HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 1
Research Paper Assignment
Human Trafficking and Forced Prostitution
Abstract
According to estimates, Americans comprise about two-thirds of trafficking survivors in the
country. Most victims born abroad entered the US legally and on varied visas. According to the
State Department, approximately 15,000 and 50,000 women or girls are brought into the country
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 2
illegally each year. When a person is forced or coerced to perform sexual acts for financial gain
or to perform manual labor, this is often called people trafficking. Pressure might be subtle or
obvious, physical, and or mental. Prostitution or sexual servitude due to compulsion from a third
entity is described as forced prostitution or unintentional prostitution. Considered one of the
worst despicable crimes ever committed, human trafficking affects millions of individuals
worldwide and robs them of their humanity. Each day, traffickers trick women, men, and kids
from all over the universe into working in terrible settings. Thousands of people are human
smuggling victims every year, the most well-known being sexual abuse. However, many more
are trafficked for coerced labor, domestic slavery, child begging, or body part removal. Human
trafficking victims who were also coerced into prostitution are the focus of this study. This study
focuses on individuals who have been victims of compelled prostitution and human trafficking.
Claims Associated with Human Trafficking
Although it has long existed in different manifestations, official debate and press
coverage indicate that until lately, human trafficking was rarely seen as a significant societal
issue. Trafficking could have changed in a certain way because of how big it is and how victims
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 3
are often portrayed as suspenseful. Victims are usually shown to have been sexually enslaved,
not forced to work, and to be in a terrible situation that is often simple and broken. For instance,
Iris Yen asserts that those forced into prostitution are "basically slaves" and that "smugglers often
beat, assault, starve, imprison, torment, and mentally and physically assault the women." Also,
Siddharth Kara says that the progressive sex trafficking organization "routinely rapes, tortures
enslaves and kills a large percentage of women and children" (Gul, 2020). Yen and Kara also
paint overly dramatic pictures that are too common and conceal the sophistication, complexities,
and uncertainty of numerous practical scenarios. They do this without any proof. There are four
main assertions about the scope of human trafficking that have been accepted as accurate without
question: A staggering volume of people have fallen victim to trafficking worldwide. Human
trafficking is arguably the 2nd or 3rd significant criminal activity in the globe, after the illicit
substance and weapons trade, and sexual exploitation is more common and dangerous than
forced prostitution.
Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation in a Global Crime
Analysts must carefully review the accuracy of the information sources and the methods
employed to arrive at findings when assessing the scope of any criminal operation, whether it be
illicit trafficking, compulsive betting, the weapons industry, or sex trafficking. There are
substantial rewards for activists, authorities, and the mainstream press to recognize and replicate
statistics regarding human smuggling instead of questioning and critiquing them, similar to what
occurs with drug, arm, and certain other illegitimate global entities where "the figures are
frequently extremely suspicious but promoted and infrequently analytically surveilled (Li et al.,
2018)." Human trafficking, which claims "huge amounts" of victims annually, has allegedly
attained epic proportions globally, based on various campaigners, government authorities, and
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 4
academics. Up to four million individuals were "purchased, sold, trafficked, and detained without
their consent in slave-like settings," the U.S. Administration alleged in 2002. 2.45 million people
were coerced into forced labor as an outcome of human trafficking, according to the ILO in
2005. This number mysteriously increased to 9.1 million by 2012. Additionally, according to the
U.S. authorities, 0.18 percent of people worldwide are currently subjects of trafficking, which is
characterized as "slave labor, labor exploitation, and coerced prostitution." None of these
numbers was supported by any authorities (Boyd et al., 2021). Similarly, Kevin Bales asserts that
"there are 27 million slaves in the globe currently." Bales calls the estimate "a decent guess," but
he provides no supporting information or a general explanation of how he reached it.
We discover similarly significant and questionable figures when we shift our focus from
the worldwide scene to the regional setting. Bales provides a "conservative assessment" of
35,000 "commercial slaves" in Thailand, which would account for 5% of the region's
documented prostitute population (Landman et al., 2019). According to Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO) estimates, 80,000 and 100,000 Cambodian women and kids fall victim to
human trafficking yearly. "No research or statistical findings of any kind can be obtained to
substantiate the statistics," though. Of the 27,925 sex prostitutes in 2008, just 1,058 were coerced
into the industry, according to Steinfatt's data (Steinfatt, 2015). Everyone should know that the
volume of prostitution in Steinfatt's research is far smaller than the percentage of "smuggled"
prostitutes in Cambodia reported by NGOs. As indicated by the United States state, just 0.4% of
the potential survivors of human trafficking globally have been "recognized" (Gul, 2020).
