Strategies to Fight Human Trafficking - Essay Example

? Research Paper Task: Research Paper Introduction Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery emulated from past generations. Many people think it does not exist; however, this is not the case as it is dominant in many countries. The history of slavery gets traced back to 1760 BC when people had the legal authority to own and buy other people. Slaves performed various functions ranging from household chores to plantation farm work. They were transported from developing countries especially Africa to colonial masters, with United States being an outstanding player in the inhuman act. According to research, not less than 20 million people got transported across the Atlantic Ocean. During the transportation, 20 percent of people died due to poor conditions. With some countries burning it in the early 1990s, due to the inhuman nature, human trafficking still exists only with a new name. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, paragraph (a) under article 3, of the protocol to prevent, punish and suppress punishing of persons; human trafficking is the recruitment, haulage, harboring, intimidation of a person by use of abduction, fraud, deception, threat, force or by giving or receiving payments with the sole purpose of exploiting the person. The exploitations include sexual exploitation, labor exploitation, and exploitation for prostitution, servitude, slavery or removal of organs. Human trafficking covers all fields; however, the paper will give emphasis to trafficking of women a common and upcoming trend among many countries. Trafficking of Women is an abhorrent crime and currently many women fall into a victim of such instances due to many factors. Advancement in technology among other factors such as economic conditions is the leading causes of trafficking (Shelley 2010, pp. 43). Consequently, many strategies get employed to curb the increasing trend especially among the developing countries. The purpose of this research paper is to explore various approaches as well as the implications, which the current strategies employed to fight trafficking of women manifest. Causes of women trafficking There are several factors, which drive trafficking of women, to start with prostitution. This is the process of taking advantage of intimate activities for favors such as payment. It is in this regard that desperate women fall victim and pass across borders into other countries with the sole purpose of sex work. Many women find themselves falling victim of such trafficking practices, when they are promised a better future, which later ends up to be as prostitution. Consequently, women get duped into trafficking due to drug trafficking. There are various organizations trafficking beautiful and attractive women for drug trafficking. This is a case scenario in south Asia and a substantial part of Europe, where girls are capture at a tender age and trained to supply drugs. Trafficking of women also gets promoted by worse economic conditions, which lead to poverty (Shelley 2010, pp. 50). Poverty remains a serious driving factor to trafficking of women. Women especially in developing countries are impoverished with many seeking for means of employment. It is from this perspective that when they are promised marvelous things oversees, they readily accept without knowing what waits. This, therefore, leads to trafficking of such women. Approaches in the current strategies to address human trafficking of women There are various approaches employed by various social groups, governments as well as nongovernmental organizations. One such strategy is the human right framework that outlines various human rights. Using the rights as a basis, various groups fight trafficking of women terming it as an inhuman activity. Some of the human rights include, The right to personal autonomy The right to enjoy psychological, sexual and physical health The right to work with adequate and just pay as well as excellent working conditions Freedom from forced labor and slavery The right not to be submitted or tortured in cruel or disregarding treatment The right to be free from physical violence The freedom to decide where to stay as well as move without detractors The approach of human rights eliminates the barbaric activity of trafficking women, which generate billions of dollars every year. Unlike weapons and drug, trafficking, human trafficking of women happens repeatedly as the proprietors, sell and resell their victims. This forces women to suffer repeatedly. It is from this perspective that the United Nations established human rights to reduce the acts, which goes against the normal life conditions of women. It gets estimated that 80 percent of women become victims of trafficking since they are not aware of their rights. It is, therefore, critical that people become aware of their as his become a stimulating factor in preventing human trafficking of women (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime 2004). Another approach is by the United Nations Office on Drugs and crime, which help in formulating various laws and regulations governing trafficking of women. Subsequently, UNODC offers resources in terms of finance and other specialized assistance in the development of local expertise and capacity in dealing with trafficking of women (Shelley 2010, pp. 61). This approach helps people in identifying various trafficking activities, which help in the investigation and prosecution of players in trafficking of women. In the year 2000, the United Nations general assembly passed a protocol