Imagine your everyday routine. You wake up to a monotone beeping noise that pierces through your skull. It’s your friend the alarm clock waking you up before the sun even rises. Somehow, you remove the sheets and slowly get out of bed. You brace yourself for the long day ahead and dread those responsibilities staring you in the face. The bathroom tiles are cold on your feet and the chills wake you up. You brush your teeth and go through the mental checklist of making yourself presentable to the world. Finally, with your coffee in your hand you make it out the door just in time. Your car engine starts up and like everyone else you sit in traffic on your way to work. As humans, we are creatures of habit. We don’t realize that our world could change in an instant.

Now, imagine a small child in a third world country on her way to school. She walks by herself because her mother is taking care of three other children who are all younger. Her father has been absent for two months now working to make ends meet for the family. As she walks she says hello to the neighbors who sit outside every morning and counts her steps till the next familiar landmark. This routine is common for this girl across the globe. Suddenly she is grabbed by two unknown men who push her into the back of a van. This little girl has just been sold into the vicious trade of human trafficking. 

Human trafficking evolved from slave trading which started as early as the 1400’s in Latin America. The colonists in this area had a hard time maintaining the sugar plantations and mining from the mountains and sought new ways to boost the economy by exploiting workers. Slaves were sent over on large ships to later maximize agriculture and industry outputs while working conditions were inhumane. Human trafficking which stems from slavery is the practice of illegally transporting someone against their will from one area to another, for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Although many may not be aware of this problem today, trafficking is a big crisis not just in third world countries but also in the United States. The government needs to pay more attention to this epidemic and bring about a change to save more victims from this trade. Preventative measures must be taken in order to combat human trafficking and resources need to be made available for survivors to seek the help they need. Harsher laws should be established and flaws in previous laws should be tightened so traffickers do not get off the hook for their crimes.    

In third world countries many cases of human trafficking continue to go unnoticed while traffickers easily benefit from the exploitation of humans. In more progressive nations like the U.S. it may be hard to detect, but human trafficking is still prevalent. Although Anti-trafficking measures have already been established more must be done to lower the statistics of persons trafficked and prevent someone from becoming a victim. In an effort to stem human trafficking in the U.S. since 2012 Congress and state legislature have introduced 1,601 bills and 387 of them have become laws (Peters, 536). Although these numbers seem high, the laws created are less than half the bills that are passed. These bills and laws still hinder victims from fully getting the help they need to recover from such horrific acts. The government’s response to trafficking victims is that they must prove that they have been victimized before they can further receive help. The U.S. Human Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) deals with certifying victims of human trafficking. This certification is supposed to allow victims to receive federally funded services. This policy proves to have many holes in it because it does not give every victim a fair fate. Once the person has been granted a “victim” it is often hard to receive financial remunerations from their trafficker (Peters, 537). The status of a victim means they must prove they have been forced, coerced, or involved in fraud. For foreign victims that seek refuge in the U.S. the process is very complicated. They first must provide addition evidence stated by the Code of Federal Regulations in order to obtain a T visa to remain in the country (Peters 541). If a victim cannot provide all the needed information during their stay in the U.S., the government will not view them as victims. This means that many criminals if caught, will not be forced to pay the victim for what they have done. The government also will not have to pay the victim if they do not see it necessary which is most trafficking cases due to government budgets. The government is reluctant to take on many human trafficking cases because usually more pressing issues with terrorism or other important laws arise. Actions within the government must be taken to establish a higher budget for human trafficking victims. With funding, such actions could include more resources to educate those on the issue and stronger preventative programs to stop the spread of trafficking. 

Many victims of this horrendous trade include women and children. Statistics show that women make up 71 percent of victims which has increased in the last year (Relief Web). Once in the trade, women are subject to work as prostitutes and/or in a brothel. This gender divide labels women as sufferers while the men are considered dominant and masculine (Schemenauer). Children also are subject to these conditions or are used like animals in sweatshops for their labor. Many are beaten and tortured if their captors do not make their quotas or just because they are seen as lesser than a human. Many “recruiters” promise their subjects high paying jobs and a promise of a better life to persuade women and children, sometimes even men, to work for them. Traffickees stay with their “employer” because they are coerced to pay off their debt bondage through forced labor. If the victim has finally earned enough or has done everything asked, the trafficker will embellish their debt and make them pay off their stay and for food. Almost all victims never receive their money that they work for and lack legal documentation to escape. 

This vicious cycle is what leaves a victim feeling hopeless and physically drained. Although these accounts are most abundant in third world countries, these situations are present in the U.S. as well. People who escape from war and persecution are vulnerable to trafficking due to the urgency of their situation which will cause them to make irrational decisions. For example, the increase in the number of Syrian victims of trafficking following the start of the conflict there, shows an increase of victims (Relief Web 3). The U.S. faces many threats against outside groups such as ISIS which has taken many women in Iraq and forced them into sex slavery. One case of persuasion to join a trafficking ring is seen in Nepal where a 14-year-old girl was a border checkpoint away from being sold into sex slavery. Her family was living in desperate conditions and she was uneducated. Interested to provide for the family, Pramila set out to meet her trafficker where she was told she would be making clothes. Once she crossed the border into India she became very lucky. Members of Maiti Nepal, an anti-trafficking organization, saw Pramila’s situation and were able to rescue her. This organization estimates the 20,000 women and girls are trafficked from Nepal to India each year (Meyer). Steps should be considered and taken to prevent these actions from escalating whether it be to loosen federal migration laws and allow these refugees into our country or invest in programs to help these women and cater to their needs.

Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) have become very successful in combatting human trafficking. Many of these organizations will go above and beyond to help those who have suffered through sex slavery. These organizations feel passionate about helping others and can be seen as more help than the government in certain cases. In the U.S. the Polaris Project works to end modern day slavery and advocated for strong federal laws to be established. The issue is that these organizations are not receiving enough funding from the public to help those in need. In order to continue these organizations, the government should show an interest and promote them as well as help fund them instead of ignoring them. In Hyderbad India, Prajwala was founded which rescues women in brothels and provides them with education, health care, and job opportunities. Another organization that was founded in Thailand is called Urban Light and its goal is to rescue men and young boys from trafficking (The Muse). There are many other organizations that have identified the problem and are trying to solve it. If significant changes are to be made, then the government must take action and partner with these organizations as well as pay more attention to their strategies. Reports on human trafficking are increasing each year (Turner). Statistics show that in 2016, 8,042 cases of human trafficking were reported just in the U.S. which was a 35 percent increase from 2015. In 2016, 2,042 survivors contacted the Polaris Hotline which was a 24 percent increase from 2015 (Polaris). Without these organizations numbers would increase drastically and there would be no justice for survivors of sex trafficking. 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigates cases of trafficking and prosecutes traffickers who have been accused. Many of these cases have contributed to construction of a network of trafficking victims service providers through their grant programs. This facilitates the complaint process of persons wanting to report a case of trafficking (US Department of Human Health Services). The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 is the first law to address trafficking. The law includes protection, prevention, and prosecution. This law fights not only forced sex trafficking but also labor trafficking. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA) of 2015 improves the U.S. response to human trafficking. Among these amendments are changes in the criminal liability of buyers of commercial sex from victims of trafficking (National Human Trafficking Hotline). Although these laws are in place and stop half of the perpetrators, another half still remain in the streets. The laws for traffickers who have been caught provide loop holes and sometimes traffickers can get away with almost no repercussions. Government agencies must recognize the other half that are not caught and find ways to target them as well as making stricter laws for those who are caught. 

Human trafficking in the eyes of most people is seen as a universally bad action. Even though it is, it is what drives many third world countries and benefits not only their government but also their economy. This means of slavery is how many people in India and other countries make their living, supporting themselves and their families. This system of forced labor has existed for many years now without very strong consequences in these countries. The government in these countries are mainly concerned with infrastructure and fiscal solvency, rather than the source of this money. Human trafficking is estimated to generate $150 billion globally every year. In the U.S. $45 million are spent per year on online sex trafficking alone (Titchen). Many traffickers believe that this is their best chance to get rich. Sex trafficking has been around for a long time now because it creates a profit with a minimal risk. If the demand is high, then business will make more money and this cycle of power and money will repeat until proven otherwise. These flaws in government laws and regulations only fuel human trafficking and personally benefit traffickers from getting caught. This allows for traffickers to continue their forced labor and not have a concern for the well-being of their subjects. Without a demand there would be less supply. The government should implement stricter laws to prosecute the buyers who start the cycle of human trafficking. Without these buyers, traffickers who later acquire humans will be less likely to accomplish their goals because they won’t have these said victims.   

These loopholes around the law pertaining to human trafficking prove that the government should be taking bigger strides to fix this global issue. Matters need to be taken first in our own country but also in third world countries. This problem can only be fixed by educating the population of these horrific acts first. One way to educate people is to offer classes in High Schools and design courses specific to Human trafficking for colleges that are required classes. In the government, a legal framework with correct penalties must be established to effectively prosecute criminals. Other measures such as preventing men in third world countries from exploiting women through education must be taken. Problems such as crime, poverty, migration, and labor must be taken into account. More easy skilled jobs for the uneducated should be created and police forces should be tightened not just in third world countries but here in the U.S. as well. These steps are all in the governments hands and once the ball starts rolling the change for progress can be taken and human trafficking can be an issue of the past.   

Such timelines of trafficking as well as the influence of colonial slavery makes an individual wonder where our government and future as a nation stand. Without globalization where would we be? It is important to be aware of human trafficking so one can identify the root causes and problems and be able to take actions into their own hands. Thinkers need to become doers and human trafficking should be a word that makes one shiver. Putting an end to human trafficking and the brutality of individuals that comes along with it must better be seen by the government. In order to prevent further cases from occurring, the government needs to invest more time and funding into this widespread normality. Without these actions by the government, human trafficking will continue to plague not only the U.S. but also other countries. Programs by both the government and non-government need to globally cooperate in order to completely abolish human trafficking. These criminal actions continue to damage the lives of innocent people and divide our nation.    
