there is very weak; they do not seem to show any evidence of punishing and prosecuting the human trafficking offenders, or in raising awareness to other people.
According to one report, Lords Resistance Army (LRA), continued to abduct and forcibly recruit Congolese men, women, and children to bolster their ranks and serve as laborers, porters, domestics, combatants, and sex slaves. For example, between July 30 and August 2, 2010, a coalition including the LRA abducted 116 civilians from 13 villages, and subjected them to forced labor. Between January and September 2010, the LRA violently abducted more than 279 Congolese citizens, including 184 children Refworld. (http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,USDOS,,COD,,4e12ee8837,0.html )
The U.S.A.
The USA is one of the richer countries with more protection and awareness of human trafficking, but of course, there are still people (mostly women and children) getting kidnapped and being involved in this horrible crime.
Another report says, According to the FBI, there are currently an estimated 293,000 American children at risk of being exploited and trafficked for sex. Forty percent of all human trafficking cases opened for investigation between January 2008 and June 2010 were for the sexual trafficking of a child. And while the term trafficking may conjure images of desperate illegal immigrants being forced into prostitution by human smugglers, 83 percent of victims in confirmed sex trafficking cases in this country were American citizens. -Guest Blogger , October 6, 2012- (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10/06/971401/girls-human-trafficking-and-modern-slavery-in-america/?mobile=nc)
Vietnam.
There are also a number of victims of human trafficking in Vietnam. Women and men here are usually trafficked for forced labor and the construction of buildings, or as domestic servants. Many Vietnamese women are trafficked to Cambodia for sexual exploitation, where they become prostitutes and are often unable to escape. When they get older they are thrown out of the trafficking and left to look after themselves. In 2004, the police had estimated that more than 50,000 Vietnamese women and girls under the age of under 18 had been victims of human trafficking, and the number is getting higher every year. http://www.globalexchange.org/country/vietnam/trafficking
Effects
There are lots of effects on the victims of human trafficking, mostly psychological and physical problems. There will also be health effects on the victims.
Psychological effects could be even worse than physical effects as the victims will suffer from lack of self-esteem, emotional disturbance, depression, and they could even be scarred for life. This problem could lead to suicide.
Health effects are also very serious. The victims who are involved in sexual exploitation can easily be infected by diseases such as HIV/AIDS. These diseases can then be passed onto their future partners (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-human-trafficking.html)
The families of the victims of human trafficking will be affected. The families would be completely broken and it will also affect their whole life, losing one of their loved ones.
The society would be affected as well. This generation, people do not really do anything to prevent human trafficking. They do not help. Therefore, people now will always think that it is not their problem, so they do not have to worry. The society is getting worse and worse, and more selfish.
Conclusion
This essay shows the causes and effects of human trafficking. Human trafficking happens everywhere in the world, mostly in poorer countries with weak governments that usually do not help decrease the amount of human trafficking in their country. Additionally, the effects of this crime on the victims involved could be very serious, leading to mental problems like depression or even suicide.
References
Causes
http://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/section.action?sectionId=90963548-0cf3-43e1-8e59-4bce1b03192d§ionType=LIST_ENTITIES_SQUARE_IMAGES
Human Trafficking in Vietnam
http://www.actionaid.org.uk/100191/human_trafficking.html
http://www.globalexchange.org/country/vietnam/trafficking
In USA
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10/06/971401/girls-human-trafficking-and-modern-slavery-in-america/?mobile=nc
http://www.today.com/id/22083762/site/todayshow/ns/today-today_news/t/sex-slaves-human-trafficking-america/#.UPod-R37iYk
In Congo
http://www.indexmundi.com/democratic_republic_of_the_congo/trafficking_in_persons.html
Effects
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-human-trafficking.html
