HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

INTRODUCTION

Most trafficked humans from the south provide commercial sex and forced labor, and since the two activities go unpaid, this is then termed as modern-day slavery. The forced labor is majorly offered in agricultural services, and the girls provide sexual services. Some landowners offer young victims’ accommodation, and in return, they are forced to work for the landowners. Political instability in a country and economic uncertainty. Human trafficking was viewed to be something of the past, but fifty years later, the same history is repeating itself. Human trafficking in the global south ha been a significant criminal activity in the modern-day, with women and children being the most vulnerable. About 600,000 people have trafficked across the borders in the global south annually. Human trafficking menace is growing at a higher rate due to the demand for cheap labor, increased poverty, and other reasons that are of benefit to the trafficker (LeBaron, 2016).

Human trafficking is conducted around the globe, both locally and internationally. The source country recruits humans to be trafficked, and they are then put on transit and delivered to the destinations where their services are needed. In the south, women and children constitute the highest percentage of humans trafficked for either sexual or forced labor purposes. The leading cause is economic instability; hence people are provoked to look for means of survival in other nations. The poverty levels make the south a potential source and destination for human trafficking. According to data collected, the majority of the victims used for forced labor, while about 98 percent of the females are used for commercial sex. Other exploitative means by traffickers is organ removal, recruitment into a criminal gang, children soldering, and illegal begging. Most victims end up traumatized; hence unable to give account od their lives at captivity, the traffickers threaten others against disclosing the ordeals (Naik, 2018).

Research Description

The primary purpose of human trafficking in the south was for forced labor or sexual trade. The south has struggled with slavery, and it has become the primary source and destination for the same. Statistics reveal that out of the 20.9 million human trafficking victims in 2012, 1.8 million of them originated and dwelt in the south. The south has a high demand for local workers and servants, and there is also a need for sexual laborers. The south already has human trafficking background, and therefore it is easier for them to indulge in the human trafficking business. There are also several factories tat require workers; hence the victims are used for that purpose. The human trafficking networks in the south are often corrupt, and the government does almost nothing about it (Bello, 2018).

Law enforcement agencies have little interest in sexual laborers as women are still regarded as the minority in their societies. Most of those abused victims of human trafficking are those from indigenous groups, those languishing in poverty, the unemployed, drug abusers, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The homeless and disabled are also abused during human trafficking since the groups contain the most vulnerable in society. Those with unique sexuality are also seen to be harmed during human trafficking; that is, the lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. There are pull factors that cause people to be used for human trafficking. Some countries perceive that human trafficking could earn them economic stability, and that is why they give out most of their energetic youths for human trafficking purposes. The victims also agree to be flown to the south since they hope that their lives would change and become better. Most of these people end up dead due to the abuse they face. Statistics show that 20% of the total human trafficked are children who are below eighteen years (Bello, 2019).

Research Statement

There is a modern version of slavery, known as human trafficking. It has since become the predator that destroys our lives today. Besides, it has claimed a lot of innocent lives and resulted in the formation of gangs and theft. It is our youths that are the most affected by this since they are lured into it because of the incentives and goodies they are offered. The victims of human trafficking are treated harshly, and therefore there is a cause for alarm. This research project will discuss two important questions, that is, what are the leading causes of human trafficking. The other issue to be answered by this project is, why are most human trafficking victims from the south (Naik, 2018).

Research Questions

1. The leading causes of human trafficking in the global south. The reasons lie both with the victim and those trafficking humans.
2. The reasons why human trafficking is mainly conducted in the global south and not other parts of the world.

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

Human Trafficking Data Overview

Over the past thirteen years, 2016 recorded the highest number of humans trafficked in the global south. The number of victims has also increased over the past few years in the south. The enhanced data also revealed the intensity of human trafficking effects. As a result, there was a need to conduct research on the root cause of human trafficking and enhance the anti-trafficking rules and regulations. A country without anti-trafficking laws tends to have more victims of human trafficking. There are also few chances of the victims to obtain justice. Globally, the destination of most human trafficked is East Asia (Mawere, 2019).

Victim’s Profile

Almost half of the victims of human trafficking are young women. The proportion of men to women was, therefore, practically one to one. Children comprised of almost twenty percent of the total number of humans trafficked. Fifty-five percent consists of young and energetic men and women. In 2016, research conducted by the United Nations revealed that in the global south, male victims of human trafficking where 21 percent of the total, women were 49 percent. Among the children, 23 percent were female children, while 7 percent were male children aged between 0 and 18 years. Most victims are children, and they are the most likely to be abused and misused. Men and women are trafficked for varied reasons. Eighty-three percent of women are trafficked for commercial sex. However, most of them end up abused and unpaid, while about 13 percent are trafficked for forced labor. Eighty-two percent of the total men trafficked are used for forced labor, and most o them also go unpaid or paid peanuts. Therefore, about 10 percent of men are trafficked for sexual purposes. There are also other reasons for human traffickings, such as criminal reasons, child soldering, and illegal begging (Bello, 2018).

