Good Example Of The Impact Of Sex Trafficking On Young Women And Children Research Paper

The impact of sex trafficking on young women and children are severe. Physical abuse is accompanied by irreversible psychological damage. Though sex trade is an issue of international concern; but, many fail to realize that human trafficking isn’t limited to the developing countries. There is an increasing number of sex trade cases reported from the United States. This research paper is a thorough analysis and investigation about the impact of human trafficking upon the vulnerable section- women and children. The U.S. has a long history of sex trafficking and legal actions are failing to fully address this rising concern. I will analyze the current laws that make sex trade a punishable offence. Health hazards resulting out of this heinous crime and availability of psychological help are vividly discussed.
According to Polaris, an estimated 100,000 children are forced into sex trade in the United States annually. The total number of victims combining women and children is approximately hundreds of thousands in the U.S. Sex trafficking is modern day slavery, where traffickers exploit women and children by forcing them into commercial sex. Traffickers get huge ransom in return. Traffickers subject their victims to violence and trap them in brutal conditions. In the U.S., there are few areas that have the major number of sex trade cases. It takes place in online escort services, suburban brothels, massage centers, and road prostitution. The traffickers ambush victims by offering them fake lucrative jobs, education opportunity or even a loving relationship. In the U.S., victims are mainly women and children that have varied ethnic and socio-economic levels. Education qualification or job profiles may also vary. The U.S. law divides the victims of sex trade into three main categories: Children below 18 forced into commercial sex; adults aged over 18 trapped into commercial sex by force or deception, and children and adults induced into labor without their consent. Sex trade covers all demographics, but, there are few circumstances that heighten chances of victimization. Homeless youths, victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, social discrimination or refugees are often targeted by traffickers. Foreigners that have paid massive recruitment and travel fees to labor recruiters, often become indebted to the recruiters and traffickers. In return, traffickers manipulate these individuals by bargaining the inflexibility of many work visas. Traffickers confiscate the victims’ money and credentials (Polaris).
In order to analyze the rising trend of sex trafficking cases, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center monitored such incidences from December 7, 2007 to December 31, 2012. In this period, the center answered 65,557 calls, 1,735 online tip forms, and 5,251 emails. There was a dramatic rise in calls between 2008 and 2012. The three most popular forms of sex trafficking reported includes pimp-controlled fornication, commercialized brothels, and escort services. 41% of sex trafficking cases involved U.S. citizens as victims. Women were found as victims in 85% of sex trafficking cases (Polaris).
There are various laws in the U.S. that punishes sex traffickers. But, sex trafficking has become a billion dollar business, which makes it extremely difficult for the police to keep track of individual cases. Also, women are becoming increasingly career-oriented and migration in and out of the country is rampant. This also challenges police verification, as unnecessary interference is against the democratic practices in the U.S. It will be incorrect to say that there is a lack of urgency among the government authorities to address this issue. High influx of immigrants makes it practically impossible to keep track of every single trafficker. But, a higher number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) and rehab centers suggest that both the private and public sectors are becoming aware about providing help to the assaulted women and children. I shall now discuss the punishment to be meted out to the traffickers. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 emphasizes upon pre-existing criminal penalties; provides greater protection to trafficking victims and offers them certain benefits. The U.S. Department of State has been monitoring trafficking in persons since 1994 (Human Trafficking). The latest revision in the state and federal laws has increased criminal penalties for sex trafficking. According to the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE) Act of 2012, offenders can be sentenced up to 15-years in prison and a fine will be imposed ranging up to $1,500,000. The exact amount of fine and imprisonment is dependent upon the amount of harm caused to the victims and their age. For instance, sex trafficking of minors is punishable by life imprisonment. Under the current law, convicts of sex crimes have to register as sex offenders with the local police (CASE Act).