with an aim of preventing suppressing and punishing trafficking of persons especially women. This was significant achievements and a milestone towards diminishing the trade of women. The protocol ensured cooperation among different countries through borders and shared information of intelligence, which led to a reduction of trafficking of women by 20%. In addition, a global programme got launched in, which to date 147 countries are member states. In as much as ratification of programmes took place implementation has remained a nightmare as only few criminals get prosecuted for trafficking. Consequently, most victims of trafficking remain unidentified and given the attention as well as the support, they need. Instead, they end up in wrong hands with some forced into repetitive exploitation. Translation into reality, therefore, has remained a common challenge in the implementation of strategies towards finishing the inhuman act of trafficking women. Moreover, the UNODC also issued a comprehensive strategy aimed at prevention of trafficking. This remains an immediate priority in the UNs future in engagement and reduction of human trafficking (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, 2004). Political pressure also plays an imperative approach towards eliminating trafficking of women. This is one of the current approaches towards fighting trafficking with the USA leading in the provision of political pressures. The introduction of such pressures assists in the implementation of various strategies aimed at finishing trafficking. The US, for instance, issued political pressure on ASEAN nations as one of the UNs protocols. This was in reference to the Trafficking victims Act of 2000, which designates responsibilities to every country in a bid to finish trafficking of women (Shelley 2010, pp. 90). It is in this regards that the US issues suctions on countries, which do not comply with the limitations and basic requirements according to their definitions. The suctions can include travelling of diplomats as well as trade and economic factors, which affect the normal operations of countries. When such mechanisms get employed, the involved countries are obligated to comply. The dominant international framework of the US and UN political pressure mainly in Asia remain a factor attributed to the regional constituencies. In as much as, political pressures surpass the principles of noninterference in countries domestic affairs, is impasse various human rights developments accrue due to the pressure. People question the justification behind the introduction of suctions on the Asian pacific; however, the truth behind the introduction of political pressure is due to nonexistence of human right protection mechanisms in the pacific region. This is a factor, which attracts attention of most world leaders as the region also provides the highest number of human right abuses ((Wennerholm 2000, pp. 03). Out of the ten ASEAN member countries, there is only four with a comprehensive framework of human rights. This includes Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Apart from political pressures, various governments have also introduced stringent measures, to curb the trend. This includes restrictions on migration and issuance of visas to regulate movement of traffickers. Intensive investigation by international bodies such as the FBI and Interpol also reduce woman trafficking at a great extent (Dekic 2003, pp. 193) Implications of current strategies to address human trafficking of women With regard to sex, trafficking, which is the main cause of women, trafficking; anti trafficking policies has influenced the society in many ways? The current strategies have caused hilarious and wholesome changes including; Development of comprehensive and conceptualized sex trafficking initiatives including action plans and blue prints to fight the aspect. Trafficking for sexual exploitation remains the key factor in the sport light among many nations. It is a factor, which attracts attention of many people. The development of the directive 2011/36/EU centered in protection of trafficking victims as well as preventing the occurrence of such practices remains another impact of the strategies. Apart from offering considerable solution to the problem, the vision of the programme is to transpose its member states by 6 April 2013. In addition, many European Union instruments have also affected significantly on the reduction of trafficking (Shelley 2010, pp. 133). For instance, the internal security strategy is a global approach towards mobility of people, which ensures only people with required certification travel to other places. Currents strategies employ five main pillars in order to control trafficking of women. This includes; Identifying, assisting and protecting victims of woman trafficking Stepping up the prevention and reduction of woman trafficking Increased prosecution and punishment of women traffickers Enhanced cooperation and coordination among key actors and policy initiators Increased awareness and knowledge as well as response to concerns related to trafficking of women. The pillars have improved diversity among people and groups including border guards, police officers, immigration officers and asylum officials. Legislators including public prosecutors, lawyers, court officials and members of the judiciary have also remained vigilant to combat woman trafficking (Dekic 2003, pp. 199) Another impact of the current strategies is the establishment of transnational and national mechanisms, which illustrate mechanisms to identify, protect and assist