Thesis on Human Trafficking

Abstract

The practice of human trafficking has established itself in different parts of the world. Although human trade and trafficking started in ancient times as a normal trade activity that was used to settle debts and exchange property, the practice of human trafficking was eliminated by the United Nations after WWII. However, the practice has grown in most parts of the world and continued to establish its roots, particularly amongst the vulnerable communities where women and children are the easiest targets. In a bid to understand the practice of human trafficking, the researcher will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to appreciate the phenomenon from a wide scope. This is important since human trafficking is a social phenomenon whose growth integrates different aspects, including business, economics, security, crime, and psychology. The researcher will explain the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective that will include demographics, linguistics, economics, sociology, and psychology, among others. This is necessary since this practice can be understood through an effective unification of different forces, including goodwill, actions, and studies, such as to ensure the collaboration of forces in international, national, and private institutions. In order to analyze the phenomenon of human trafficking, ideas shall be extended from agronomists, economists, and development agents to achieve the highest degree of reintegration. The researcher explains in order to mitigate the vice, different ideologies should be encouraged to promote good governance the practice will require the integration of development, regional and international partnerships, and the enactment of oversight institutions. In addition, a global approach should be implemented where the next generation of MDGs should be encouraged to include the elimination of human trafficking as part of the global goals.

Introduction

In the recent past, the trafficking of young girls and women has increased significantly due to increasing economic, social, and political issues that are divided between the rich and developing counties. Research shows that many women are often trafficked in developing countries, after which they get transported to developed countries such as Europe, Japan, South Korea, and America. According to Austein (2007), human trafficking is a social phenomenon that affects various aspects of human life. However, in order to understand and fight this practice, it is necessary to approach it from varied angles using an interdisciplinary approach. Human trafficking can be mitigated by bringing various methods, ideas, and conceptual tools from different fields such as sociology, ethnology, social, and psychology together (Healy, 2014). Adopting an interdisciplinary approach will also facilitate the inclusion of economic, linguistics, geography, mapping, demography, and cognitive anthropology in a bid to understand this criminal activity (Chibba, 2008). According to Cockbain & Kleemans (2019), human trafficking can only be understood through the unification of forces such as actions, goodwill, and studies to collaborate existing forces – private, national, institutional, international – such as to benefit from practical cooperation. In addition, research must be undertaken on necessary issues that facilitate the practice, such as incest, sexuality, business, poverty, and slavery, to unite oral and written pieces (Chibba, 2010). The phenomenon of human trafficking should be extended by calling upon ideas from development agents, economists, and agronomists so as to achieve the optimum level of reintegration. Although achieving this degree of reintegration is difficult, it is necessary to overcome the victim’s social, economic, and cultural restrictions through the provision of resources, psychological care, and medical care to overcome illiteracy (Munro, 2020). Experts from different fields, including law enforcement, healthcare, human services, among others, should consolidate their expertise to understand the root cause of human trafficking.

In order to develop appropriate measures to handle human trafficking in different parts of the world, it is most important to adopt a uni-dimensional solution to the human trafficking problem since it is often influenced by a series of complex factors that work in combination with each other. The adoption of control measures that rely on one type of legislation only is too narrow to handle the growing problem of human trafficking. Instead, a strategy that combines and balances various punitive measures that promote the protection of human rights and advocate for the removal of the root causes that cause irregular movements and border control measures should be implemented. As Stotts & Ramey (2009) explains, measures should be coordinated and agreed between the facilitators of this practice, including the origin, transiting, and receiving countries.

Literature Review

The literature on human trafficking, which is explained by the United Nations as extreme exploitation of humans through coercion, force, and fraud, has gained increasing attention since the implementation of the Protocol to Prevent, Surpass, and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children (2000). Although human trafficking began before the protocol, an increased study on human trafficking has appreciated the effect of trafficking on mental and physical health, the response of criminal justice, trafficking experiences, and prosecutor training on the awareness of human trafficking. In a bid to address issues associated with this practice, the researcher will address various disciplinary perspectives from an economic, social, and business perspective, among others (Austein, 2007). The subject will also be analyzed from the perspective of crime and security and practices that are undertaken in human trafficking and disguised under security.

