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Draft of Human Trafficking
Draft of Human Trafficking
UWRT 1104
November 5, 2017
Human Trafficking
As one of the most profitable crimes in the United States, human trafficking is affecting
thousands of lives. Many are coerced into trafficking without knowledge of the traffickers true
intentions. Victims have their lives stolen from them in plain sight. These victims rely on the
U.S. government to help them, but what has the government done to address this crime?
Human Trafficking is the modern day slavery. Traffickers lie and force victims into acts
of labor or commercialized sex. Labor traffickers lie and force victims into labor. Victims are
given false promises of an amazing job with great benefits, however, those promises are gravely
different from the reality of the labor. The victims are forced to work long hours with little pay.
Victims also face physical and emotional abuse from traffickers, making them believe they have
no other choice but to work for the trafficker. Victims of sex trafficking are forced into
prostitution. Traffickers lure in victims with false promises of a job, then violently force victims
to engage in commercial sex acts. Many victims are also manipulated by those who they trust,
which can include family members and romantic interests. Human trafficking also affects minors
as they too are taken advantage of and are forced into labor. Children, age 18 and under are at the
most risk of trafficking. Victims are deceived by those they trust, given false job promises, and
even kidnapped. From this point on, the victims are forced into labor.
Many immigrants coming to this country are given false promises of a job. When they
come to realize that they were lied to, its a hard process to seek help as they are risking their
lives to do so. While many resort to the national hotline for human trafficking, it turns out low
results, for example In 2014, for example, a federally-funded hotline for trafficking victims
received more than 21,000 calls. During that same period, the Department of Justice secured 184
convictions for trafficking. Only 184 convictions occurred in the same year that there were
21,000 calls, showing that there is a problem in getting the callers help. There are also variables
in which the calls lead to false accusations. Victims in trafficking are putting a lot on the line
when they call for help, especially if they were coming into work with a H-2 visa, a working
visa. This creates a toxic bond between the victim and the trafficker as the victim needs them to
get their full visa. However, in many cases, the victim doesnt get what they need, and are led on
by their trafficker. This is difficult because if they speak out against the trafficker, they risk the
chance of having to leave the country, losing the opportunities they came to America for.
The Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015 seeks to get better training for the
department of homeland security. The act reinforces education on human trafficking for the
Depart of Homeland Security, but expands who this intel goes to. By expanding the education,
more people will be able to detect and disrupt this crime. This is a great act and it shows how the
government is actively working to better itself. In doing this, our government will be better
educated to tackle trafficking rings, having more people knowledgeable on the detecting
trafficking. The next step in this would be to educate other institutions, such as hospitals,
After going through the trouble of seeking help and having the trafficking ring disrupted,
some victims may find themselves behind the bars with their traffickers. Due to circumstances,
its hard for the court of law to distinguish whether or not the crimes were forced or not. To the
average person, it seems quite possible to distinguish whether or not someone is a victim of
trafficking. However, it is difficult to identify perpetrators and victims in this crime as many hide
this is in plain sight. This puts responsibility on communities to be able to identify human
trafficking and report it. The U.S. government should prioritize education the community on
human trafficking.
ending it. With more people educated, it allows for more lives to be saved and even preventing
future trafficking. This also will allow for less victims being convicted for the crimes they were
forced to commit as courts will know how to deal with trafficking cases.