victims of woman trafficking. The bodies include public authorities in the context of European Union Cycle to fight trafficking of woman. Under this initiative, victims have suitable protection and assistance on the ground of individual risk assessment. The national referral mechanisms also offer defined roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in order to ensure linkages for fighting trafficking. Because of the issue of woman and the girl child trafficking, various conventions have been held with the aim of finding proficient solutions. The United Nations convention on the rights of the child provided an optional protocol limiting the sale of children, prostitution as well as child pornography of 2000 ((Wennerholm 2000, pp. 10). The convention gave emphasis to the girl child protection to limit exploitation of womanhood. In 2002, the United Nations High Commission on human rights, recommended values and procedure on woman trafficking, which was followed by an International Labor Organization declaration that was against trafficking of women to work as sex workers. From the convention, countries like Canada imposed measures such as the Immigration and Refugee Act of 2002. Under section 118 of the law, woman trafficking gets prohibited, and any attempt to disobey the rule attracts a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or a fine up to millions of dollars (Shelley 2010, pp. 143). The rules do not focus on any proof of trafficking but only focus on coercive or deceptive means. Woman trafficking is a versatile problem, which calls for comprehensive approaches. Consequently, various bodies responsible for protection of human rights have the responsibility to ensure that the measures are in place. Current strategies have offered this mandate to victims of such circumstances. According to article III of United Nations Charter, fundamental right of people is continuously improving, with dropping number of woman trafficking. Holistic approaches for Xenophobia and intolerant interdisciplinary approaches to cut down the trafficking cycle (Dekic 2003, pp.193). The protection and promotion of human rights; therefore, has remained an issue of priority among countries. Criminalization and punishment of traffickers has also remained a priority among countries as a strategy towards achieving and eliminating woman trafficking. In addition, international enforcement agencies as well as governmental assistance create intensive awareness and research as well as evaluation of strategies for reducing woman trafficking. As a means of fighting women trafficking indirectly, unemployment, which drives women into deceptive traps of traffickers, is getting eliminated by various countries. The council work decision of 2004/68/JHA is a strategy aimed at combating sexual exploitation of the girl child through providing basic education and employment (Wennerholm 2000, pp. 05). The European Union has provided assistance to member states in terms of finance and expertise. The strategy has reduced unemployment in member states reducing woman trafficking with a large percentage. This gets depicted by economic growth among various countries as well as enrichment of women to undertake various activities for combating woman trafficking. In as much as, combating woman trafficking by uplifting economic status is a long-term strategy; it is the surest and efficient way (Shelley 2010, pp. 153). This is because; the strategy equips women with all the necessary skills to survive for the rest of their lives without having to depend on the protection of other organizations. Recommendations Various efforts need to be employed in order to control woman trafficking. Some of the efforts include developing regional networks, sharing information between different countries as well having stringent rules and regulations followed to the letter. When there is extensive information sharing together with stringent rules, woman trafficking gets eliminated. Conclusion In conclusion, trafficking of women is an inhuman activity as portrayed by one of the US president, Abraham Lincoln. In 2008, the United States law agency documented cases of Latvian girls trafficked into Chicago for sexual slavery. Same to slave traffickers in the past, modern woman traffickers use violence, threats, physical restraining and intimidation to keep women at their task. There are various approaches, which employed to combat woman trafficking. This include approaches such human right approach as well as formulating laws and passing Legislations to protect women. Consequently, the strategies employed to combat woman trafficking has affected the society differently. For instance, it has increased awareness among people with many people aware of their basic rights. Women trafficking is, therefore, a violation of human rights, which needs elimination using all means possible (2378 words). Reference Dekic, S 2003, ‘Sex, slavery and politics: Representations of trafficked women in the SeiUia media’. Canadian Woman Studies, Vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 192-196 Shelley, L 2010, Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective, Cambridge University Press, Washington, DC. United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime 2004, Trafficking in human beings. Viewed 15 August 2012, www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CND-Uploads/CND-53-RelatedFiles/ECN72010_CRP6eV1051605.pdf. Wennerholm, C 2000, Trafficking in women and girls and HIV prevention. Kvinnoforum, Sweden. Viewed 15 August, 2012,http ://www.qweb.kvinnoforum.se/traffickine. Read More