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Lauren Tabet

Mrs. Tubbs

ENGL-1301-054

8/3/20

Take a Stand Essay

     What is Human Trafficking? Human Trafficking is the act of forcibly taking a person without

their consent to do labor or a sexual act. Human Trafficking has become the nation’s biggest

problem and is one of the main reason’s kids go missing. Human Trafficking is prominent

everywhere around the world but in the United States it is primarily bad in Texas, Florida, New

York and California. It is estimated about 25 million people are human trafficked yearly. Most of

them are usually taken from the United States and transported to another country. Human

Trafficking is a major problem because most of those directly affected are minors, it is a modern-

day form of slavery, and it not only impacts the victim, but also the families’ themselves. Most

people do not acknowledge the severity of slavery because they have the perceived notion that

human trafficking is not prominent in the United States.   

     Most victims that fall into the cycle of Human Trafficking are often underaged individuals

who struggle with their personal lives. This is a major issue because a child’s adolescence is

pivotal in their growth for adulthood. A child being raised in the human trafficking environment

can greatly impact one’s future negatively. The children that are kidnapped are usually sold into

sex rings or forced into child labor. Kidnappers mostly prey on the younger children under the

age of 10 for child labor. Children who are kidnapped and forced into work labor are working in

factories or under the control of powerful people. The ages between 12-17 is the age group that is

sex trafficked and sold for money. The victims of sex trafficking are usually teenage girls,
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younger girls, and younger boys. In “Efforts Against Human Trafficking in the United States

Extend Worldwide,” Tara McKelvey explains that “According to a U.S. Department report,

Trafficking in Persons, released in June 2004, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across

international borders each year. Approximately 70 percent are women and half of them are

children.” Growing up as a girl and living in Texas, one of my biggest fears has been getting

kidnapped and being put into sex trafficking. Every year many boys and girls go missing without

a trace and it is hard to find them with no evidence. Most of the time the kids are taken out of the

country and that makes it very difficult for United States officers due to other countries not

wanting to cooperate with the United States. Sometimes the countries are in on human

trafficking and there is a world-wide sex ring including surrounding countries. In Efforts Against

Human Trafficking in the United States Extends Worldwide,” Tara McKelvey explains that “Sex

trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation can be drastically reduced wherever a country has

the political will and the operational capacity to send the perpetrators to jail and to treat the

victims with compassion and dignity. This is a fight that can actually be one.” It is discouraging

how difficult it is for officers to bust a human trafficking ring and to save the victims. The

victims that have been taken out of the country are most likely to never be seen again. Human

Trafficking not only takes the children away from their families but it steals the innocence of the

kids and their chance at life. 

     Human Trafficking is often referred to as slavery. There are two types of Human Trafficking:

sex trafficking and forced labor. Sex trafficking is forcibly taking another person from one

country to be sold into prostitution in the black market. Some common types of sex trafficking

are escort services, pornography, outdoor solicitation, businesses, and illicit massages. In Svay

Park, Cambodia there is a big red-light district where American people go along the streets there,
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where young, underage girls are being sold for sex. (McKelvey, page 1) Forced labor is often

referred to as modern-day slavery in which people are forced into labor and jobs that do not

provide adequate working conditions. Forced labor is often viewed as child labor because most

of the time kids are kidnapped to work for another person or company. People are forced to work

under horrible conditions. People are starved or given little food or water. They are most likely

getting paid nothing or very little money, they are abused, and have little to no freedom. I can not

imagine what this does to somebody mentally and physically. This could effect the victims

mentally because the words they are told by their captures are hurtful and they have no sense of

any freedom so they will always be under someone else’s control. Physically this could be

harmful because the victims are being starved to death and are working their bodies on overload.

This could cause their bodies to be malnourished and their bones could break easily. Their

captures could also abuse their workers or slave workers and this could cause bruising and

scarring on their bodies. Forced labor can often be referred to as slavery because of the abuse the

workers are put through.

