2.1.2 The concept of Human Trafficking and forms of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon hence difficult to conceptualize (Maclnnis, 2012). Scholars, nations and international organizations have individually or collectively tried to define human trafficking and, not surprisingly, they disagree with one another. United States (US) for instance does not consider organ trade as human trafficking whereas the United Nations (UN) and Canada do (United States Department of State 2010; United Nations 2012). According to Malawi Human Trafficking Act (2015), trafficking in persons means: recruiting, transportation, transferring, harbouring, receiving or obtaining a person within or outside the territory of Malawi through the use of threat or use of force or coercion, abduction, fraud or deception or abuse of power or position, vulnerability, legal processes or giving or receiving payments to obtain consent of a person having control of the trafficked person for the purpose of exploitation of the person.
The United Nations under the Palermo Protocol tried to make an internationally agreed definition which talked about three key elements relating to intent and consent as follows:
‘Trafficking in persons’’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the
The Council crafted the following operational definition to guide policy development on trafficking in persons: Trafficking is all acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transfer, harboring, auction or acceptance of a person or persons; within national or across global limits. These types of recruitments are done through force, fraud or trickery; to place persons in a circumstance of slavery or slavery-like conditions, forced labor or services, such as prostitution or sexual services, domestic servitude, bonded sweatshop labor or other debt bondage (E.M. Gozdziak, 2005)
Human trafficking,the illegal practice of trading in human beings for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, or other forms of exploitation, is a crime that affects the most vulnerable citizens of society. After drugs, it the largest criminal activity globally! The victims must be the primary concern for all law enforcement units. Human trafficking in the world can be diminished and possibly erased through teachings, government intervention, and awareness.
Human trafficking and slavery is in direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 4 which states “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”. Human trafficking and Slavery in its sole purpose and intention is violating human rights, by forcing people to become slaves because they have no other option. In countries like Uganda and Guinea – Bissau, children as young as five have been trafficked to the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) as either soldiers or as sexual slaves, while others have been sent to work in cotton fields in Southern Senegal. Human trafficking and slavery is also a violation against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 3, which says “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” Human trafficking and Slavery is in violation of numerous international documents which are aimed at preventing it from happening and protecting the rights that are presented to people some of these documents are; Convention against
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control victims for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or labor services against his/her will. (“Human Trafficking.”) Differing definitions of sex trafficking in state laws make it difficult to know if the studies on sex trafficking are including consensual, adult sex workers, who are not victims of trafficking under federal or international law in their numbers. Vulnerable Native American women and youth are targeted by traffickers more than any other ethnic group. The data collected for the “Shattered Hearts” report from 95 Native women and girls suggest that the trafficking of Native girls into prostitution is a significant, though rarely discussed as a problem. Still, the studies do suggest that sex trafficking of Native women and girls, specifically, is present in the United States. (“Shattered Hearts.”)
“Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or
Human trafficking is the modernized version of slavery that involves force, fraud, and/or a type of labor in a sexual act. The United States government defines it to be “In which a sex act is forced in which the person induced has not yet been attained eighteen years of age” (National Institute of Justice). Human trafficking is a threat to all nations and promotes breakdown of families and can support organized crime. Trafficking can occur everywhere. Human trafficking and human smuggling are related to one another, but different crimes. The difference between smuggling and trafficking is that smuggling is the illegal movement of someone across a border while trafficking is the illegal exploitation of a person.
The illicit trafficking of humans for purposes of slavery continues to be a global issue and clear violation of fundamental Human Rights. Article 4 of The UDHR states; “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”. Human trafficking is defined as the commercial trade of human beings for the purpose of some form of slavery or exploitation, a clear violation of individual human rights. It is hard to quantify the extent of the issue, however the UN has estimated that there are over 2.5 million victims of human trafficking across state boarders. As an international issue, human trafficking requires international attention - however for international laws to be most effective they
Human Trafficking is a problem within the U.S. and Globally. Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for sexual slavery, forced labor, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may involve providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the withdrawal of organs or tissues, including for replacement and ova removal. Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim 's rights of movement through coercion and because of their viable corruption. Human trafficking is the trade in people, and does not necessarily involve the undertaking of the person from one place to another.
Human trafficking is defined as a recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, of receipt of persons, by means of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, or abuse of power of a position of vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation (Human Trafficking Information). Today human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, has been one of the controversial issues in the United States and nationwide. In fact, it is now considered as the fastest growing multi-billion-dollar business form of organized crime. Also, Human trafficking is affecting the lives of millions around the globe and robbing the victims of their pride. As a matter of fact, Traffickers deceive men, women, and young children from around the world to force them into unspeakable
It should be noted that human trafficking implies the circumstance when a living individual is either treated or considered as a commodity which can be leased, donated, exchange, brought, sold, or even pledged (Kempadoo, Sanghera & Pattanaik, 2015). Therefore, regardless of the condition and the person involved and for what reason carries out the act of trafficking, regarding a man as a question of exchange is a criminal offense in all nations. Lee (2013) argues that aggravating conditions incorporate the commission of the represent the evacuation of tissues or body organs, the utilization of brutality or risk of viciousness, canceling, removing and destroying records that would be used in recognizing the casualty. Additionally, the use of forged information to move people across national borders, persuasive repression abroad, and
Human trafficking takes several forms. In Article 3, paragraph (a) of the “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons” defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. These individuals are usually isolated from their families. By separating the victims from all that is familiar to them, it makes it much easier for them to be controlled and even more difficult for them to seek help. According to the United Nations, human smuggling and trafficking are some of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. It often involves some different crimes, spanning several countries. It is estimated that there are between 600,000 to 800,000 trafficking victims of globally. A person can be smuggled either clandestinely or through deception or fraudulent documents. Most people who are assisted in illegally entering the United States are smuggled, rather than trafficked.
Human trafficking is a serious global issue that needs the awareness and attention of the world. The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes identifies human trafficking as “an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion, or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them” (UNODC). According to the book Trafficking in People by the policy analysts Clare Ribando Seelke and Alison Siskin, this exploitation can include forced prostitution, ”forced labor and services, slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs” (Ribando Seelke and Siskin 4). Human Trafficking is a violation against fundamental human rights. But even 63 years after the United Nations Universal Declaration
There are many definitions of trafficking in human beings. “The United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime included a Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (hereafter the Trafficking Protocol) in order to create an internationally agreed upon definition
Article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use
Mahdavi and Sargent in their article critique this definition in more depth, arguing that there is ambiguity within the definition to which they state “enabled multiple, selective, and contradictory understandings of what human trafficking does or does not entail” (13) and that it has “grossly misconstrued the true complexity and heterogeneity of the phenomenon of human trafficking in continuum of coercion/consent along which migration and labour occur” (15). While the definition is quite ambiguous, and contains many gaps,