Societal, Business, and Economics Perspective of Human Trafficking

This disciplinary perspective is important in addressing human trafficking in that it helps to illustrate the origin of the practice. The act of human trafficking found its roots in ancient slavery, which has its origin in ancient civilization and pre-historic times. During this time, slaves were acquired through the enslavement of individuals who were conquered in war, an aspect that was used as a punishment for crime through the enslavement of families and individuals or through trade and to settle debts. Reports show that ancient Egypt captured and enslaved humans, including children, men, and women, and thousands of slaves were trafficked from West Africa to different Mediterranean countries. Records show that more than 1 million Africans got captured and sold in the USA between 1619 and 1808, who were transported as slaves (International Labour Organization 2005). Slaves often provided a reliable and stable supply of labor in farmlands, shipping, construction, domestic services, and entertainment. Roman business and economic values promoted human trafficking as natural ways where people were viewed as investments, and the practice was held in the highest accord.

Analyzing human trafficking from an economic, business, and government perspective shows that ancient formal structures such as the government were among the first to engage in such practices as a type of transnational business ventures. Although human trafficking is considered inhumane, shameful, and unlawful, slavery was normal in the past since slaves were an integral part of the business and economic environment, as well as an acceptable social fabric. A shift in values and ideologies facilitated the institutionalization of human rights by the U.N., after which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights instituted that human beings are free and should be accorded equal rights and dignity (International Labour Organization 2005). Human rights were also implemented to combat and provide assistance and redress to the victims of human trafficking. Governance issues were also transformed, such as to promote institutions, laws, processes, oversight, and regulations that restricted the practice of human trafficking. Although the practice was declared illegal, it has grown exponentially in most parts of the world.

Security, Economics, and Crime Perspective

Analyzing human trafficking from a crime and security perspective shows that this practice has a direct effect on security levels at the human level, local, regional, and national levels. According to Austein (2007), human trafficking is an illegal activity with immense profits, an aspect that causes the practice to act as a magnet for individuals, organizations, and groups that engage in transnational and local criminal activities. Human trafficking is classified as the third-largest source of illegal profit from organized groups after guns and drugs. According to the International Labor Organization (2005), profits accrued from forced labor and human trafficking are approximately US$32 billion on an annual basis whereby industrialized economies account from 49% while the 51% results from those in transition, emerging, and developing economies (Shelley, 2010). The interface between security matters and governance structures such as the use of trafficked child soldiers in internal conflicts are channels that tend to emanate from various political, economic, social, and institutional security architecture. Most organizations tend to take advantage of these structures and systems to promote human trafficking practices for security and crime purposes. Trafficking has significant influence in strengthening and ameliorating the security apparatus and governance system of a particular nation, including various institutional structures that are set up by multilateral organizations and groups. However, although institutions have undertaken various processes to mitigate the spread of the practice, there is a huge gap that exists in regard to organized crime, security, and trafficking.

From a legal perspective, laws are important in the enforcement of human rights laws, although they must be enforced appropriated to be useful and meaningful. Democratic governance should be deep and comprehensive in order to curtail undesirable practices such as illegal migration, transnational crime, and trafficking. Hoyle, Bosworth, & Dempsey (2011) explain that extensive border security in the United States has achieved success in particular borders. For instance, the El Pasco sector that borders Mexico and the USA is a perfect example where illegal immigration has been reduced, a practice that is related closely to human trafficking. However, while border security is influential at curtailing trafficking practices, this action alone cannot mitigate human trafficking in that it violates human rights in itself. Besides, traffickers are likely to shift their entry points into the country. In order to mitigate human trafficking, it is thus important to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach that takes into consideration legal aspects, governance, crime, economical ideologies, among others. Shelley (2010) advises that an interdisciplinary approach should be adopted in order to take various aspects from ethnology, psychology, and social aspects into practice. This practice will also facilitate the inclusion of linguistic, mapping, demography, and cognitive knowledge in order to understand the criminal activity of human trafficking.

Methods or Interdisciplinary Research

Problem Analysis

Since time immemorial, human trafficking has been a social phenomenon in that it affects various aspects of human life. In order to understand and fight this practice, one must address it from varying disciplinary perspectives and connect them through the use of various disciplines. As Chibba (2014) explains, it is necessary to evaluate different related ideas, conceptual tools, and methods from the field of linguistics, demography, geography, psychology, anthropology, history, social and cultural perspectives.