Exploitative forms of human trafficking

As stated, sexual exploitation is the dominant form detected among human trafficking; this is followed by unpaid forced labor. The laborers often work in adverse conditions and for long hours. There are those trafficked and are forced to donate some of their orans forcefully. Most of such victims end up dead while very few survive with some unreversed complications. The target people for organ trafficking are fully grown adults with all their body organs functioning. However, statistics show that this is the least form of exploitation in the global south. Two percent of these victims are exploited for more than one kind. For instance, there are women trafficked for forced labor, and in return, they are used abused sexually or even for criminal activity. Some women end up pregnant, while some are forced to be surrogates to their masters. Forced marriages and domestic servitude are also forms of exploitation by human traffickers; however much they are underreported (Albert et al., 2019).

Offender’s profile

The majority of human traffickers are males, as seen from the pattern of those prosecuted or accused of illegal or exploitative human trafficking. The females who are traffickers are about 35 percent only, and this reveals the role and position of women in human trafficking. Most women take part in the recruitment process. One-third of recruiters and traffickers are often from foreign countries while the rest are locally based and citizens of the origin country.

Root Causes of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is influenced by economic, cultural, social, and political factors. The factors vary from one region to another due to the difference in patterns and trafficking purposes. Many traffickers are recruited and given hope that they will be paid for services offered; however, they end up in coercive situations. They end up doing what was not intended for them as per the agreement before they are shipped (Mawere, 2019).

Poverty and Economic instability

Poverty and oppression make people want to migrate to other countries with the thought that life in those places will be better, as seen on social media or read on books. Some people flee due to political instability, civil wars, and natural calamities in quest of finding a better life for themselves. There vulnerability and desperation increase their chances of being exploited. Human traffickers target the most vulnerable in societies, and most of the victims are often financially unstable. Wars leave several children orphans, and most of them end up homeless and hopeless. Therefore they are most likely to be enticed into migrating to other countries and exploited since they are vulnerable. These reasons make the victims relocate, and they are, in return, left in the hands of traffickers who take control of their lives in captivity. The internet and social media play a significant role in enticing people and luring them into being trafficked. The victims feel by migrating to the developed countries, and their lives would be better; however, most of them end up in worse situations than they were in their native countries. The vulnerable in society are made subject to exploitation via trafficking (Albert et al., 2017).

Gender Inequality

Some parents give out their children and their youths in the hands of traffickers, not only for the exchange of money but also with the hope that their lives would be better and they would access more opportunities. Gender inequality in some states contributes to human trafficking. For instance, in the south, women are vulnerable to trafficking since they are seen as inferior and devalued by their culture. Traffic is both local and global; children are the most exploited. Statistics real that women and children are the most susceptible to trafficking since they are the most vulnerable, and they are devalued according to most cultures. Women are at a high demand for commercial sex, most of them end up contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and others die in the process. Children are used for drug trafficking and other criminal activities. Most are recruited into criminal gangs and trained to conduct a crime. Besides, children also offer cheap labor, most landowners and employers are greedy to make a profit, but they do not want to spend on work. Human traffickers offer cheap domestic and agricultural work since they have limited options to choose from. Most of them go unpaid, while others earn a very minimum wage. The victims can hardly defend themselves and fight for their rights (Chan, 2018).

Corruption

Corrupt and greedy government officials contribute significantly to the exploitation of humans trafficked. There are inadequate legislative and regulatory measures that protect the trafficked human. Laws guarding immigration and border control are not reinforced enough to protect immigrants from exploitation. Poverty alone is not enough to cause human trafficking, corrupt systems that are aware of the exploitation traffickers undergo and still go ahead to encourage it for their benefits are the people who ought to be blamed for the modern-day slavery. According to international labor organizations, forced labor and commercial sex from human trafficking generate about 150 billion dollars of illegal profits annually (McGrath & Watson 2018).

Preventive measures

Protect and prosecute polices

Many people have been lured into being immigrants, and most of them are likely to be victims of modern-day slavery. The factors that lead people to slavery are the same as those leading people to human trafficking. Human trafficking is an illegal trade of humans. There is a need to enforce laws to protect the immigrants and victims of human trafficking. Humanitarian actions that protect immigrants ought to be reinforced and action taken on the exploitative traffickers. There is a need to enforce policies that protect the victims and prosecute human traffickers. Statistics show that the rate of those prosecuted for exploitative human trafficking is increasing; however, the escalation of human trafficking growth is still higher. The global south ought to enforce anti-trafficking regulations, and law enforcement officials should educate all on their rights as immigrants and the proper way to report cases of abuse and misuse. The criminal justice systems need to be strengthened, and the government needs to protect the victims of exploitation since most of them are threatened by their traffickers (McGrath & Watson 2018).