Unfortunately, the study does not cite a reputable source for the volume of survivors,
approximated or recognized, nor does it clarify the term "outlined." This is based on the
assumption that the average figure is accurate. However, official numbers from other sites
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 5
demonstrate a significant difference between the alleged scale of human trafficking as well as the
percentage of victims recognized and aided by the Government or the percentage of traffickers
arrested and executed. The United States Government estimates that 17,500 people are smuggled
entering the country each year. Still, only a small fraction of those victims have been formally
identified, and none of their traffickers has been prosecuted for a crime (Banks et al., 2016). The
percentage of victims helped is unlikely to match the percentage of victims anticipated because it
is challenging to track victims and construct criminal proceedings regarding criminals engaged in
underground markets. However, there are substantial doubts regarding the scope of the issue,
given the discrepancy between the percentage of claimed and validated victims. Creating
macrolevel estimations has been called into question by a few organizations. Numerous issues
with the production of macro-level numbers have been uncovered, as noted by the U.S. Federal
Accountability Department and the International Labor Organization (Li et al., 2018). Moreover,
independent experts have criticized global assumptions that utilize a variety of victim
interpretations, extrapolate from a small number of substantiated cases to the complete victim
community, and count smuggled workers as trafficking victims irrespective of their approval
status or the legality of their working situations. We can only draw one assumption from this:
There is no evidence to support the allegation that human trafficking affects a large percentage of
victims.
Is Human Trafficking Steadily Increasing?
Human trafficking is shown as a massive problem and an on the rise. The amount and
rate of growth of smuggling "are both growing dramatically". Using a tautology, Kara claims that
"the rising usage of sex slaves has led to a rise in the market for sex operations" (Kara, 2017).
Furthermore, Shelley considers trafficking to be "one of the quickest expanding types of
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 6
transnational criminality global" and claims that it "is developing as both market and availability
for victims are escalating" (Meyer & Shelley, 2020). The surreptitious structure of smuggling
(which considers data collection problematic), the absence of a stable benchmark from which
variations over a period can be quantified, and apparent market share, specifically for sexual
trade, are three basic issues with assertions concerning global patterns. The idea that sexual
exploitation is rising presupposes (a) increasing competition and (b) an acute shortage of sex
laborers in the regional area to match that rising demand. Concerning the third issue, a study in
Cambodia discovered that trafficking was reduced by more than half between 2002 and 2008,
despite an alleged augmentation in the number of sex laborers (Steinfatt, 2015). This suggests
that smuggling can reduce whenever the neighborhood sex industry is steady or procuring, as
well. Human trafficking might have increased or decreased in recent years in some nations or
regions, although this will not indicate a global trend. I contend that the previous considerations
make it impossible to evaluate global trends accurately.
Human Trafficking is the Leading Criminal Business
People frequently claim that, following the smuggling of drugs and weapons, human
smuggling is the first- and second or third-largest unlawful industry globally in terms of
magnitude or profit. The main anti-trafficking legislation in the United States stated that "human
trafficking remains the quickest increasing generator of revenues for structured illegal businesses
globally", and also the U.S. State Office claimed that "human smuggling was the third biggest
illegal organization in the globe" in 2004. (Landman et al., 2019). Human trafficking was given a
higher ranking by the U.S. Department of Healthcare and Social Services in 2006: it is "aligned
with weapons trade as the second-largest unlawful sector in the globe, and arguably the rapidly
expanding" (Landman et al., 2019)). The FBI extends even further, stating that "human
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 7
prostitution smuggling" by itself is "the third-largest unlawful industry in the globe" and "the
fastest-growing organization of structured crime" (Bedford et al., 2021). These assertions have
not been backed up by any proof or reliable authorities and granted the covert character of drug,
weapon, and people smuggling, it is difficult to do so (Jong, 2019). However, the assertion
appears to have been accepted by advocacy organizations, government organizations, and the
press. Several academics contest the magnitude to which criminal gangs are associated with
human trafficking, pointing out that most of the aid given to migrants occurs on a limited scale
and, consequently, rather "disoriented," comprising only one or a few intermediaries. Profit
predictions are very inconsistent, which in and of itself might raise doubt. Since it was predicated
on "a multitude of uncertainties," one assertion that smuggling is a $5–$7 billion yearly business
was disproved as being little more than "gut instinct" (Jong, 2019). However, some authors cite
significantly larger numbers: A 2005 ILO analysis found that $31.6 billion was made yearly from
all forms of trafficked work (Rahman, 2011). Despite merely being included in a research
document, other agencies soon quoted the number as a "reality." Kara further asserts that just
sexual exploitation generates $36 billion in revenue. Additionally, he asserts that only 4.2 percent
of all enslaved people worldwide are trafficking sex slaves, even though they account for 39.1
percent of enslavers' income (Kara, 2017). It might take complex information on both
dimensions—facts that do not exist—to support such accurate claims regarding the percentage of
sex slaves as well as the income made from them in relation to general enslaved people.