From an economic, historical, and social perspective, human trafficking was considered a normal activity that was part of the trade. Women, men, and children were often trafficked from West Africa to promote economic activities in Mediterranean countries (ICHRP, 2010). Humans were trafficked to facilitate production in farms, industries, and manufacturing farms, an aspect that could not proceed with the participation of slaves. Currently, the practice of human trafficked is ranked amongst the most profitable illegal activities after guns and drugs. The International Labor Organization (2005) postulates that the practices contribute to the economy in that this business accounts for profits of approximately U.S. $32 billion. Nevertheless, these kinds of profits should be mitigated by law in that they violate human rights.

Psychology explains that poverty and poor mental stability increases an individual’s participation in human trafficking. Limited social and economic opportunities increase instability and conflicts, which predisposes the vulnerable individuals in the community to human trafficking practices. According to Shelley (2010), local conditions such as poverty, limited resources, and oppression increases the opportunity of populations to migrate in search of better conditions.

Social and cultural opportunities explain that the combination of different social-cultural factors breeds effective grounds to undertake human trafficking. Areas such as Africa where there is rampant gender inequality, political conflict, and economic instability prevalence have a higher susceptibility to human trafficking. From a criminal perspective, it is evident that trafficking is most prevalent in regions that are not well-defined by the criminal code (Van Impe, 2000). Human trafficking is a crime that is international by nature. Fighting human trafficking should entail coordinated action at the international, national, and global level using a multi-disciplinary approach.

Identical Unification

Although the practice of human trafficking can be understood by analyzing varying perspectives, all the ideologies point to a similar theme of human exploitation. According to Hoyle, Bosworth, & Dempsey (2011), human trafficking has a business, societal, and economic origins that can be retraced back to ancient days. Before WWII, the practice was accepted in most parts of the world, including the United States. The practice of human trafficking has become an issue of concern to the global policy circles together with social and cultural issues that facilitate the growth of the practice, such as inequality and poverty. The subject of human trafficking can be unified from varied perspectives in that the partnership from different perspectives is needed to address the growing practice. For instance, a partnership between different interdisciplinary perspectives from the source country, transit, and transfer counties should be integrated to mitigate the practice. Functional links should be established between candidate member states and European member states to combat the practice and prevent its growth. All disciplines, including social and cultural, economics, business, crime and security, and legal perspectives, should be integrated in order to control and prevent the growth of human trafficking practices.

Common Ground

The practice of human trafficking has been caused by varying ideological perspectives. However, the United Nations, among other bilateral and multilateral organizations – especially those in the contexts of economic development and globalization – have adopted interdisciplinary strategies to tackle the problem, an aspect that provides an improved dimension to approach trafficking. It is important to unify different forces in order to ensure goodwill and actions are carried out to bring the existing human trafficking forces together. Institutional, national, and international facilities undertake effective measures to mitigate practical cooperation of the human trafficking practices. There is a connection that exists between applied research and fundamental research in the theme of human trafficking (Roux & Dialma, 2012). Different perspectives exist together, but one must deem to understand the complexities and situational problems in order to identify common ground. For instance, one must identify the regional status of mafia and prostitution in order to understand and establish a viable basis to undertake comparison from a cultural and social aspect of human trafficking for sex purposes.  In a bid to identify common ground, research on human trafficking is undertaken on important issues such as matrimonial practices, incest, relationship and marriage, and sexuality (Burke, 2017). Such research also touches on issues that facilitate human trafficking, including honor, debt, slavery, parental relations to establish common grounds. Surveys from these aspects provide objectives in the practicality and understanding of the practice to provide short-term assistance to the affected victims and the provision of legal and educational prevention. Different organizations have undertaken fundamental research from varied perspectives, including scientific knowledge, applied research, and socio-economic action, to develop a common ground for perspectives in human trafficking.

As Rusell (2018) explains, there is a common thread that exists between different perspectives in human trafficking from a practice, policy, and research perspective. The relationship between poverty, business, economics, inequality, and human trafficking is often overlooked by most sectors. Although most victims of human trafficking are poor and unemployed, there is a close political and legal interest that champions poverty and exclusion of such populations from benefits. History and the failure of business models and conventional economics to handle inequality and poverty have contributed positively to growth in the practice. As Onuoha (2011) explains, human trafficking has grown beyond the effective scrutiny of business models to handle inequality and poverty.

