Controlling Trafficking in Women Essay

Trafficking of compassionate race beings, especi tout ensembley women and children, has bugger off a worldwide phenomenon that affects all countries regardless of economic status. It is an ineligible commercial trade wherein human beings atomic number 18 coerced to work against their will and ar subjected to abusive environments. These services implicate include prostitution, arranged marriage, begging, domestic servitude, and strained labor. No matter what the country is or what services they ar supposed to render, around trafficked women atomic number 18 held against their wishes, abused, and make teensy or no money. The Global on the wholeiance Against Trafficking in Women defines trafficking as All acts involved in the recruitment or transportation of a woman, deep down or across national borders, for work or services, by agent of violence or threat of violence, debt bondage, deception or an separate(prenominal) irresistible impulse (Caldwell). It entails the us e of various forms of coercion, fraud, intimidation, and brute force to obtain labor and other services for little no benefit to the person being trafficked. piece Trafficking is not a new practice. This global trafficking business that reaps huge loot for traffickers and their collaborators has been present since the start of civilization. What is new is the sophistication and complexity by which it is carried out. The appalling thing is how this type of trade actually flourishes in this time of erudition where the rights of human beings be given utmost importance. It is a violation of human rights whenever a human being is placed under whatsoever conditions against his/her will. This phenomenon of the modern-day era can be regarded as the modern day kindred of slavery (Trafficking in human beings). It is of the utmost importance that this practice of subjecting the great unwashed to slave-like conditions be put to a stop. Women form the majority of human trafficking victim s and atomic number 18 the ones most at risk. They are especially assailable due to the omit of employment opportunities. Oftentimes, traffickers promise them good jobs and better lives, but they unless become prostitutes and sweatshop workers. Agents and brokers arrange their papers and transport, but when they r separately their destinations, they discover the real temperament of the work. The women often experience rape and other forms of violence and are enslaved in abusive conditions where a bid for freedom is nearly impossible, even lethal. finale of the Problem Trafficking is a paradox of global proportion affecting or so every country. According to the get together Nations, human trafficking generates around 5-7 billion dollars all(prenominal) year (Raymond). It is currently one of the most lucrative types of international discourtesy, only next to mail trafficking and illegal drugs (external Labour Organization). But unlike arms and drug trafficking, the penaliz ation for human trafficking is relatively light in most countries (Raymond). Determining the extent of and getting the exact statistics on human trafficking has proved to be a daunting task due to the illegal and electron tube nature of the activity. Researchers provide different estimates on the number of individuals being trafficked each year.A US Government report in 2004 estimates a experience of about 600,000-800,000 individuals trafficked annually across borders (Trafficking), the majority of which happening in entropy East Asia, Japan, Russia and Europe (Trafficking in human beings). The aforementioned figure does not include those who are trafficked internally (Trafficking), and the unite Nations reports that up to 4 zillion people are transported worldwide each year (Raymond). Women make up around 80-90 percent of all human trafficking cases, and majority of them are wind upually exploited either through sexual slavery or forced prostitution (Trafficking in human bei ngs).Factors Influencing the Trafficking of Women Trafficking of women is a rapidly growing problem and several factors have led to its growth. In order for appropriate measures to render place, these factors should be identified and addressed. In order for the government to counteract its development, a coordinated response from international and regional authorities that addresses the major factors and root system causes of the problem should be enacted. In addition to this, prevention measures should be through such as information dissemination, empowerment, and education of women in order to turn away possible victimization and re-victimization. One of the major factors influencing the trafficking of women is the lure of easy pelf in prostitution and other forms of commercialized sex (United Nations Further motions). Researchers and human rights advocates also point out that the demand for womens bodies from the male race drives trafficking patterns. The male demand for se xual prostitution, coupled by the increasing poverty, drives women into vulnerable situations that are exploited by sex traffickers. For women, unequal labor opportunities, grammatical gender discrimination, and other restrictions and gender-based stereotypes have led them to seek employment opportunities in other countries. Other driving forces include discrimination against women restrictive migration polices a lose of information about the realities and dangers of trafficking and insufficient penalties against traffickers (Trafficking in human beings).Prostitution and wake Trafficking Trafficking of women comes in three most common forms sex tourism, mail-order bride services, and prostitution (Raymond). The tie beam between trafficking and prostitution is a clear one. The demand for commercialized sex is the biggest