Sex Trafficking Dominates All Human Trafficking Worldwide
To conclude, there are contradictory assertions concerning human trafficking, which is
extremely widespread. Based on featured films, commercials, and media stories, sex trafficking
might be the predominant concern (Gul, 2020). The declarations of many public figures, non-
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 8
governmental groups, humanitarian bodies, and governments all share a similar emphasis. The
Bush government prioritized sex exploitation above the enslavement of workers in their 2005
TIP Report, which stated, "the overwhelming of global captives are trafficked through economic,
sexual exploitation" (Motivans et al., 2018). Obama's Administration adopts the opposing
position. According to the 2010 TIP Assessment, "the vast proportion of human smuggling in the
globe involves the use of slave labor." Sex trafficking forms a reduced but important fraction of
collective human smuggling (George et al., 2018). By 2005 the ILO estimated that "coerced
economic, sexual exploitation represented 11 percent of overall cases" of slave labor globally (Li
et al., 2018). Although this assessment can be disputed in the identical way that numerous
different macro figures can stand to reason that the global market for low-wage dwarfs the
economy for sexual purposes. Greater attention and funding should be directed at preventing and
combating labor smuggling at the governmental level.
Macrolevel Research
There has been little evidence to support allegations that human trafficking is widespread,
increasing in prevalence, or even very common. Neither the size of the underground market nor
the volume of people who are a part of it can be accurately measured at the regional or global
scale. The difficulties in making broad generalizations are also present in the study conducted at
the macro level. Research that seeks to analyze nations' frequency of trafficking captives is
fundamentally problematic (Cunha et al., 2021).
Microlevel Research
Exaggerated claims from the macrolevel are essential for at minimum two purposes: (1)
when they are untrue, they run the possibility of undermining funding considerations for other
deserving initiatives, and (2) especially if often are accurate, they are of minimal benefit on the
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 9
base, where human trafficking counts most (Mackenzie, 2020). Microlevel studies—those
conducted in a neighborhood, town, or restricted area of a nation—have both statistical and
qualitative benefits. Due to the constrained criteria, accurate victimization information might
offer better accurate victimization statistics, more significant insights into the lived situations of
participants, and the possibility of pinpointing trafficking "hot zones" for the full deployment of
investigative forces.
The perspectives of labor migrants range widely both during the migration procedure and
during work. At one extreme of the spectrum are people whose passports are seized, restricted to
their jobs, ticketed unforeseen expenses for solutions, encountered unjustified debt rising prices,
physiologically and sexually assaulted, etc. At the other end of the spectrum are people who had
also been extensively misled regarding the employment conditions at the desired location. On the
extreme of the scale are immigrants who act with clear awareness and choice, are not misleading,
or exploited by intermediaries or companies, and engage in a lawful manner. Numerous
immigrants straddle the two extremes. Some people need help understanding the requirements of
their contract with a moderator, the particular dangers or workplace circumstances in a foreign
location, or how challenging it might be to repay a debt.
Biblical view Regarding Human Trafficking and Forced Prostitution
Religious Christians strongly condemn this practice. Human trafficking is morally
repugnant to Christians because it demeans victims and undermines their inherent worth as
human beings (McCoy, 2017). The Christian community has been an effective force in the fight
against human trafficking. After identifying himself as "a slave of Christ Jesus" in Romans 1:1,
Paul tells his readers that they have gotten "liberated from wickedness and are turned slaves to
holiness" in Romans 6:18. Paul similarly addresses slavery's place in God's reign in Galatians.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION
10
Harassment of a sexual nature is not denied or ignored in the Bible. In reality, the religious law
demonstrates how God defends weak and helpless people. The victim of the sexual attack was
protected from unfair judgment or disregard by Deuteronomy 22:25-27.
