Human Trafficking Defined
The United Nations’ definition of human trafficking is “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". Put into simpler words, human trafficking is modern-day slavery.
Through an American’s eyes this concept is more than hard to grasp. Does this really happen? Yes, sadly it does, not in just poor, undeveloped nations but all around the world. The United Nations agency named International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 12.3 million people held against their will in servitude at any given point in time. Other organizations estimate the number to be as high as 27 million. The victims of human trafficking are those who are the most vulnerable and weak, young women and children. According to U.S. Government-sponsored research activity conducted in 2006, 600,000 to 800,000 persons are trafficked across international borders annually. Disturbingly, the research also shows that 80% of trafficked persons were women and girls, and 50% of the victims were minors.
It must be understood that some human trafficking crimes cross national borders, but it would also be considered human trafficking to hold, or harbor, a person in a country against their will. It should also be known that some servants voluntarily become servants out of lack of job skills and opportunity. However, in some cases, the servants move into an environment that was not as advertised. They may become forced to stay in this environment and work for their “employers” for no wages or in inhumane conditions. This would also be considered human trafficking.
The underlying theme of human trafficking is that the “trafficker” exploits, coerces, frauds, or forces the victim against their will into servitude at the gain of the trafficker. Thus this financial gain brings in the business factor to these atrocious crimes. The United Nations estimate that an approximate five to seven billion US Dollars per year is generated globally. This number is quite large and serves as justification of why human trafficking thrives in countries that are facing poverty and social injustice.
Forms of Servitude
Now that we have a definition of human trafficking and understand the make-up of those directly affected, what form does “servitude” take? The scope may be wider than we have documented, but for the most part there are two major sectors. The victims are either subject to labor exploitation, sexual exploitation, or both.
Labor exploitation, also referred to as “labor trafficking,” includes mostly men and children, but also women. The forms of labor exploitation include bonded labor, involuntary servitude, domestic servitude, and child labor. People in these situations are subject to unsafe, inhumane working conditions. The positions can be paid, but usually are unpaid. Often, the labors are beaten on a regular basis adding to their woes. In general, forced labor often occurs when employers find gaps in employment law and uses these gaps to exploit their victims. Immigrants, in particular, are very vulnerable to forced labor because of the number of laws surrounding their employment.
Let me discuss each form of labor trafficking. Bonded labor occurs when the employer uses a bond, or debt, to keep the worker in service. The worker will receive a debt or inherent a debt as part of their initial employment. The worker must stay working for the employer until the debt is paid off. The concept of “inheriting debt” has kept workers in servitude for multiple generations. Involuntary servitude exists when a worker has a perception that they cannot escape their work for fear that they may be physically beaten or be prosecuted through legal action. The common factor in these situations is that a threat is made that keeps the worker trapped. Domestic servitude is different from involuntary servitude in that the worker is working for a person or family in their home. Wealthier families may be the perpetrators in these cases. Children are most vulnerable in these situations and are held in servitude through emotional or sexual abuse. This type of labor trafficking is extremely hard to identify and track. Child labor overlaps with the first three categories. By definition, it involves a minor and it is particularly troubling that some children are sold by their own parents into a forced labor situation.
Sexual exploitation, or sex trafficking, affects almost wholly women and children. By the United Nation’s definition, “sex trafficking means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act”. Commercial sex act means that something of value is given in exchange for the act. Commercial sex trade is a booming business, so much of the human trafficking that exists today involves such services. Many of the sexual exploitation cases involve working in street prostitution, organized brothels, strip clubs, live-sex shoes, pornography businesses, etc. Other sexual exploitation cases take the form of private homes, where the woman or child is forced to live and work with the offender. The victims of sexual exploitation are often lured in with the promise of a good job in another country in exchange for the acts, kidnapping, fraudulent marriage proposals, or even sold in to the business by family members. Child Sex Tourism, a specific type of commercial sex trade that is a fast growing problem, involves a person travelling to another country in order to engage in this act.
Human Trafficking in India
By its very nature, human trafficking is something that is not publicly identified, so how can quantify how much corruption is taking place? I am not sure that there is a real answer to that question. You can not measure what you can not see. We have no doubt that human trafficking takes place wherever someone sees there is a need for cheap labor, sex, and money; therefore it exists in every country in the world. Many organizations around the world have taken on extensive research projects to attempt to identify the scope of the problem, none have been completely successful. Most all of the reports have been questioned as to reliability and accuracy, as should be expected due to the reason above. With that being said, multiple reports point to
The Trafficking in Persons Report published by the
At a briefing in Washington, D. C. this past June, Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, Senior Advisor on Trafficking in Persons, was quoted saying, “India has the world's largest labor trafficking problem with hundreds of thousands of sex trafficking victims and millions of bonded laborers including forced child laborers. In
While Lagon is certainly qualified to have an opinion on
The Trafficking Victim Protection Act of 2000 is the
Efforts India has Made to Combat Human Trafficking
In September 2006, the Indian government responded to the trafficking issue by creating a central anti-trafficking law enforcement “nodal cell.” The nodal cell is a federal two-person department responsible for collecting and performing analysis of data related to trafficking, identifying the causes of the problem, monitoring action taken by state governments, and holding meetings with state-level law enforcement. In 2007, three state governments established anti-trafficking police units, the first of this kind in the
Despite the legal efforts that are taking place, enforcement of the law leaves room for desire. In 2006, for the entire country of
NGOs and human rights activists are left to fill the void of the government’s negligence. Without a significant amount of funds, how much of an impact can NGOs have? On individual lives their impacts are huge, but when you look at society as a whole the crisis is too big, the Indian government must step up and address this issue.
Potential Effects on the Economy
If the government does not address the human trafficking problem in a more effective manner, the impact on
Recommendations for Change
The
Outside of government intervention, there are other actions that can help. NGOs must not give up the fight. People like Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian activist against child labor whom has set free over 75,000 bonded and laborer children, must passionately continue in their missions. People in the education field can teach ethics training in Indian Business Schools that may prevent future business owners from pursuing “cheap forms of labor.” Multi-national enterprises that enter the Indian economy can lead by example. They can refuse to do business with companies that knowingly engage in the inhumane practices of employing bonded laborers.
Indians and Americans both live in democratic societies that value freedom, we must work together to ensure that all of our citizens can enjoy freedom and that each person’s human rights are respected.
References
1. US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2007
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/82902.pdf
2. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
http://www.unescap.org/esid/GAD/Issues/Trafficking/index.asp
3.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/about/fact_sex.pdf
4. United Nations Office of Drug and Crime Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns Report, April 2006