Unfortunately, the crime rate continues to rise in today’s world despite so much awareness and a lot of efforts being done by governments around the world to curtail crime. Every morning, news headlines are flooded with hysterical information about somebody’s death or somebody’s rape in some part of the world.
One crime which has gained momentum down the years and continues to rampantly hurt a lot of people is human trafficking. Human trafficking is the practice of illegally transporting people from one country to the other in the pursuit of forced labor and prostitution.
Unfortunately, the nature of a lot of humans hasn’t changed. People have been killing each other for years in wars and selling slaves in the pursuit of getting a good price. In modern times, the practice of human trafficking is gaining momentum with the same ethos which is to get power and money. Following is a list of the important things you must know about this criminal practice:
- Human trafficking is the largest crime
Shocked to know? This is the ultimate truth. According to many statistics, human trafficking is the largest criminal activity trending around the globe. Though drug trade makes a lot of money, human trafficking is not far behind on the list. The most common predators of human trafficking are young children and women. The criminals believe when a girl achieves womanhood, she is ripe for the taking. This is why a lot of these criminals exchange women at a very early age in their lives. The stats show more than $42 billion is earned from human trafficking from the US alone which proves it is an entire hidden black market. Apart from that, a lot of humans are killed for the sake of their body parts so they can be sold for a lot of money. Human smuggling is also very common in this field which is the transfer of a human from one location to the other very often for sexual purposes.
- Men are also abducted
The basic ethos behind men being trafficked is forced labor which is why human traffickers also abduct men. In a lot of developing and third world countries, young men and children are abducted and sold to smugglers in other cities for begging on the streets. You will be shocked to know a lot of men are abducted in Thailand so they can work on fishing boats. A lot of them escape, but many of them remain enslaved their entire lives until death. The international labor organization predicts this kind of trafficking to generate more than $30 billion, which is a lot of money. However many men are often abducted to perform sexual acts and please clients who have an obsession for attractive men.
- In some countries, women are forced to put their bodies on the table
This is shocking but true. In many countries, families have a culture to offer their women as sex slaves. If you don’t know, in many African countries, the female virgin of the family is offered as a sex slave to settle an offense. The girl’s consent is never taken by the family, and she receives the title of a wife after having sex with maybe one or dozens of people. In Ghana, there are many places where women are forced to perform in shrines as sex slaves to attract men. Experts say, more than 10% of women of Moldova have already been sold into prostitution which is sad.
- Female victims are raped countless times
Cnn.com posted an article in which a woman claimed she had been raped over 40,000 times with as many as 30 men coming in her room per day. This continued for about four years in her life. This story created outrage around the world with a lot of men and women coming in support of the poor lady. The lady identified herself as Karla Jacinto in 2015 and openly came out with her story. She said she was abducted by a car driver when she was 12 years old and was sent to Guadalajara from where she escaped after having served years in hell. Now, she is working as a social rights activist and provides awareness regarding human trafficking.
- People think only developing countries are involved in this crime
The common myth which continues to hound human trafficking is it is the criminal culture in developing countries only. However, the truth be told, human trafficking is often instigated from rich countries with the top economies of the world being the mainstream destinations. Some of the common destinations of human trafficking are the United States, Thailand, Japan, Western Europe, India, etc. The government of the US is trying hard to bring down the number of human trafficking but this plaque has infested the country so bad, it will take years for it to come to an end.
- The only way to stop human trafficking is to educate people
Nothing more than education can get help in curtailing this issue. Much of the world’s population lives in poverty and a lot of people are illiterate. You may be shocked to know more than 775 million people in the world are illiterate which means a lot of them will continue to get hunted by the sexual predators. In many low-income families, people are forced to sell off their daughters so they can buy some necessities such as food and clothing. Though this is not a justification of human trafficking there’s no escape from one thing, and that is to educate people as much as we can.
- Human trafficking figures are staggering
The international stats show, around 20 to 40 million people are involved in modern slavery around the world. The US state department claims more than 0.82 million are trafficked every year. Around 80% are girls, and 50% are young children. Furthermore, the research shows the number of people abducted in human trafficking can never be accurately recorded because this criminal market is hidden from the world. Experts claim less than 0.4% of victims are identified, the rest go unnoticed. The net worth of the human trafficking business is estimated to be worth $150 billion worldwide.
- The definition of human trafficking is different in every country
The meaning of human trafficking is different in every state. Generally, people regard human trafficking as an act that involves the sexual exploitation of women only. This means women need to be moved from one place to the other. However, in retrospect, the movement of females might not have even taken place. Similarly, many countries regard organ selling as a part of human trafficking as well in which the consent of the patient is not taken. In the United States, anyone who is engaged in commercial sexual activity under the age of 18 is regarded as a victim of the sex trade.
- There are many different forms of child trafficking
Children are the ones who are affected to a great extent, emotionally and physically because of their innocent nature. Child trafficking takes place in many forms. Some kids are forced to perform sexual acts and please the clients. A lot of kids are often beaten brutally with their legs and arms then broken. The majority of such kids are forced into begging and often engaged in the trade of drugs. Child pornography is another issue that is rampantly growing across the globe. Furthermore, parents in developing countries often sell their kids to pay off debts. You will be shocked to know; a young child from a poor family in Mexico can be sold for between $100 to $200 by his/her parents.
- Stealing organs is another business inline
Many people are abducted so their organs can be taken out of the bodies to be sold. Secondly, when a person’s entire organs are taken out of the body, there’s nothing left behind. A shocking fact which has surfaced lately is wealthy clients pay between $0.1 million to $0.2 million per organ. Shockingly in many countries, organ selling and purchasing are legally allowed and are known as organ tourism. However, if a person gives out their kidney willingly, they will be given $1000 only. Unfortunately, many illiterate people are forced into the business because they are not educated regarding human trafficking laws.
Conclusion:
There is no justification for forced prostitution in this world; however, the criminals continue to put innocent people on the front row and run the shots behind the scenes. Human trafficking has claimed the lives of millions of people in this world and these criminals continue to hunt fresh pieces of meat every day. Governments around the world are trying their level best to do what they can, but the cruel nature of the predators doesn’t put them away from what they want to do. The only hope is to educate as many people as you can. Human trafficking has infested the world in a way that it will take countless years to eradicate it. Therefore it is crucial to create as much awareness as everyone can to make sure another innocent child is not lost from his/her family.
