I have two quotes, both from Chapter Four:
1. “It reminds me of a macabre version of the Choose Your Own Adventure books: A few option along the way will eventually lead to one of not many outcomes. I you chose running away from your mom, skip to page 6, where you’ll meet a pimp on the subway. If you chose running away from a group home, skip to page 7, where you’ll meet a girl who’ll introduce you to a pimp. If you’re homeless and feel like you have to trade sex in exchange for a place to sleep that night, jump ahead to page 15, where you’ll be living with a guy who now sells you every night” (Lloyd 72).
2. “Some of the girls, however, have been forced into the sex industry through kidnapping and violence, held at gunpoint, pushed into a car, kept in a locked room. Girls are then raped, often gang-raped initially, to break their will” (Lloyd 74).
Society often seems to view only those girls described in the second quote as victims of trafficking. Girls who “choose” it by going home with men who later turn into pimps, or who see it as the only option (or not even an option) are then thought of as prostitutes rather than victims. Grace Kahng describes this in her articles for MSNBC entitled “Sex slaves, human trafficking- in America?” where she reports on two girls from Ukraine who are tricked into coming to the United States and then forced to work in a strip club. They fit the picture painted for us of human trafficking; innocent girls who, with physical force and threats, are made to work in the sex industry. Girls who are not physically forced, and people who aren’t involved in the sex industry, are not considered as being trafficked so much.
This is apparent even in the definition given in the prompt, as sexual exploitation is the first thing listed as a part of human trafficking. When the term is used, that is mostly what we think of, despite the fact that the larger part of human trafficking is in non-sexual industries (Chuang 2010). By only focusing on this single segment of the trafficking industry, and focusing our legislation and reform on that (Chuang 2010) we are allowing other to be further victimized. People made to work in agriculture are ignored, as are those imported (as much as I hate to use that term in reference to people) to work as domestic labor.
So why do we do this? While I do not have any evidence to support this, I would think because society associates so much drama and glamour with sex. We love the idea of a wild story, and college women brought over from Ukraine with the promise of a summer job, but then made to work in a strip club make good stories. The tale of a middle-aged man made to pick squash is just not as exciting to most people, despite the fact that he is just as much a victim.
Works Cited:
Chuang, Janie A. “Rescuing Trafficking from Ideological Capture: Prostitution Reform and Anti-Trafficking Law and Policy.” 2010. American University, Washington College of Law. Web. Accessed 9 April 2012. <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1669973>
Kahng, Grace. “Sex slaves, human trafficking-in America?” 2007. MSNBC.com. Web. Accessed 9 April 2012. <http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22083762/ns/today-today_news/t/sex-slaves-human-trafficking-america/#.T4OIxJk7WAg>
I agree with your argument that people trafficked for work and labor purposes are often brushed aside and forgotten about, while trafficking victims who are sexually exploited take a front seat in this society. According to information regarding human trafficking on humantrafficking.org, when the U.S. department of state began to monitor human trafficking in 1994, the focus was on the trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes. (Academy for Educational Development) However, according to the author, “Coverage has broadened over the years, and U.S. embassies worldwide now routinely monitor and report on cases of trafficking in men, women, and children for all forms of forced labor, including agriculture, domestic service, construction work, and sweatshops, as well as trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.” (Academy for Educational Development)
ReplyDeleteIt is comforting to know that we are able to look into a broader range of trafficking issues, since human trafficking is a major issue in the U.S. and several other countries around the world which does not always revolved around sexual exploitation. According to an expert on the effects of human trafficking, “The U.S. has assisted countries to enact anti-trafficking legislation, trained law enforcement officials, prosecutors, border guards and judicial officers on detecting, investigating, and prosecuting traffickers, and protecting victims and provided start-up equipment for new anti-trafficking police units.” (Academy for Educational Development) Our ability to assist other countries in the fight against human trafficking is definitely a step in the right direction. We are aware that there is a serious problem within our own country and are taking the initiative to educate others about the effects that trafficking has at our own local level and on a global level.
Although human trafficking usually has a focus on women and children, which is important to the content of this class, we should not forget that men can be victims of trafficking as well.
Word count: 311
Academy for Educational Development. humantrafficking.org. 2006. 10 4 2012 .
I don't know why this didn't attach the first time...
Deletehttp://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/united_states_of_america.