The range of health issues associated with the victims of sex trafficking are severe. They range from physical injuries to psychological misbalance. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, appalling living conditions, miserable sanitation, malnutrition and gruesome physical and emotional torture by traffickers are very common in cases of sex trafficking. Preventive health care is a distant dream for the sufferers, due to which infectious diseases and pregnancy is rampant. Some of the usual problems of trafficking victims are Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and HIV/AIDS. Pelvic soreness, rectal distress and urinary issues result out of work culture in sex trade. Rape and unprotected sex causes pregnancy. Untreated STDs cause infertility among women. Sterility can also be caused by unsafe abortions. Mutilation of genitals caused by uncertified doctors in brothels develops severe infection. Cardiovascular or respiratory diseases are found in these victims. Child victims are reported to have malnutrition and acute dental problems. They suffer from tuberculosis and delayed growth. Diseases such as diabetes or cancer go untreated. These victims have bruises and scars all over their body and often turn to drug abuse for coping up with their traumatic situations. Regular beatings and rape triggers psychological ordeal in the form of depression, anxiety, phobia and panic attacks. Humiliation and helplessness leads to irreparable mental illness among the victims (U.S. Department of Justice).
Supposedly, prepubescent girls suffer the biggest ordeal as their physical growth is hindered by untimely sexual intercourse. Assault upon underdeveloped reproductive parts result in infertility and other associated illness. It is extremely rare that victims of sex trafficking could manage to forget their past and move ahead in life. Mental traumas are often difficult to address and most of the victims rely upon anti-depressants for the rest of their life.
In order to help the victims overcome their psychological trauma, several NGOs and rehab centers have been set up. In Clawson “Treating the hidden wounds: trauma treatment and mental health recovery for victims of human trafficking”, response to these victims can be made through trauma informed services and trauma specific services. Trauma informed services acknowledge the client’s history and state of abuse. This enables integrated and direct approach to address needs of individual victims. Trauma informed services cater to the victims by capacity building. This form of treatment is tailored to meet the requisites of the victims. Trauma specific services are offered by providers of mental health programs. These services can also be developed in medical camps or destitute shelters. Diverse range of trauma oriented techniques is used. Some of the techniques incorporated are desensitization, which is a therapy for increasing tolerance level in response to painful memories. There are behavioral therapies targeted to bear with post-trauma impacts. Often, trauma is addressed with a cultural angle. However, these methods are not easily accessible for everyone. Societal stigma makes it impossible for the victims to come out in the open. There is always a difficulty in establishing trust with the victims and assure them about the confidentiality of their cases. Revelation of identity is the biggest concern of these victims. Counseling sessions often fail to provide adequate service for minor victims. Insurance limitations or funding restrictions hamper complete treatment of these victims. Conventional therapeutic services are ill-designed to meet the requirements of minors in the U.S. Mental health treatment or counseling needs adequate flexibility that may not be made available by contemporary systems of medical assistance. Hence, in order to fully help trauma victims, it is necessary to develop stable, long-term trauma recovery centers (Clawson).
After a thorough research, it can be stated that sex trafficking is a persistent problem and the popular notion that sex trade takes place in poor countries is baseless. Sexual exploitation is an age old problem and women are now at an increasing risk of falling prey to traffickers owing to the rising popularity of social media. Increased scrutiny by the U.S. police and stricter punishment for traffickers is desired. NGOs are doing a great job in raising awareness. Sex trade is an international concern now; hence, NGOs should come up with plans and programmes that reach every nook and corner of the world and raises awareness about violence against women. Sex trade is associated with several other issues like unemployment and political instabilities. These aspects need to be urgently tackled by the government in order to eradicate sexual exploitation of women and children.

Works cited

Clawson, Heather. Treating the hidden wounds: trauma treatment and mental health recovery for
victims of human trafficking. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. Web.
27 Mar. 2015.
Human Trafficking. Report on Activities to Combat Human Trafficking: Fiscal Years 2001 –
2005. 2006. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
Polaris. Human Trafficking. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
U.S. Department of Justice. Common health issues seen in the victims of human trafficking. 14
Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.