Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a very horrifying issue in the world today. There are more than 40 million human trafficking victims worldwide. There are many concerns about trafficking like abuse, trauma, long-term effect on victims, and public health concerns. Some people are more vulnerable to trafficking than others like people in the LGBTQ community, children, women, migrants, and indigenous people. Despite what people may think at first when hearing about trafficking, there are many different ways people get trafficked. Labor exploitation is a modern day form of slavery that affects both children and adults. When trafficked for this reason they are put to work in unregulated and most likely hazardous situations. The traffickers usually target people who are looking for jobs and use deception that the job is safe and pays well to lure people in. Most of the time these situations are from poor living situations and the need for money. The more well known trafficking is sexual exploitation which is when someone takes advantage of their victim's vulnerable state. Trafficking in this way can be from various situations. For instance, their trafficker could pretend to be a romantic partner to lure them away from the victim's family and friends. After they successfully complete the first step, it makes it easier to control the victim whether it be abuse, blackmail, or isolation. These are all forms that they use to keep the victim in their control. Another way to traffick people is to kidnap them and sell them into slavery. This can either be selling them to somewhere else in the United States or in the world. Trafficking is still a prevalent issue because it provides cheap labor, services, and commercial sex. More people should learn and be aware of trafficking since it could affect someone you love or potentially you.