Human trafficking is indeed a tragedy which affects millions and millions of people around the globe. The practice of unfairly taking advantage of the poor, the needy, and other groups such as children, women, and underprivileged people has persisted for ages in a variety of ways.
Like this, human trafficking is centered on the multifaceted exploitation of people and the violation of their rights. This form of modern-day slavery trades in individuals and uses them for financial gain. People of various sexes, ages, and origins can become victims of human trafficking, which is currently a worldwide crime.
It is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons through force, coercion, deception, or other means for the purpose of exploitation. Human trafficking is a lucrative business, with estimates suggesting that it generates billions of dollars in profits each year. Victims are forced into sexual slavery, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced begging, forced marriages, forced criminal activities, organ trafficking, etc.
Human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, earning exploiters more than $150 billion each year, according to a report released by the International Labour Organization in May 2014.
A trafficker is any individual looking to profit from exploiting children, youth, and adults. Traffickers are often the ones victim trust and they can also be a family member or relative. Traffickers often rely on enablers in order to conduct their business: individuals and entities – both legal and illegal – that provide goods and services to exploiters, which make human trafficking possible and profitable. Anyone can be trafficked but the people in vulnerable positions are more susceptible to human trafficking.
Human trafficking is more common in people of low socioeconomic status or with children who experience abuse at home. Traffickers will target runaway or thrown away teens. They will also target people who are in poverty, family problems, substance abuse, those who are unemployed, etc.
Victims are treated as commodities. Humans are priced, sold and bought by other humans. Trafficking violates the basic human rights. “Trafficking exists not because of a few thousand people commit it but because of people stay silent about it,”
Human trafficking is everywhere and has different facets. Some are forced into doing labour while others are trafficked for commercial sex. Human trafficking has many forms. People trafficked for forced labour are sent to factories or industries to work for long hours and are given little to no wage. They work under extreme inhumane conditions. Some can be forced into working in homes where they are abused and tortured. It is called domestic servitude.
These individuals are not allowed to go outside the parameters of the home they are residing in. Usually, a person enters a foreign country for a better job but are tricked. Their official documents like passports are taken away from them. The person lives in constant fear that something bad will happen to them. Even their phones are taken away, so that they have no contact with the outside world.
Another common form of human trafficking is sex trafficking. People being forced to engage in commercial sex acts, pornography, prostitution and more. Many women and children are targeted here. However, it does not mean that it does not happen to males. Traffickers use a variety of methods to recruit and control their victims, including deception, threats, physical violence, and emotional manipulation. They may also use drugs or alcohol to control their victims and make them more compliant. Once a victim is under their control, traffickers may move them across borders, force them to work in brothels or on the street, or sell them to other traffickers. The physical and psychological effects of sex trafficking can be devastating. Victims may suffer from physical injuries, sexually transmitted infections, and unwanted pregnancies. They may also experience depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the abuse they have suffered.
Modern-day slavery in which the victims are coerced, tricked, and forced into employment and sexual exploitation is known as human trafficking. The numbers are alarming. Every year, between 6, 000 and 8, 000 women and children are trafficked over international borders. The number of people that are trafficked within their own nations is not taken into consideration by this. False promises made about employment prospects are what lures most victims of human trafficking into the profession.
Many women from developing nations are drawn into this trade by the promise of fictitious unions. Many of the victims are coerced into the profession, either directly via violence or indirectly through psychological blackmail. As soon as they arrive in the trading nations, their passports are seized, leaving them helpless and vulnerable to the whims of those who deal in human flesh. Threats from human trafficking come in many forms. It denies individuals their right to freedom. It is deplorable. The victims leave feeling crushed, defeated, and demoralised. It is possible that victims of rape, physical violence, and emotional abuse will never be able to lead regular lives again. People who feel threatened constantly live in fear and suffer psychological damage as a result. The effects of human trafficking are horrifying, and while the victims bear the brunt of the damage, the entire country is affected. Living in a free country comes with risks to one’s safety and security.
The prevalence of human trafficking is worrying in India. There are an estimated 400 million children between the ages of 0 and 18, the per capita income is still low, and 26% of people live in poverty. For men, women, and children who are trafficked for forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation, India has turned into a source, destination, and transit country. With an estimated millions of victims, India has developed into a hotspot for human trafficking. In India, human trafficking is frequently covered up as immigration, commercial sex, or, horrifyingly, even marriage. Ninety percent of sex trafficking in India is thought to be domestic. Internal trafficking of women and girls for commercial sex occurs.
Children are frequently sexually assaulted by their masters in addition to being forced into involuntary slavery as factory workers, home servants, beggars, and agricultural labourers. The worst crime imaginable is this. The child will live the remainder of his or her life with a mental disability. Boys under the age of twelve are frequently employed in hand embroidery companies. The most exquisite designer gowns and carpets are frequently works of art made by human trafficking victims. Additionally, girls are trafficked into India from nearby nations like Bangladesh and Nepal.
Some Indian cities, including Maharashtra, have outlawed dancing bars. But there is still a lot to be done. Root-cause issues must be addressed. Change must also begin with and benefit the people. The populace must take up this cause as their own and act as the government’s eyes and hands. Human trafficking will be eradicated only after that. Human rights are blatantly violated by the heinous crime of human trafficking. Education, public awareness, and the introduction of stringent anti-human trafficking laws are effective ways to prevent it.
Giving the victims a broad range of recovery and support services will aid in their quick recovery. A lot of support can be provided by ongoing efforts to provide comprehensive social, medical, and legal services to protect, rehabilitate, and empower survivors of human trafficking.
To combat human trafficking, people and the government must work together. The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2000 with the goal of preventing and combating trafficking, protecting, and assisting the victims, and promoting cooperation among countries that have ratified the Protocol to achieve these goals. Only through concerted efforts from governments, international agencies, and civil society organisations can human trafficking be effectively avoided.
Governments must take proactive measures to stop human trafficking by enforcing the law more strictly, raising public awareness, and helping victims. Additionally, civil society organisations should concentrate on helping victims of human trafficking while international bodies must collaborate to build a coordinated response to the problem. The significant global issue of human trafficking demands immediate attention. The expansion of human trafficking can be stopped by concerted actions from governments, international agencies, and civil society organisations. We must act swiftly to stop this horrific crime and safeguard those who are vulnerable from being exploited.
Human trafficking is wrong. Humans should be treated with respect and dignity and not as commodity. Collaborate efforts are required to help end human trafficking. Identifying areas where trafficking takes place frequently, encouraging victims to report cases and punishing the perpetrators is all equally important.
LET’S JOIN HANDS AND END HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
