Bride Trafficking in China

Rebecca Rollman
CPGH100
October 23, 2019
Country Background:
China is the most populated country in the world standing at a population of 1.404 billion
people, as cited from The World Bank. China rules under a Communist regime since the
beginning of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China by leader Mao Zedong in 1949
(Fercility, 2019). Despite China having the second-largest economy in the world, it is still
classified as a developing country because of widespread poverty and disparities of income
between rural and urban communities (World Bank, 2019). The average salary per capita in
China is much lower than the World’s average, despite having a comparable Gross National
Income and Gross Domestic Product to other high-income countries in the world (World Bank,
2019). China also is considered an ethnically homogenous country with over 91% Han Chinese
and the other 9% a combination of the other 55 ethnic groups (Travel China Guide, 2016). A
prominent law in Chinese society is the two-child policy, formally changed from the one-child
policy, announced in 2015 (Lu, 2019). This rule helps to deal with the eminent overpopulation
issue. However, limiting families to only two children makes families desire having a boy, and
leads to unsafe sex-selective abortions. It is predicted that China has roughly “30 to 40 million
missing women” meaning they should be alive but are not, because of the preference of baby
boys (Human Rights Watch, 2019). This law is to blame for the extreme imbalance of the ratio of
boys to girls in China which is 158 boys per 100 girls, estimating 33 million more men than
women in China today (Ritchie and Roser, 2019).
Public Health Issue:
A pressing public health Issue in China is bride trafficking. Bride trafficking is when women,
minors and adults, are smuggled into China from nearby countries to be set up for marriage and
to have a family with a Chinese man (Global Slavery Index, 2018). Because of overpopulation
and a huge imbalance of males to females, there is a shortage of brides in China making it
extremely difficult for a man to find a wife. In addition, a cultural tradition in China is for men to
pay a dowry to a women’s family during the marriage process (Global Slavery Index, 2018).
However, because it is so hard for men to find a wife, the prices of dowries have skyrocketed
(Global Slavery Index, 2018). As a result, it has become cheaper for some Chinese men to pay
for a wife, rather than pay the dowry. Bride trafficking can be arranged by strangers who abduct
these girls, family members, or even their biological parents (Human Rights Watch, 2019).
According to China’s Southern Metropolis Daily, about 40% of girls trafficked were sold by their
biological parents to receive money. In fact, deception and lies are the foundational basis of
trafficking girls into China. They prey on innocent, naive girls who will take the offer on receiving
a better life.
Significance of The Health Issue
Bride trafficking in China is a severe issue that requires immediate attention. Because these
trafficked girls are travel and are held in such horrible conditions, they suffer from mental and
physical illness (Altun et. al., 2017). Since it is considered illegal activity, they are not being
protected or receive human rights immediately after they are taken from their family and home
(Altun et. al., 2017). They are forced to be living a new life as a new woman creating a family.
The lives and health of these girls are at stake because of the inhumane conditions they are kept
in while traveling, waiting for a husband, and then eventually bearing a child. Many of the girls
involved in bride trafficking are minors and undergo extreme health implications when having a
baby (Bick et. al. , 2017). They cannot get medical attention because of the risk that their
captors will be exposed for running this illegal business (Bick et. al., 2017). This issue of bride
trafficking must be dealt with immediately because of the health risks to the brides being
trafficked. These girls are told they are going to China for a job, money, and a fresh start, but
instead are bombarded with the issues of rape, childbirth and other health implications that go
along with it (Gunia, 2019). These women are subject to fistulas, maternal death, depression,
and anxiety just to name a few (Altun et. al., 2017). Clearly, these trafficked brides need to be a
priority for health officials putting their time and money where it is most necessary.
How This Health Issue Is Being Addressed
The issue of bride trafficking has been addressed, but not as seriously as it should be. The
Central Committee, state governments, and local council in China have taken measures to
address this issue (Spindler, 2019). However, China has recently reported a plan to get rid of the
two-child policy and not have families be restricted on the number of children they can have.
This is because the restriction on the number of kids is the sole purpose of the shortage of
bride-aged women. The Chinese government has high hopes that taking off this restriction will
help to reduce the amount of bride trafficking, forced marriage, pregnancies, rape, and
harassment. However, a huge downside to this potential solution is how long it will take for the
new female babies to get to the correct age to get married. It will take an extremely long time
to build the ratio back up and to stop illegally importing females from other countries. The
government’s involvement in this issue is the best way to stop bride trafficking by trying to bust
the homes or shops that are holding trafficked women. Using law enforcement against the
people running these operations is the most efficient strategy to try and eradicate this illegal
operation.
Critiques and Recommendations
There are some recommendations that I suggest you follow for the next steps in how to tackle
this global public health problem. First, a legislative change must be issued to go towards the
right direction on making a difference. I suggest that there be stricter checks at the border of
China to make sure that the people coming into China are not in danger. They must check for
passports, identification, and ask them some questions to see what the situation is like between
the people coming in and if they see anything suspicious. Another recommendation would be to
have more police checking for suspicious activity in the streets or if tipped to an address where
these women are being held. In other countries where trafficking is a problem, the police do not
act upon request when being told that suspicious and dangerous activity is happening. If the
police in China acted more seriously and investigated more, they could help bring these women
back to their country and prevent more from being smuggled in.
Works Cited:

Altun, S., Abas, M., Zimmerman, C., Howard, L. M., & Oram, S. (2017, February 1). Mental health
and human trafficking: responding to survivors' needs. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618827/

Bick, D., Howard, L. M., Oram, S., & Zimmerman, C. (2017, November 22). Maternity care for
trafficked women: Survivor experiences and clinicians' perspectives in the United
Kingdom's National Health Service. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5699814/.

China: Global Slavery Index. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/china/.

Chinese Ethnic Groups. (n.d.). Retrieved from 2016

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/.

Fercility. (2019, March 26). The History of China: Dynasty/Era Summary, Timeline. Retrieved
from https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/china-history.htm.

Gunia, A. (n.d.). China's Shortage of Women Has Led to Human Trafficking. Retrieved from
https://time.com/5555695/china-women-trafficking-myanmar/.

Liu, J. T. C., Chen, C.-S., White, L., Hsu, C.-yun, Rawski, E. S., & Young, E. P. (2019, October 15).
China. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/China.

Lu, D. (2019, August 21). China's two-child policy linked to 5 million extra babies in 18 months.
Retrieved from
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2214179-chinas-two-child-policy-linked-to-5-milli
on-extra-babies-in-18-months/

Myanmar: Women, Girls Trafficked as 'Brides' to China. (2019, March 21). Retrieved from
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/21/myanmar-women-girls-trafficked-brides-china#

Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2019, June 13). Gender Ratio. Retrieved from
https://ourworldindata.org/gender-ratio
The World Bank in China- Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview

Thelwell, K. (2019, May 14). Causes of Human Trafficking in China. Retrieved from
https://borgenproject.org/causes-of-human-trafficking-in-china/.