However, although various interdisciplinary disciplines are linked to human trafficking, research shows conflicting theories in regard to the subject. For instance, there is an inherent flow of economics as a result of the oversimplification of trafficking reality and the assumption of rational human behavior. As explained by North et al. (2008), contemporary economics has failed to understand the importance of conforming to existing beliefs in areas where trafficking is prevalent in relation to culture, ethics, sociology, and business/economics. This argument is relevant to business, economics, and the philosophy of human trafficking. The landscape of the subject has changed, although the economic market system provides mitigation promises to facilitate the exclusion of poverty in underserviced and remote areas.

Conclusion

Human trafficking is a social phenomenon that has increased in the recent past. Although the practice was started in ancient times as a form of trade, contemporary social, political, and economic issues have facilitated inequality between different populations. The growing practice of human trafficking can be mitigated by ensuring that different conceptual tools, ideas, and methodologies from different interdisciplinary fields such as sociology, psychology, and economics are brought together. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach will facilitate the inclusion of other disciplines that make the study and research on the topic more vivid (Hammond, Kramer, Katz, Tran, & Walker, 2007). The vice can be tackled effectively through the unification of various forces from national, local, and international institutions. This approach is important since adopting one approach would be too narrow to understand the roots of the practice (Wheaton, Schauer & Galli, 2010). Instead, a strategy that combines different punitive measures that advocate for the extraction of the root cause including the protection of human rights through a legal perspective, advocating for gender equality and provision of equal employment opportunities can facilitate effective prevention and management of the practice

From an economic perspective, human trafficking is beyond in-depth scrutiny and analysis by economics other than a theoretical analysis from a rather conventional approach. Oversimplification of reality in economics and back that is discredited the neoliberal governance model denies business and economics the ability to combat trafficking effectively (Stotts & Ramey, 2009). However, adopting areas that promote behavior economics and inclusive development initiative such as targeting poverty and promoting equality, education programs can address the aspect of trafficking. However, integrating business and trafficking reveals that legitimate business can play a significant role in mitigating the practice among other human rights issues (Chibba, 2014). Cooperation between different multinational corporations from socio-cultural, legal, geographical, and psychological ideologies can be instrumental at eliminating “sweatshops” by ensuring that supply chains fail to include abuse of human rights and continuous promotion of social responsibility while being persued actively by programs and policies.

In regards to the linkages between trafficking and security/crime, national security should uphold integrity, good governance, and trafficking. National institutions should collaborate in order to work towards the creation and promotion of programs that promote and protect human rights. Presently, however, a coherent overview that captures and integrated varying perspectives is lacking (Russell, 2018). Since the problems and issues caused by trafficking are multifaceted, it is necessary to implement both specific and comprehensive viewpoints (Hammond et al., 2007). Essential thrusts should be pursued, including the promotion of integrity, inclusive development, good governance, and promotion of business and human rights.

Adopting efficient governance can go along way in facilitating the implementation of appropriate action against the growth of trafficking in the practicing, transiting, and destination counties. The national security institutions – such as the council of Europe – should adopt integrity and implement forward-looking legislation, which is supported by complementary and appropriate programs that are part of an efficient governance system. Inclusive development should be implemented in order to eradicate poverty and diminish the scope of traffickers in targeting and finding the poor and disadvantaged members of society (Keefer, 2006). Increasing opportunities for vulnerable communities will also reduce their demand and enhance the fight against such practices. Integration between business and human rights should be promoted in order to promote corporate social responsibility, which can play an influential role in tackling trafficking activity (Stotts & Ramey, 2009). Innovative mechanisms should uphold enhanced mechanisms to promote such actions. Regional and international partnerships and cooperations should be promoted in that international legal obligations that are binding can facilitate the implementation of appropriate actions against such practices. Oversight institutions from legal, economic, psychological, business, security, governance, and crime perspective should be instituted.

However, while these measures are effective at understanding and mitigating human trafficking, it is imperative to implement a global platform to ensure that the upcoming generation of the MDGs facilitates the elimination of the practice as part of the goals. Institutions should adopt a concerted and cohesive effort to handle the global problems from varying institutional dimensions, including business, security, human rights, economics, the law, in order to provide a higher platform that addresses the root cause of the problem adequately. The global approach and the inclusion in MDGs will help to galvanize national and global efforts towards the eradication of human trafficking practices.

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