Anti-trafficking law enforcement

It is stated that human trafficking is growing at a faster rate in the modern world, and it is the second-largest criminal industry in the world. Identifying human trafficking victims if often challenging since the perpetrators are good at hiding them, and their illegal acts are managed tactfully. The few victims found are often traumatized and, therefore, unable to disclose their experiences and the traffickers. Some victims fear to report the matter to law enforcement since the traffickers threaten them. The victims also contribute to the growth of human trafficking since they are aware f the dangers and risks of human trafficking, but they still agree to the illegal behavior. Traffickers also hide the illegal activity to the extent of bribing the government sectors involved in immigration (Farley, 2016).

Awareness Creation

Human trafficking awareness needs to be conducted to the most vulnerable groups to educate them on the risks and dangers of the activities. They ought to listen to the testimonies of former victims and be warned of the consequences of the act. They ought to know that their lives could change without having to go to other countries that seem to be developed. Victims and consumers of human trafficking ought to report to the authorities immediately they are exploited or abused. Companies need to monitor their supply chain management and ensure there is not exploitive or cheap labor used in the process. Anti-trafficking efforts ought to be reinforced in the local communities; volunteers could also be part of it and support the eradication of this modern slavery (Moses et al., 2019).

Education and literacy

Education and literacy would help everyone understand their rights and responsibilities as laborers. When people are well informed, there will be limited cases of human trafficking. Different forms of modern slavery messages and documentaries ought to be availed to everyone. The government needs to care for its people by providing job opportunities and aiding the orphaned and disabled in society in finding means of survival so that they do not fall as prey to slavery. Victims of this form o slavery ought to be protected and defended against future abuse. The victims ought to find a more natural way of escaping from their captivities (McGrath & Watson 2018).

Conclusion

Human trafficking occurs around the globe daily, and it is considered the modern-day slavery. Statistics show that there are more slaves in the modern days than the olden years despite the modern world being developed and the majority of people being literate. In the south, human shipment is hidden from the view of the people since it is a unique form of slavery. People are forced to work in harsh environmental conditions and with no freedom of movement. Most of them are harassed, and others are sexually abused and violated. Human trafficking is conducted through fraud and coercion. Some become victims of human trafficking in their own countries.

References

Bello, P. O. (2018). Long-term criminal justice response to human trafficking in South Africa: An impossible mission. Contemporary Justice Review, 21(4), 474-491.

Bello, P. O. (2019). Response to human trafficking in South Africa: beyond the Criminal Justice System. Politeia, 38(1), 1-18.

Mawere, M. (2019). Bound together in the digital era: Poverty, migration, and human trafficking. Mobile Africa: Human Trafficking and the Digital Divide, 63.

LeBaron, G. (2016). Slavery, human trafficking, and forced labor: Implications for international development. In The Palgrave handbook of international development (pp. 381-398). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

McGrath, S., & Watson, S. (2018). Anti-slavery as development: A global politics of rescue. Geoforum, 93, 22-31.

McGrath, S., & Watson, S. (2018). Anti-slavery as development: A global politics of rescue. Geoforum, 93, 22-31. Naik, A. B. (2018). Impacts, causes, and consequences of women trafficking in India from the human rights perspective. Social Sciences, 7(2), 76-80.

Chan, S. K. L. (2018). Deprivation of citizenship, undocumented labor, and human trafficking: Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand. Regions and Cohesion, 8(2), 82-106.

Naik, A. B. (2018). Impacts, causes, and consequences of women trafficking in India from the human rights perspective. Social Sciences, 7(2), 76-80.

Moses, J. F., & Shandralingam, K. (2019). Reforming labor immigration policies of host countries to stamp out labor trafficking in the ASEAN region. International Journal of Migration and Residential Mobility, 2(1), 1-19.

Farley, M. (2016). Human trafficking and prostitution. Psychologists for Social Responsibility. Web, 26.

Alpert, E. J., & Chin, S. E. (2017). Human trafficking: Perspectives on prevention. Human trafficking is a public health issue (pp. 379-400). Springer, Cham.

Appendices

Human trafficking is the forceful gain of labor and commercial sex.

Transit country is the destination country of the human trafficked after recruitment

Destination country is the country that buys or obtains the trafficked human

Debt bondage is a form of slavery where the victim’s parents or guardian is paid for the services their offspring offer.