Women Trafficking around the world - Research Paper Example

?Women Trafficking Around the World According to Anti-Slavery International (2006), one of the biggest human rights crises in the world, and especially the Middle East, is trafficking in women and girls for sexual exploitation. The United Nations estimates that human trafficking for sexual slavery is in the top three worst crises in the world and earns the criminals up to $10 billion in revenues and has occurred the world for a lot of years. This trend is expected to grow in the future with the fact that it is highly profitable, lowly investigated and few traffickers are usually prosecuted. In the Middle East, trafficking in women and girls is a prevalent crime where the victims are usually discriminated against by the prevailing cultures and customs. Some laws in the region do not even recognize human trafficking as a crime, which is why the crime continues to fester in the region (Murphy, 2001). Though victims of human trafficking are usually sold for reasons like slavery and forced labor, trafficking for sexual exploitation is still the biggest problem faced in the region. In most states in Arab regions, trafficking for sexual exploitation is not restricted. This is because some countries in the region have retrogressive laws that discriminate against women and favors the men. For example some countries allow temporary marriages, where the man decides when the marriage ends, which means that women and girls can be used as sex slaves. Another supporting factor is that the women and girls who are caught up in the trafficking syndicates are usually prosecuted as illegal immigrants, which only serves to increase instances of human trafficking. Some of the main causes of women and girls trafficking in the world and especially the Middle East can be related to economic factors in the countries of origin, demand for sexual services, domestic violence, retrogressive laws and organized crime (Murphy, 2001). One of the main economic factors that contribute to trafficking in women and children is the economic conditions that they face in their countries of origin. Many traffickers realize that women have hard economic backgrounds, which, coupled with the burden of providing for their children, makes then easy targets. The women and girls are lured into hopes of better jobs and lives abroad, and when they are transported, are turned into sex slaves in the destination countries. The other economic factor that contributes to the women trafficking is the demand for cheap labor in destination countries. For example, Saudi Arabia demands for a lot of cheap labor, so women and children are trafficked from other countries and forced into slavery in this country. The other main cause of women and girls trafficking in the world is the increasing demand for sexual services. In the Middle East, women are usually discriminated against and can be exploited for sexual services Anti-Slavery International (2006). The traffickers understand that victims of human trafficking do not usually have any real rights in the countries of destination, so exploit this chance. Most of the women trafficked into these countries are transformed into sex slaves and commercial sex workers to earn a revenue for their masters. This increased sexual abuse of trafficked persons is recognized by the UN as a cause of increased demand for sexual services and should be addressed separately. The other reason why there is an increase in women trafficking is the fact that there are retrogressive laws in the destination countries. As already mentioned, some of the countries of destination of trafficked women and children do not recognize the rights of these women and children. Government lack of control and the lack of laws that prohibit women trafficking serve to increase its instances. For example, lack of legislation that expressly prosecutes human traffickers means that it is going to continue. In many countries, human traffickers are not sufficiently investigated or prosecuted. Domestic violence and organized crime are two other reasons that usually contribute to the increasing instances of women and girls trafficking in the world. According to Anti-Slavery International (2006), due to non-existent legal mechanisms for ending abuse of women and children in the society means that they do not get a chance to protect themselves. In this case, when trafficking occurs, the women do not defend themselves since they have no legal channels with which to do so. Organized crime also contributes greatly to trafficking since the trafficking rings sometimes get protection from the lawmakers (Murphy, 2001). The organized crime rings in the regions usually have police protection and understand the lack of legal mechanisms that prevent their business, hence the underlying cause of women trafficking. The high revenues earned by the traffickers also ensure that they take steps to protect their businesses, meaning that they even bribe state officials in order to continue their businesses. Women and girls trafficking affect the society in different ways, for example, it has health implications on the women, legal implications on the society, global consequences and increases the prevalence of HIV/AIDS (The Advocates for Human Rights, 2013). Women and girls who are trafficked for sexual exploitation usually suffer from different physical and mental health challenges. According to Murphy (2001), the abuse that these women experience in the hands of their masters include starvation, rape, overwork and others that severely degrades their health statuses. Some of the legal consequences of women trafficking in the world come from the retrogressive laws that were indicated above. In most of the Middle Eastern destinations of trafficking, the laws do not favor the victims; hence they do not report the abuse. The women also fear going back to their own countries or origins since they would be stigmatized or retaliated upon by their traffickers (Murphy, 2001). The other main consequence of trafficking on the society is the increase in prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the society (The Advocates for Human Rights, 2013). Most of the women and girls trafficked are forced into sexual slavery and commercial sex work, which in turn serves to increase the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The women are at a higher risk of contacting different sexually transmitted diseases, which they in turn pass on to the society and increase mortality. They are also subjected to violent sexual acts that see them lose their health and sometimes, even lose their lives to the traffickers. Trafficking in women and girls for sexual exploitation will continue if steps are not taken to stop the menace. One of the best solutions to the human trafficking problem is the introduction of laws that outlaw the practice and provides stiff penalties for the perpetrators (Miller, 2006). As already mentioned, the practice is widespread because of the lax laws that protect women from it. Therefore, governments and international bodies should introduce laws that severely punish traffickers and the people who use trafficked women for their needs. The other legal way to reduce women trafficking is through the introduction of laws that favor women and do not force them to trafficking (Miller, 2006). As mentioned, women are discriminated against by laws and cultures that favor men, which make them easy targets for traffickers. Education of women and the society would also help, since most women and girls are lured into the trafficking trap with promise of better lives in the destination countries (Miller, 2006). If the women are better educated, they would learn that the promises that they are given are mostly fake and that they would be sold to slavery and sexual exploitation. In conclusion, it can be seen that women trafficking is a prevalent problem in the world and happens mainly because of the economic conditions and legal challenges that favor traffickers. Trafficking affects the whole society in different ways so the solutions proposed should be implemented in order to reduce the instances of trafficking seen around the world. References Anti-Slavery International. (2006). Trafficking in Women, Forced Labor and Domestic Work in the Context of the Middle East and Gulf Region. Retrieved on May 1, 2013 from: Miller, J. (2006). Slave Trade: Combating Human Trafficking. Harvard International Review, 27(4), 70-73. Murphy, S. (2001). International Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women And Children. The American Journal of International Law, 95(2), 407-410. The Advocates for Human Rights. (2013). Trafficking in Women. Retrieved on May 1, 2013 from: Read More