In our current society, many enduring issues affect people all around the world. In Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, sex trafficking has been occurring, which is a huge human rights violation. A human rights violation is “when there is a failure to act against the abuse of basic rights.” (“What are human rights?,” 2014). Sex trafficking is a type of human trafficking and is a form of modern-day slavery. Specifically, 98% of sex trafficking are women, however, it is still a serious public health problem that negatively affects the well-being of all individuals. (“Sex Trafficking|Sexual Violence|Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC,” 2018)
Also, it has been reported that “worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children”.(ragnhild.johansen, 2019) Sex-trafficking is not a relatively new problem, as it was seen during the African slave trade. The Europeans would sell the Africans, who were human beings, igniting the beginning of this huge enduring issue. The buying and selling of human beings were legal for centuries and are still legal in some parts of the world today. While it is illegal to traffick people in the U.S, it is still a problem in mainly Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. “73% of victims are from the Asia-Pacific region.” (“Building Coalitions to End Trafficking in Asia,” 2019).
These are shockingly high numbers, proving the severity of the issue. Not only are being sold, “the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation.” (ragnhild.johansen, 2019). Many defenseless women and children are being exploited, and there is not enough being done to help them. In some countries, the people being trafficked are being moved into different countries, but in some cases, the victims stay close to home. Either way, they are being sold and abused, which is violating their basic human rights. Many governments have been ignoring the issue, but it is getting out of control. If drastic measures are not taken, sex-trafficking will continue to occur, and more innocent lives will be affected.
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Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking that exploits people all across the world. It is the most common in poorer, and weaker countries, as both of these are causes of modern-day sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is more common in third-world countries, such as Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, because they have much higher rates of poverty compared to other parts of the world. When more people are living in the streets and unsafe areas, it is easier for predators to capture the people they are trafficking.
“Predators of human trafficking often target people who are poor, vulnerable, living in an unsafe situation, or searching for a better life.” (“Building Coalitions to End Trafficking in Asia,” 2019) It is very easy for women and children in these countries to be taken advantage of because most of them live in and are surrounded by poverty. Not only are the victims involved in human trafficking poor, so are the traffickers themselves. The sex trafficking industry is a very high paying industry, making it more appealing to the poverty-stricken predators. Currently, human sex trafficking is worth an “estimated USD $99 billion industry globally.” (“Building Coalitions to End Trafficking in Asia,” 2019) The people in countries like Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia are suffering from being in poverty, and use sex trafficking as their way to make money.
The predators also use poverty as a method to capture their victims. Most women and children are tricked into a fake job in order to make money, but before they realize, they are being trafficked. “They’ll respond to a work advertisement in another country, travel to that country, have their documents taken from them and be forced into sexual slavery.” (Bondi, 2018). This makes it very easy for people in poorer countries to be trafficked. So, the traffickers end up paying extremely low prices for women, and then sell them to sex buyers through the industry for very high prices. Neither the buyers or the traffickers have concerns for the people they are enslaving in this process.
Another cause of human sex trafficking in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia is having a weak and corrupt government. When people are living in countries that don’t have strong governments, laws aren’t enforced, and no one is safe. This opens the door to sex-trafficking in these countries. It has been found that countries with “social and political instability, economic collapse and high levels of unemployment have led to thriving organized crime rings.” (Bondi, 2018)
Corrupt countries see more organized crime, which is unsafe for all of the countries inhabitants. Most of the countries that are dealing with human trafficking are also dealing with a lot of other safety issues around the law. These include, “child abuse, neglect, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and gang violence.” (“Sex Trafficking|Sexual Violence|Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC,” 2018) Sex trafficking is not the only issue these countries are dealing with, but they are all caused by not having strong law enforcement. Another legal issue that is connected to human trafficking in Europe is prostitution. In Germany after prostitution was legalized, “it saw sharp increases in human trafficking also. This… led to the normalization of prostitution, creating more demand and making it easier for traffickers to hide enslaved women and girls within the commercial sex industry.” (Bondi, 2018)
Many other countries in Europe and Asia also allow legal prostitution, and they too have higher rates of sex-trafficking. If there was a stronger government in these countries that could end the legalization of prostitution, and many countries would see a decrease in trafficking within their countries. Not only are they allowing prostitution to occur, but these governments also are not protecting the human rights of their citizens. People are being exploited in many different ways because their government won’t step in, which isn’t fair. If law enforcement and government officials all work together to create more effective justice systems, human trafficking can be stopped, and more people will be safe.
Human sex-trafficking is a serious issue, and its effects are very clear. One of the biggest effects has been the increase in sexually transmitted diseases. However, only women have been forced to be checked for diseases, which has caused many people to be upset. Many activists, like Josephine Butler, have been leading movements to fight against this problem. The CDAs required women in prostitution to be examined for sexually-transmitted diseases. (“Josephine Butler: A Century Long Battle to End International Sex Trafficking,” 2015) This was called the White-Slave Traffic (Donna Hughes 2013). She married George Butler and both worked in the abolition movement.
“Butler was a British reformer who led a twenty-year campaign to repeal the Contagious Disease Act…and worked to abolish commercial sexual exploitation of women and children, and founded the International Abolitionist Federation.” (“Josephine Butler: A Century Long Battle to End International Sex Trafficking,” 2015) Her goal was to revoke the Contagious Diseases Acts. “Butler was appalled and wondered aloud why only women were required to undergo compulsory examinations. Shortly afterward, she began working to repealing the Contagious Disease Acts … for twenty years, she traveled around the country, calling meetings, giving speeches and organizing to educate citizens about the problem.” (“Josephine Butler: A Century Long Battle to End International Sex Trafficking,” 2015).
