Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Human Trafficking
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?
through forced labour, sex, or organ removal, trafficking is an egregious human rights violation
and illegal in many countries (Dandurand, 322). The Senate states that It is a $32 billion global
industry, ranking second only to drug trafficking among the most profitable transnational
crimes (2). Traffickers lie and force victims into acts of labor or commercialized sex. In labor
trafficking, victims are given false promises of an amazing job with great benefits, however,
those promises are often gravely different from the reality of the labor (Polaris). 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
(Polaris). 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 (Polaris). Victims are
deceived by those they trust, given false job promises, and even kidnapped. From this point on,
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 (Reilly, PBS). 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 (Reilly, PBS).
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 (Reilly, PBS). 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
The Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015 seeks to get better training for the
Department of Homeland Security. The Senate states that H.R. 460, the Human Trafficking
Detection Act of 2015, requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to train and
periodically retrain relevant Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel on methods for
deterring, detecting, and disrupting human trafficking and would authorize the Secretary to
provide training curricula to state, local, and tribal governments, and private organizations upon
request (1). 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. It has the chance to increase trafficking reports as H.R. 460
requires the Secretary to ensure that TSA, CBP, and other DHS personnel who interact with the
public periodically receive training on the most current methods to identify suspected victims
and perpetrators while performing their primary responsibilities (3). 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 equipped to tackle trafficking rings by having more people knowledgeable on the
detection of trafficking. The next step in this would be to educate other institutions, such as
hospitals, churches, schools, and transportation. In Comprehensive Care Model for Sex
identify aftercare services for domestic minor of sex trafficking (DMST) survivors provided by
U.S. residential treatment centers (1). Personnel was taught how to establish a safe place for the
victims and providing therapy for an existing trauma. This is a step in the right direction as they
are actively working towards helping victims, but also educating the personnel on detecting and
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 educating the community on the
existence and victimization of human trafficking. However, there needs to be more reform in the
government itself, as there have been instances where the U.S. has support trafficking. From Joe
Newmans article on this shameful dilemma, he quotes the the Commission on Wartime
Contracting saying it had uncovered evidence of human trafficking in Iraq and Afghanistan by
labor brokers and subcontractors (Newman, Huffington Post). Newman also informs that
thousands of foreign nationals in the U.S. governments invisible army ended up in Iraq and
Afghanistan war zones because they fell victim to human traffickers (Huffington Post). The
U.S. government was responsible for using trafficking victims to work for the troops. Its
surprising that a country who fights for freedom, takes freedom away from others. There needs
to be more background checks for whom the government hires. In this incident, the U.S.
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. The government also
needs to be held accountable for its involvement with foreign trafficking rings. There should be
more urgency on disrupting human trafficking rings not only in the U.S. but also in foreign
Citations
Twigg, N. M. (2017), Comprehensive Care Model for Sex Trafficking Survivors. Journal of
newman/americas-shame-the-us-gov_b_1478136.html.
U.S. Congress. Senate, Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015. Report 114-46
Reilly, Caroline. Human Trafficking: A Crime Hard to Track Proves Harder to Fight. PBS,
human-trafficking-and-why-is-it-so-hard-to-combat/.
Yvon Dandurand. (2017) Human trafficking and police governance. Police Practice and
Research