driving force behind the trafficking industry. It provides the economic bonus for traffickers to perpetrate the developing of women. For example, reports show t hat an increase in human traffic accompanies places where military armament and peacekeeping forces are stationed (CATW International). Prostituted individuals have little or no security department from harm and violence due to their profession. Their bodies, being treated as commodities, are often subject to abuse and debasement. They also often suffer dangerous physical and mental problems due to injuries caused by such abuse (CATW International). The guinea pig Security Presidential Directive on Combating Trafficking in Persons states that prostitution and relate activities are inherently harmful and dehumanizing, identifying these activities as contributing to the phenomenon of trafficking, and opposing the regularisation of prostitution as a legitimate form of work for any human being (qtd. in Raymond).Anti-Trafficking Legislation There is a take away for comprehensive legislation and anti-trafficking laws that centers on the victims interests and issues. Several laws ex ist, such as the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, trounce and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (also referred to as the UN Trafficking Protocol) which demands corroborating territories to oppose the spread of human trafficking by cherishing and assisting victims of such trafficking and promoting cooperation among states in order to welcome those objectives (United Nations Protocol). United invokes President Bush signed a man Trafficking bill this January, renewing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. This is the first federal law for the punishment of traffickers and that especially addresses the issue of trafficking (Bush Signs). Also, at the Fourth World congregation on Women in Beijing in 1995, the Beijing Platform for Action addressed the trafficking of women in the context of abuse and violence against them (Trafficking in Women) sort of than regarding them as criminals or illegal migrants. Many countries around the world are also curren tly doing modest initiatives to eliminate the human trafficking trade.Criminalization of acquire Women for Prostitution and Punishment for Traffickers One solution being proposed to drop-off the traffickers incentive of transporting women is the legal prohibition of purchasing sexual services. This is rooted on the desire that prostitution (legalized or not) increases trafficking rates (CATW International). Men who purchase women for sex are major players in the supply-demand chain driving the trafficking industry. In order to decrease demand, those purchasing the service should be penalized (Bortel). This is but a logical lengthening to the premise that since illegal to provide such services (in many countries, the prostituted women are also punished by law), it must also be illegal to obtain them (Bortel). Another obstacle to the fight against trafficking is that the traffickers are rarely caught or punished, and if they are they are just penalized for the equivalent of a mino r umbrage (Smith). In addition to this, many countries consider victims as illegal aliens, and are deported or penalized, while the traffickers get away scot-free. In the United States law practice, there is an attitude that trafficking in women qualifies as a lesser crime than trafficking drugs (Bortel). In this light, legislation that gives harsher penalties to traffickers must be enacted, including strengthening existing laws that protect the rights and interests of women.Works CitedBortel, Angela. Ending Trafficking in Women A Victim-Centered Approach to Legislation. Professionals for Cooperation. Jun. 2001. Moscow State University. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .Bush Signs Anti-Human Trafficking Bill. CBS News. 10 Jan. 2006. Associated Press. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .Caldwell, Gillion. Trafficking Women in the Former U.S.S.R. The Trafficking of NIS Women Abroad. Sept. 1997. International League of Human Rights. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .CATW International. Statement by CATW at the Unite d Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. 5 Mar. 2003. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .International Labour Organization. International Labour Office. A global confederation against forced labour. Global Report under the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Geneva 11 May 2006.Raymond, Janice G. The Ongoing calamity of International Slavery and Human Trafficking An Overview. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. 29 Oct. 2003. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 Smith, Virginia. Trafficking women and children. Catholic New Times. 20 Mar. 2005. LookSmart, Ltd. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .Trafficking. Anti-Slavery Todays contract for Tomorrows Freedom. Anti-Slavery International. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .Trafficking in human beings. Wikipedia. 11 Apr. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .Trafficking in Women. Women Watch Information and Resources on sex Equality and authority of Women. 22 Nov. 17 Dec . 2004. United Nations. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .United Nations. Further actions and initiatives to enforce the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Women Watch Information and Resources on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. 16 Nov. 2000. United Nations. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. UN Nations Crime and Justice Information Network. 15 Nov. 2005. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes. Accessed 19 Apr. 2006 .