     Human Trafficking affects not only the victims but also the victim’s families. When a

parent’s child goes missing they automatically will blame themselves and wonder where they

went wrong. When a parent finds out their child is missing they go into full panic and their mind

starts to race and wonder where their child may be. The parents will do anything in their power

to get their child back. In cases of human trafficking it is very rare for a child to be reunited with

their family. Most of the time the children are transported to another country and at that point it

is nearly impossible to be reunited with their family. There are some cases however where the

child is safely returned to their family due to the organization, International Justice Mission, who

have saved thousands of girls from sex rings and brothels. (McKelvey, 1) Another action that has
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been taken is The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has created a new tool where

they busted a few sex traffickers on the internet and have saved a couple of girls using this tool.

(All Things Considered, 1) There are several cases where a parent’s child has gone missing

without a trace and no remains or clues have been found. It is sometimes not proven but it is

speculated that the child has become a victim of human trafficking. This is horrible and

devastating for the victims' families because they do not get closure. Their families never get the

closure they need to move on with their lives and to lay their suspicions to rest. I can only

imagine what the victim of the family is thinking when they are away from their families. They

are probably in more pain than their families because they do

not know if they will ever be rescued or if their families even know where they are. Families and

victims both suffer from somebody getting kidnapped and it not only devastates the victims it

also devastates the families as well.

     Most people do not make human trafficking a primary problem because they do not see it as a

major problem in the United States. It is said that although the victims are taken from the United

States and then trafficked to another country, people would think that sex trade has to do with

class but is does not. It happens places where the law enforcement does not enforce the laws not

in poverty. (McKelvey, 3) I am not saying people do not see it as a problem I am saying people

do not necessarily support the cause to stop it. People could think like this because human

trafficking has probably never hit them personally. They have probably never had a family

member kidnapped, a child, a parent, a sibling, or a friend. Which I hope never does because that

pain not knowing where a family member is horrible and I can not imagine what their families

go through. Or maybe they live in a small town or a town that is not near a major highway or

close to borders so no one from there town has never gone missing. If the person does live in a
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small town they could have been sheltered their whole lives. This could be because their parents

do not want them knowing the dangers of the world and are in a sense protecting them from it.

There is an organization called International Justice Mission that has busted many sex rings in

Cambodia, South Africa, Bolivia, and Southeast Asia, saving thousands of girls from captivity.

After they rescue the girls they send them to a safehouse and help them recovery from their

experiences while checking up on the frequently. (McKelvey, 3) In “Investigators Use New Tool

To Comb Deep Web For Human Traffickers,” All Things Considered explains that “In the deep

and dark webs, there are ads for erotic services from sex workers who are victims of trafficking,

of exploitation. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency- DARPA- has developed an

Internet search tool to bust human traffickers.” It is believed that the same girl is used in photos

on different websites because the photos are way too similar. (All Things Considered, 3)

Whatever the reason why they do not support the cause to stop human trafficking it could be

there families protecting them or it has never hit them personally before. 

     Human Trafficking is very devastating crime and is inhumane. It is one of the biggest reasons

kids go missing everyday all around the world. It makes kids live in fear for their lives and

parents in fear for their kids safety. The world is a very scary place and it seems at every turn

there is danger. Human trafficking victims are usually minors that are innocent and are unaware

of their surroundings. Forced labor is often referred to as modern-day slavery and is where

people are forced to work in horrible labor conditions with little to no pay. Human trafficking is

devastating for not only the victims but for their families because the crimes are often unsolved

and the families have no closure for their missing family. Sex trafficking is a serious issue in

todays society that cannot be stopped without the support of countries working in union with one

another.
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Citations
"Investigators Use New Tool To Comb Deep Web For Human Traffickers." All Things Considered, 6
July 2015. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-
com.aclibproxy.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A421816719/OVIC?
u=txshracd2904&sid=OVIC&xid=cd858d43. Accessed 10 Aug. 2020.

McKelvey, Tara. "Efforts Against Human Trafficking in the United States Extend Worldwide." Human
Trafficking, edited by Christina Fisanick, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Current Controversies. Gale In
Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-
com.aclibproxy.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010627218/OVIC?
u=txshracd2904&sid=OVIC&xid=94ba5142. Accessed 10 Aug. 2020. Originally published as
"Special Victims," Ford Foundation Report, 2004.