Conclusion
The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the phenomena of modern-day slavery:
the trafficking as well as the exploitation of people for sexual purposes. While studies on sex
abuse and trafficking dominate, studies on worker exploitation are scarce. Tougher laws need to
be drafted so that traffickers have a more challenging time making off with victims. Additionally,
a researcher from both the country of origin and the country of destination should be included in
study networks that look into the well-being of trafficking victims or abused migrants.
Prioritizing HT studies around the globe will require increased funding for multinational research
alliances and organizations. Nothing can be accomplished unilaterally except the issue is placed
in a broader setting and additional international aid is provided.
References
Banks, D., & Kyckelhahn, T. (2016). Characteristics of suspected human trafficking incidents, 2008–
2010. 2011. United States Department of Justice.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION
11
Bedford, C., Duncan, A., Palazzolo, C., & Shevlin, J. P. (2021). FBI Resources in Missing Person Cases.
Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law and Practice, 69, 149.
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/usab69&div=16&id=&page=
Boyd, D. S., Perrat, B., Li, X., Jackson, B., Landman, T., Ling, F., Bales, K., Choi-Fitzpatrick, A.,
Goulding, J., Marsh, S., & Foody, G. M. (2021). Informing action for United Nations SDG target
8.7 and interdependent SDGs: Examining modern slavery from space. Humanities and Social
Sciences Communications, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00792-z
Cunha, A., Gonçalves, M., & Matos, M. (2021). Exploring Perceptions of Portuguese Police about
Human Trafficking Victims and Perpetrators. Crime, Law and Social Change.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-021-09991-w
George, E., & Stanley, M. (2018). Exploring the occupational injustices of human trafficking. Journal of
Occupational Science, 26(3), 394–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2018.1515104
Gul, H. (2020). Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Types Are Common Among Turkish Women From High
Socioeconomic Status and Have Differing Effects on Child Abuse and Contentment With Life.
Northern Clinics of Istanbul. https://doi.org/10.14744/nci.2020.46514
Jong, M. (2019). Human Trafficking. MacEwan University Student Research Proceedings, 4(1).
https://journals.macewan.ca/studentresearch/article/view/1753
Kara, S. (2017). Perspectives on Human Trafficking and Modern Forms of Slavery. Social Inclusion,
5(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v5i2.1048
Landman, T., & Silverman, B. W. (2019). Globalization and Modern Slavery. Politics and Governance,
7(4), 275. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v7i4.2233
Li, J., Brisson, C., Clays, E., Ferrario, M. M., Ivanov, I. D., Landsbergis, P., Leppink, N., Pega, F.,
Pikhart, H., Prüss-Üstün, A., Rugulies, R., Schnall, P. L., Stevens, G., Tsutsumi, A., Ujita, Y., &
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION
12
Siegrist, J. (2018). WHO/ILO work-related burden of disease and injury: Protocol for systematic
reviews of exposure to long working hours and of the effect of exposure to long working hours
on ischaemic heart disease. Environment International, 119, 558–569.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.06.022
McCoy, K. (2017, December 11). God is not silent: What the Bible teaches about sexual assault - ERLC.
Https://Erlc.com/. https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/god-is-not-silent-what-the-bible-
teaches-about-sexual-assault/
Mackenzie, S. (2020). Human Trafficking. In bristoluniversitypressdigital.com. Bristol University Press.
https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/display/book/9781529203851/ch003.xml
Meyer, L. F., & Shelley, L. I. (2020). Human Trafficking Network Investigations: The Role of Open
Source Intelligence and Large-Scale Data Analytics in Investigating Organized Crime.
International Journal on Criminology, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.18278/ijc.7.2.8
Motivans, M., Statistician, B., & Snyder, H. (2018). Special Report Clo Federal Prosecution of Human-
Trafcking Cases, 2015. https://oldsite.nmcsap.org/wp-
content/uploads/Prosecution_of_Human_Trafficking_2015.pdf
Rahman, M. A. (2011). Human Trafficking in the era of Globalization: The case of Trafficking in the
Global Market Economy. https://www2.hu-
berlin.de/transcience/Vol2_Issue1_2011_54_71_Glossary.pdf
Steinfatt, T. M. (2015). Forum on Crime and Society Vol. 8, 2015: Special Issue - Researching Hidden
Populations: Approaches to and Methodologies for Generating Data on Trafficking in Persons. In
Google Books. United Nations. https://books.google.co.ke/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=SFb9DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA63&dq=Steinfatt+and+Baker+on+sexual+ex
ploitation&ots=6fBek1VFM_&sig=534-
