The worst of human behavior is subjective. Is it violence? Crime? War? What and who is to blame? Greed? Consumerism? Totalitarianism?
San Diego: sdnn-opinion33Certainly we can agree that our most sordid behavior is money motivated and includes criminal conduct. Worldwide the illegal drug trade is the single most lucrative, underground trade in current history. The second largest industry, wrought with profit, is the illegal trade of weaponry, the arms trade. What was once a distant third now explodes in a close tie for second. The third most prevalent and lucrative illegal industry is the trade of enslaved humans. Many see it as the fastest growing illegal industry in the world and already rate it as second only to illicit drugs.
It’s different than the smuggling of humans. Smuggled individuals usually pay someone to transport them into a foreign country and most have their personal freedom once they arrive. In the illegal sale of people and their services, the traffickers intend to exploit their victims, the victims never have a choice to leave and none volunteered to the conditions of forced servitude for no compensation.
Many trafficked individuals are brought from one country into another, although crossing borders isn’t a requirement to be considered trafficking. Most are coerced into thinking they will be given a decent job in exchange for the fee of transportation. Once they are separated from their original communities, they are held captive for the purpose of exploitation, usually being sold into forced prostitution where they share none of the profits. The practice is commonly labeled as human trafficking, sex trafficking and it is - modern day slavery.
Human trafficking is a system of profit for the few, yet no socio-political system can be held responsible. Every continent and race suffers from some of its citizens being enslaved. However, we can chart that the flow of humans is overwhelmingly from places of dire poverty to more affluent communities. This might be from the Ukraine into the U.S., with Mexico as the point of entry.
Although anyone can be a victim to trafficking, it’s most common for victims to be young and female. Developing countries, and those under the hand of war, are the most common countries exploited. Geographies that experience extreme natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, in areas of poverty, are the most common targets of those seeking new recruits. Some abandoned people and children are kidnapped outright - others are starving and desperate to believe there is a better life elsewhere. Professional traffickers normally work in small groups, but many are controlled by organized crime. In both instances, victims are sold and enslaved.
Roughly 80 percent of those trafficked are female. Since many victims are never again found alive, it’s impossible to know the true numbers, but it’s estimated that at least 17,500 foreign nationals and well over 17,500 U.S. citizens are trafficked annually in the U.S. alone. It’s estimated that $9.5 billion are generated worldwide from the sale and forced labor of trafficked humans.
Unlike drug busts or stings that uncover illegal arms, human trafficking rings are harder to find. Victims are moved frequently, often every few weeks, through numerous countries or cities, and in complete hiding, without a trace as to where they came from or where they’re going. Victims sometimes die before being found. Those that escape may not be able to identify their captors in order to prosecute them. Some are so physically and psychologically damaged from the enslavement that they fear testifying because of threats to them and their families - especially when powerful mafias are part of the mix.
And, the cost is high. Many sex slaves are forced to service 10-50 men a day, with no health care or protection from STDs, HIV or birth control. Forced pregnancies often result in forced births, with surviving children groomed to endure the same servitude. Countless victims pay with their lives.
The trafficking of humans is largely an issue of protecting women and children. As a voice for all that affects the success of women in our midst, we, of 51%-A Woman’s Place Is In Politics, will continue to examine the complexities of this alarming issue. We will look to the international dilemmas involved, and expose the local occurrences within San Diego and across to our Mexican neighbors. It may be disheartening. But as one of the quickest growing illegal industries in the world, it is with grave concern that we look into the problem.