Another effect of human trafficking is the experience of mental disorders and psychological illnesses. Most victims who escaped sex trafficking experience anxiety, depression, panic disorder, substance abuse, PTSD, suicidal tendencies, and Stockholm Syndrom. “Stockholm Syndrome is a very common illness sex trafficking victims endure. Stockholm Syndrome, also known as traumatic bonding, is where victims find it challenging to leave their abusers. This is because victims use their Stockholm Syndrome as a survival mechanism. They are petrified to leave their abusers in fear of being physically harmed or killed.” (tai-lin hampton, 2017)
Victims can also experience emotional trauma. “In terms of emotional health, victims often report feeling hopelessness, guilt, recurring nightmares, lack of confidence, denial, distrust, and low self-esteem Due to these mental health issues, victims use drugs to cope. This leads to substance abuse that can impact their physical health.” (tai-lin hampton, 2017) Victim’s physical health can be just as severe as their mental health. They can experience an improper diet and starvation. “Another technique used to control victims is the use of physical force and torture. Injuries such as broken bones, burns, scars, broken teeth are very common. In a study conducted by Janice Raymond, she found that 65% of victims reported broken ribs, toes, backbone, and spinal cord.” (tai-lin hampton, 2017)
Other than having physical problems, people can suffer from diseases also. Sex trafficking victims usually live in a contaminated environment, which makes it more likely to get sick. “Infectious diseases that could be easily avoided are predominant in the sex traffic industry. These transmittable diseases include malaria, tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis, and pneumonia.” (tai-lin hampton, 2017) Other health problems that a lot of human trafficking survivors have are sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS and HIV. “In a study…they found that in underdeveloped countries, 56% of victims were HIV positive.” (tai-lin hampton, 2017) Sex trafficking causes critical health issues that need to be recognized by healthcare providers.
While this enduring issue hasn’t been easy to solve, there have been several attempts. One of the attempted solutions was to put an end to sex-trafficking is the Nordic Model in Europe. Also known as The Sex Buyer Law, works by lowing the demand for prostitution by criminalizing traffickers and sex buyers. Under this law, women selling sex is not against the law but buying sex is. “Adopted in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, the Nordic Model has been proven to reduce
demand for buying sex, thereby reducing sex trafficking, as well as other forms of sexual exploitation. By reducing demand there are fewer financial incentives for sex traffickers and the country in question is seen as an unsafe destination by them. The ideal would be for all countries to adopt this law, making all countries unsafe destinations and reducing demand across the board.” (Bondi) The Nordic Model decreased the number of people who were being trafficked. As a result of this, “Since the Nordic Model was introduced, attitudes towards buying sex have shifted rapidly in Sweden in a positive direction. The proportion of men buying women for sex has been halved.” (“The Nordic Model Legislation is the Only Way to End Sex Trafficking,” 2018).
Another attempted solution to stop human trafficking is the use of law enforcement. In Southeast Asia, the Regional Office for the Pacific and Southeast Asia, a regional law enforcement collaboration at the operational level. This was organized in 2017 by the UNODC and the Senior law enforcement of Southeast Asia to emphasize the importance of addressing the problem of sex trafficking of underage victims. Regional Coordinator, Benjamin Smith stated “We are helping law enforcement agencies with intelligence-led investigation techniques and a region-wide network needed to target high-level organizers of human trafficking and migrant smuggling. This is part of a comprehensive UNODC strategy to boost the quality of convictions across the region.’ (diana.teixeira, 2017) Between these new law enforcements and Nordic Model, the rates of sex trafficking are sure to decrease.
For many centuries, human beings have been sold and sexually exploited. In poorer areas of the world, such as Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, the amount of people being sex-trafficked has been higher than in other parts of the world. To end this enduring issue, many solutions have been attempted. The movement led by Josephine Butler and the Regional Office for the Pacific and Southeast Asia has been effective so far, as fewer people have been trafficked in these regions. However, there are other things that we can do. One of the steps that can be taken is getting help for both the people being trafficked and for the sex traffickers. The victims can get help to mentally and physically heal, and the sex traffickers can also get professional help.
“Governments among different nations should allow these victims easy and free access to support groups, therapy, and doctor visits’ ‘ to help the survivors get over their trauma and get healthier. tai-lin hampton. (tai-lin hampton, 2017) This would overall decrease the number of people being taken and sold and help everyone involved in the problem to get better. As far as the future of sex-trafficking goes, the problem won’t end until more people are aware of the issue, and more laws are put in place. If effective laws are passed to end sex-trafficking, and we can find a way to stop sex traffickers before they even take action, the issue will decrease tremendously.
It all comes down to having a reliable and effective government, which these countries do not have. Until that happens, more activist and movement groups need to be heard. If the severity of the situation was expressed to people in more developed countries, the support to end sex-trafficking would be huge. We need more rallies and marches to spread public awareness on this issue, and then that would open the eyes of different governments across the globe to make changes. Until some sort of change happens, human sex-trafficking will continue to happen, and more women and children will be taken away for good.
