Socialization (Mod5SLP) - Essay Example

The role of Gender and Globalization in Human Trafficking The role of Gender and Globalization in Human Trafficking Gender has adimension on the practice of human trafficking. Studies have consistently revealed distinct trends in the statistics of both male and female victims of human trafficking. This paper sheds light on the role of gender as a factor in human trafficking. Globalization has made transport and communication around the world easy. It has permeated national and continental borders so that people are able to do business more efficiently with minimal geographic limitations. Despite its many benefits, it has also created a lee way for the business of human trafficking. This paper will highlight the role of globalization on human trafficking and suggest possible solutions to both the role of gender and globalization in human trafficking. Studies in human trafficking have showed high rates of women victims of human trafficking than male victims. On the other hand, there are more male perpetrators of human trafficking than female. This is deeply rooted in the way most societies’ perceive men as essentially different from women. The high statistics of women and girls victims of human trafficking is considerably tied to objectification of women, and it is no wonder many are traded for sex trafficking. The media have contributed variously in the perpetration this skewed perception of women (Territo & Kirkham, 2010). These studies have also revealed that men do not only form the larger proportion of human traffickers, they are also the majority of the consumers of the services of human trafficking especially commercial sex. International organizations have convened meetings to campaign and mobilize support to protect women and children from human trafficking. For instance, in 2002, UNFPA convened an international meeting in Bratislava that brought together many parliamentarians, NGOs and governments. By the closure of the meeting, it was agreed that women and children are the most vulnerable groups in human trafficking. It was found that human traffickers lure their unsuspecting victims through seductive advertisements of lucrative jobs (Dauvergne, 2008). Human traffickers target poor communities where some women are sold by their relatives and friends. Traffickers also take advantages of events such as famine and droughts when food is scarce and because women are the most affected group by such events, they fall easy prey to traffickers. There has been evidence suggested by human trafficking studies showing that the ordeal grew steadily from 1990. This was the time at which globalization was taking root around the world. Political and economic difficulties made a lot of people to seek refuge in foreign countries. At the time, more and more countries were opening up their borders to allow refugees from affected countries take shelter in their space. It is also during this time that broadband communication had been widely embraced world over. All these issues effected the growth of human trafficking in to the lucrative business and modern phenomenon it is today (Territo & Kirkham, 2010). It is intriguing how the business has continued to thrive despite the seemingly hostile measures against immigration by many countries. Traffickers have cunningly brought confusion by ensuring that human trafficking is disguised closely with other clandestine dealings including arms smuggling, illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Human smuggling involves a consensus between individuals trying to leave their home countries and those willing to give them the necessary assistance in to their target countries. This contract usually ends when the migrants have arrived safely to their preferred countries. These migrants live or seek jobs in their destination countries without relevant documentation (Dauvergne, 2008). Human trafficking involves abduction, deception, coercion, abuse of vulnerability of different groups or abuse of power with the aim of obtaining forced labor or sex services. On the whole, globalization induces individuals to fall victims of human trafficking through several ways. It makes individuals compare the state of their lives in the home countries with the lives of individuals of other countries. The current state of the individuals could be plagued by poverty, unemployment and or political instability. They are lured by the relatively better life prospects in developed countries and end up deciding to leave their countries to try their luck in these countries. In other instances of abject poverty, parents and guardians voluntarily sell their children to traffickers either for servitude or sex work in order to make money to support their families (Territo & Kirkham, 2010). Many of the human trafficking victims’ home countries lack elaborate legal systems that would protect the vulnerable groups. Globalization avails information of affluent countries or places where prostitution is either allowed or where the laws against prostitution are a bit lenient. To curb the role of gender in human trafficking, it is important to combat the societal beliefs that promote the ordeal. Gender expectations and roles should be redefined to empower men and women psychologically so as to pool their efforts together in the fight against this dehumanizing business. Societies should discourage perception of women as objects and reinstitute their dignity. Casual media coverage depicting pimp business as lucrative should be censored so as to stop individuals in the society looking at women as objects of sex. Anti-human trafficking movements should seek to recruit more male advocates so to involve men in the endeavor (Dauvergne, 2008). On the whole though, it should be noted that both men and women can fall prey to or perpetrate human trafficking. A gender-sensitive anti-trafficking campaign would work best as it would invite the contribution of both men and women in combating the ordeal. The role of globalization in human trafficking would be curtailed by the collaboration of the efforts of governments, international organizations, communities and non-governmental institutions. Such efforts would include conducting awareness raising initiatives to inform people about human trafficking. Governments should lobby for policies and legislation that would help fight human trafficking. Destination countries of victims of human trafficking should liaise with the victims’ home countries so as to transport them back safely (Territo & Kirkham, 2010). There should be ways of providing therapeutic help to rescued victims of human trafficking. National borders should be supplied with better personnel and equipment to check illegal migration of individuals across borders. Since many of human trafficking victims fall prey to the practice due to economic reasons, countries should seek to establish ways of providing employment opportunities to their nationals so that they are able to support themselves better. References Dauvergne, C. (2008). Making people illegal: What globalization means for migration and law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Territo, L., & Kirkham, G. (2010). International sex trafficking of women & children: Understanding the global epidemic. Flushing, NY: Looseleaf Law Publications. Read More