Human Sex Trafficking - Essay Example

? Issues, Debates, Controversies, Questions, Ambiguities Involving Theories and Findings in Your Topic Area Human sex trafficking is like other illegal enterprises that rely on a market driven criminal industry that is based on the principles of demand and supply. There are a myriad of factors that predispose children and adults increasing their vulnerability to human sex trafficking. Human tracking does exist because there are vulnerable people in society who can be trafficked, but it is because there is a market for their services. This market is driven by high demand for cheap labor and commercial sex that is sustained through prostitution. Human traffickers profit from victimizing other people through the trade of human beings. Experts from various governments and institutions have come to the realization that to effectively tackle sex trafficking, demand driven factors should be mitigated against. This should be coupled with an overall intention to alter the incentives of high profit and low risk that serve to encourage traffickers in the industry. This paper seeks to address Current theories, explanations, proposed relationships among constructs, and absence of theories about meaningful phenomena in sex trafficking. It also seeks to highlight Contradictions, inconsistencies, and ambiguities regarding findings related to theories in human sex trafficking. Human sex trafficking at the local and international levels persists and thrives because there are factors support and drive its existence. High profits are a prime reason or factor that makes sex trafficking an attractive criminal enterprise. When individuals are willing to pay a high price of commercial sex services, they provide a market and create demand for sex trafficking victims. This makes it a lucrative venture for traffickers who engage in this industry because of the high profits that are realized from this practice. Another aspect that drives trade in human beings is when consumers buy goods and services that are a product of industries that rely on forced labor. This creates a profit incentive for human traffickers to supply these industries with cheap labor from trafficked victims, which drives down the cost of production and maximize revenues (Smith & Smith, 2011). The low risk of involvement in the sex trafficking industry makes the practice more conducive for traffickers. This is made possible by society’s ignorance and lack of sufficient awareness on the issue of sex trafficking. Government and other related institutions are not equipped through effective training to tackle sex trafficking by effective response mechanisms. Lack of stringent laws and policies effectively fight sex trafficking contribute to the low risk phenomena witnessed in the industry. The ineffectiveness of dormant laws and lack of safety nets for trafficking victims aggravates the fight against sex trafficking (Segrave, Milivojevic & Pickering, 2009). Failure to investigate and prosecute sex trafficking crimes is perceived as little deterrence to affect their criminal operations (Min, 2013). People who pay for services rendered by commercial sex workers is attributed to be the main driver for demand of sex trafficking. According to research studies conducted to investigate the role of sex buyers in sex, trafficking established their significant contributions to the industry. Sex buyers are unaware, ill informed or are in direct denial of their role and contribution to the abusive realities of sex trafficking (Parrot & Cummings, 2008). Demand for commercial sex services is touted as a major contributor of the increase in sex trafficking. The role of men in this act of increasing demand for commercial sex because they consist of almost 90% of those who buy or solicit for sexual services from commercial sex workers (Shively & Jalbert, 2013). Various interventions and rehabilitative techniques have been applied in an effort to try and reduce demand for commercial sex from trafficked person. According to various research studies, men’s involvement in driving up the demand for sex trafficking victims, men who were interviewed exhibited non-existent awareness of their role in this industry. The study was conducted by administering structured questionnaires, which were supposed to be answered by a yes or no answer (Gozdiak, 2011). Other research studies used a Likert scale to determine the extent and degree of awareness of men’s role in driving the sex trafficking industry demands up. All the research studies that were carried out were able to concur on an increased need to advocate for more awareness campaigns for public education and awareness. Rehabilitation of these habits or behavior that predisposes men to solicit for sex and instead engage in more endeavors that are constructive should be encouraged. Changing the behavior and trends in men’s habits of buying sexual services and favors ensures that there is a long-term effect in reducing demand for sex that is facilitated and sustained through sex trafficking (Territo & Kirkham, 2010). Migration has also been identified as a major contributor in sex trafficking because migrating population’s present sex traffickers with great exploitation opportunities. Migrations have in existence since time in memorial but today’s migrations are spurred by a more complex phenomenon. The world’s current tough economic situation necessitates people to maintain strict living and working relationships. A study has established that non -registration of migrating persons increases the chances of these persons getting involved in sex trafficking. Failure by state authorities and institutions to register immigrants increases their chances of being targeted by traffickers. Sex traffickers take advantage of immigrants’ need to enter into new destinations by promising these people easy and cheap transit when in reality they are being sold into servitude and forced sexual labor (Kara, 2013). A state’s approach and method of dealing with illegal immigrants is determinant of the outcome of these people’s wellbeing and safety. A destination State can adopt one of two theoretical models when responding to human trafficking persons. There is the human rights models and the criminal model, and each model has its successes and failures with regard to solving the sex trafficking issue. Their effectiveness in resolution of problems that arise due to these phenomenon is gauged by the reduction in international incidences of sex trafficking. The criminal model is an approach that is based on the principles of banning and outlawing the industries supported by human trafficking persons, which forced and cheap industrial labor and prostitution. Prostitution has been touted as the major driving force behind sex trafficking because it creates a market for sex trafficking victims (Holmes, 2010). In efforts to curb sex trafficking, many states and institutional organs have banned and outlawed prostitution I their jurisdiction. This has however not yielded much fruit I terms of reducing demand for sex trafficking victims or curtailed the operations of service industries that are supported by trafficked victims (Kyle & Koslowski, 2011). This has been attributed to the fact criminalization of sex trafficking does adequately address the issues that act as factors that predispose people or make them susceptible to falling victims of sex trafficking. According to international anti-trafficking law, all member states that are party these treaties are required to pass legislation that criminalizes sex trafficking. This has not achieved much in terms of deterring the activities of sex traffickers because of non-adherence and to the principles behind these laws. The severity of sentences and punishment meted out to breakers of internal and local anti-trafficking laws is minimal to the extent that it does not serve its purpose. International criminal is not relevant to human trafficking because it only aims to protect the international community of states rather than protect individuals (Zheng, 2010). International criminal law can only impact on sex trafficking if these acts are deemed crimes against humanity. Transnational criminal law is instigated only when States agree to use national laws as part of a coordinated and collective effort to criminalize behavior that causes or has potential to cause detrimental trans-border effects (Heiges, 2009). It has been cited as major weakness in the fight against sex trafficking because it is more of a reactive model rather than a proactive one that seeks to solve the problem before it occurs. The human rights approach has been touted as a more proactive model of dealing with sex trafficking. Almost all states have national human rights that grant individuals freedoms that are protected under those states’ constitutions. Nations undertake to respect human rights in order to regulate is own treatment of its citizens (Gallagher, 2010). There also exist international human rights that offer protection of certain individual rights internationally as long as one is in a member country party to the United Nations charter. These rights are classified into groups of similar relevance including civil and political and rights, economic, social and cultural rights and collective rights. Origin states for sex trafficking victims are states of which trafficked person have nationality of or are citizens and are typically developing countries (Dalla, 2011). These countries are characterized by a substantial lack of social and economic opportunities, which drive people to seek out these opportunities in other well off to do countries. High rates of employment and labor shortages encourage both regular immigration and irregular migration characterized by human sex trafficking. Human rights approaches to sex trafficking have a higher turnover rate in terms of reducing demand for sex trafficking because they address the socio-economic factors that encourage people to migrate both legally and illegally. Addressing the plight of victims from a human rights perspective has been established to accrue more benefits for both state and the individual. This is because it empowers the people to be more aware of their rights and in doing so, it encourages them to be vigilant in protecting their own and their societies’ wellbeing as a collective measure of ensuring their safety and wellbeing (Johnston, Friedman & Shafer, 2012). Shiverly and Jalbert’s assessment of sex trafficking demand reduction strategies in the US have yielded significant indications that reducing demand for commercial sex has a longer lasting impact on reducing sex trafficking. This is coupled with another report that indicates the likelihood recurrence and recidivism of sex buyers to significantly reduce or rescind altogether because of these efforts (Cameron & Newman, 2008). Addressing the issue of human sex trafficking with an aim of reducing demand for commercial sex and Applying humanistic remedial measures is touted as a more effective strategy to combat sex trafficking than criminalization of the practice. States should be encouraged to enact more stringent migration laws and registration of immigrants in order to close the loophole that is exploited by human sex traffickers. A combination of these strategies and enactment of relevant laws and legislation should be effected to ensure that the collaborative efforts of member states if productive in this endeavor. It has been established that no single intervention can completely eradicate the vice unless the various existent strategies are implemented in with each other to combat the practice. Socio-economic issues are the sole instigators of sex trafficking because they create situations and conditions that encourage and sustain the trade in human beings for sexual exploitation. Tackling these socio-economic woes is the only effective and sustainable strategy to combat sex trafficking at its core and eliminate it completely. References Cameron, S. & Newman, E. (2008). Trafficking in humans: social, cultural and political dimensions. Illustrated Edition. New York: United Nations University Press. Dalla, D. B. (2011). Global Perspectives on Prostitution and Sex Trafficking:  Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Oceania. New York: Lexington Books. Gallagher, A. T. (2010). The International Law of Human Trafficking. Illustrated Edition. London: Cambridge University Press. Gozdiak, E. M. (2011). Data and research on human trafficking: Bibliography of research- based literature. Pennsylvania: DIANE Publishing. Heiges, M. (2009). From the Inside Out: Reforming State and Local Prostitution Enforcement to Combat Sex Trafficking in the United States and Abroad. Minn. L. Holmes, L. (2010). Trafficking and Human Rights: European and Asia-Pacific Perspectives. Illustrated Edition: London: Edward Elgar Publishing. Johnston, A., Friedman, B., & Shafer, A. (2012). Framing the problem of sex trafficking: whose problem? what remedy?. Feminist Media Studies. Kara, S. (2013). Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. Illustrated Reprint Edition. Washington: Columbia University Press. Kyle, D. & Koslowski, R. (2011). Global human smuggling: Comparative perspectives. JHU Press. Min, L. (2013). Migration, Prostitution, and Human Trafficking: The Voice of Chinese Women. Hong Kong: Transaction Publishers. Parrot, A. & Cummings, N. (2008). Sexual Enslavement of Girls and Women Worldwide. Illustrated Edition. London: Greenwood Publishing Group. Segrave, M., Milivojevic, S. & Pickering, S. (2009). Sex Trafficking. Reprint Edition. London: Routledge. Shively, M. and Jalbert, S. K. (2013). Assessing Sex Trafficking Demand-Reduction Strategies in the United States. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ASC Annual Meeting, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL . 2013-08- 11 fromhttp://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p576445_index.html Smith, C. A., & Smith, H. M. (2011). Human trafficking: The unintended effects of united nations intervention. International Political Science Review. Territo, L. & Kirkham, G. (2010). International Sex Trafficking of Women & Children:  Understanding the Global Epidemic. London: Looseleaf Law Publications. Zheng, T. (2010). Sex Trafficking: Human Rights and Social Justice. London: Taylor and Francis. Read More