Answer

Human trafficking is the process of recruiting and move people most often by force, deception or coercion for the purposes of exploitation. Exploitation may include forced labor, sex work, and domestic work, construction, and agriculture (Cary et al., 2016). The federal law titled ‘Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000’defines human trafficking as act of exploiting a person or persons for labor or sex using “fraud coercion, or force” (Toney-Butler, Gossman, &Mittel, 2021). Trafficking in persons is also referred to as modern-day slavery and is considered as a crime across all 50 states under the international and federal laws (Toney-Butler et al., 2021).

            Human trafficking is pressing security, public health, and economic concern that transcends all social classes, races, gender, and demographics. No population is free from the prevalent threat of traffickers. Human traffickers are often driven by greed and the share of gains. They often prey upon the vulnerable persons/populations, are devoid of respect for human rights, and can damage the physical and psychological well-being of their victims (Toney-Butler et al., 2021). Exploitation of victims of child trafficking occurs when the victims are not treated properly, when they do not receive appropriate renumeration for their labor, and when traffickers take advantage of the vulnerability of their victims to extract unfair profits from them (Gozdziak & Vogel, 2020).

            A trafficker acts by recruiting potential persons to be trafficked, harbors them, offer transportation services, provides, or obtain an individual. Means such as fraud, coercion, and forces are utilized by the trafficker to compel the victim to provide labor, commercial sex acts, and other services. The federal law defines sex trafficking as the process of recruiting, hosting, transporting, provision, patronizing, obtaining, or soliciting of a person for the purposed of commercial sex acts, in which the commercial sex acts are induced by fraud, force, or coercion, or in which the individual induced to perform such acts are below 18 years of age. Trafficking increases the risk of exploitation of minors for commercial sex since they are vulnerable and can be easily manipulated and exploited (Toney-Butler et al., 2021). Sex trafficking has been reported in some areas of the U.S. For example, sex trafficking in Ohio is considered one of the major components of the national sex trafficking network. Sex trafficking is tightly connected with human trafficking for domestic work (Chohaney, 2016).

            Human trafficking can also lead to forced labor or servitude. Labor trafficking is defined as hosting, transporting, provision, or obtaining an individual or services or labor, through utilization of fraud, force, or coercion for the intent of subjecting the individual into involuntary servitude, debt bondage, peonage, or slavery. In trafficking of persons, force can involve torture, imprisonment, rape, or beatings, and may be physical or psychological (Toney-Butler et al., 2021). Human trafficking is synonymous to modern day slavery. The term use of the term human trafficking to refer to modern day slavery makes to public to belief that slavery no longer exists (Bonilla & Mo, 2018).

Physical confinement is infrequent; however, invisible chains or constrains are applied in order to maintain control and power, just like in intimate partner violence. Invisible chains may include withholding pay, debt bondage, and maintaining possession of all forms of identification documents to develop an invisible bond between the victim and the trafficker or pimp (Toney-Butler et al., 2021).  Fraud may include false claims of a marriage, job, and promises of a better life or a family. Coercion may include debts, threats, or bondage, which help foster a climate of intimidation and fear. Coercion may comprise of abuse of the legal process (Toney-Butler et al., 2021).  Victims of human trafficking manifest with high prevalence of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Cary et al., 2016). Human trafficking can exacerbate crime and criminal activities from the community to the national level. Victims are often coerced to participate in crimes, which may land them in jail or detention centers (Toney-Butler et al., 2021).

Figure 1: Child Victims of Sexual Exploitation

Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2020).

Human Trafficking and Terrorism

            Human trafficking can drive displacement, conflict, and undercut the ability of the international institutions to promote stability. Human tracking involves cross violation of human rights and encompass a range of illicit activities, including forced labor, sexual exploitation, forcible recruitment into military service or armed group, and organ removal (Council on Foreign Relations, 2019). Human trafficking is not only an affront to human dignity and rights, but also a security and criminal concern. It can fuel conflict by facilitating armed groups to expand their power, raise revenue, and expand their military capabilities. Human trafficking can destabilize communities, and thereby undermining development and exacerbating conflict (Council on Foreign Relations, 2019).