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Ashley Isasi

K. Moore

ERWC

02 December 2016

Human Trafficking Argumentative Essay

In school, students have always been taught about slavery in the south and its effect on

society. Forced slavery has been an a major part of our species since the beginning of time.

Human trafficking is just another way of forced labor and sex slaves that affects about 20-30

million people all over the world today. The FBI has a list of the 13 highest child sex slave areas

in the nation; California hosts three of them. San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are in

the top 13 most watched areas. Huntington Beach is right in the middle of 2 of the 3 areas and

yet most are completely blind to the crime. Most of the victims are runaways taken from ages 12-

14 years old. Americans should come together to help put an end to human trafficking and forced

slavery.

Forced labor has become one of the most impacted forms of human trafficking. Most

forced labor is done as field work in foreign countries. On a day to day basis Americans use 136

goods that on produced by forced labor from 74 different countries (Bureau of International

Affairs.gov). Most blueberries, strawberries, grapes, flowers, and cotton are picked by children

who are held to do forced labor (Bureau of International Affairs.gov). In the United States, most

forced labor is found in restaurants. In Menifee, California, there was a Chinese restaurant that

my family ate at frequently for a few years. One day we showed up to be amazed that it was shut

down because it was part of a human trafficking ring. We had no idea that that was happening,
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and had been happening for years. Since 2007 there have been 4,800 forced labor cases reported

in the United States alone (Polaris.org).

Sex trafficking is the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the world.

Women are taken from ages 10-14 and held against their will to perform lewd and sexual acts.

Many are runaways forced into the business; in fact, 1of 6 runaways end up becoming enslaved

to sexual acts . Most often they are taken advantage of and drained physically and mentally into

performing these acts. These ladies become stripped of their rights and forced into prostitution.

Since 2007 there have been 14,588 sex trafficking cases filed (Polaris.org). Very few people

trapped in this criminal act are able to escape. It becomes a way of life due to the about of

physical and mental abuse. Globally there are 4.5 million people trapped in sex trafficking.

Every 10 minutes, a woman or child is taken and forced to participate in this criminal act.

Most of those who are involved in forced labor have been robbed of their identity and forced to

cook, clean or perform sexual acts against their will. The victims are told they will be taken to a

higher paying job so they can pay off any debts they may owe. However, they end up trapped

and working for little to no pay. Most sex trafficking slaves are teenage runaways who then start

building what they think is a trustworthy friend. Later the criminal, who they once thought was a

friend, has now enslaved them. Tanya, a victim of human trafficking, thought the same thing

when she met Eddie in Texas. He was her friends father. Once Tanya turned 18, she and Eddie

began to see each other more frequently. One night at a party, Tanya states, He approached me

and told me in so many words, I want you to have sex with this guy for moneyIf you love me

you, youll do this (ICE.gov). After that one night, Tanya slept with different men for weeks.

Finally Keith Owens, an agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements of Homeland

Security Investigations (HSI.gov) helped Tanya escape. Tanya testified in court, against Eddie. It
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was the first time that she had to publicly speak about what she had been through. Eddie plead

guilty and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. For every 100 victims, 8.5 offenders are

convicted (Caseact.org). Now Tanya is going to school to get her GED and wants to study

journalism, as well as pre-law. Tanya was fortunate, one about 1-2% of all victims ever get

rescued.

When it comes to the topic of human trafficking, the majority of us will readily agree

that this criminal act needs to stop. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the

question of should it be a crime and why is it a crime. While some are convinced that this is not a

crime because people have the right to stand up for themselves, others maintain that it is a

criminal act that needs to be stopped. When most people hear human trafficking they

automatically think about prostitution and other forced sexual acts. According to Veronica, Sex

work is better (Procon.org). Most prostitutes claim sex is not their first choice, however it is the

easiest job to provide an average income. Most individuals believe that no matter what we do

with human trafficking it will maintain the constant. Even though it is an issue, Melissa Ditmore,

Coordinator of the Global Sex Works Projects states that, ...Police cannot and do not

simultaneously seek to arrest prostitutes and protect them from violence.... (procon). Melissa

believes that no matter what is done, nothing with change the way prostitutes are treated. In other

words, there is nothing that can be done to change the way police officers view possible victims

of human trafficking.

Ultimately what is at stake here are the lives of scared, broken, and innocent women.

While I see why some women sleep with men to generate income, it is not the way women

should try to make their living. By focusing on money, Veronica overlooks the deeper problem of

the effect that it is taking on her both physically and emotionally. Dr. Farley found that 68% of
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prostitutes have PTSD with the same intensity of prisoners of war who have been tortured.

Selling your own body out to strange, violent, and sick men with twisted minds will take toll on

your body both physically and mentally. I disagree with Melissas view that no matter what there

will not be a shift in the criminal act of human trafficking. There are so many things that can be

done to help protect the men, women, and children affected by this crime. There are some

hotlines victims can call into such as the National Hotline broadcasted by Polaris. While we may

not be able to change the way people view victims, we can do our part in helping to make sure

that all victims have a place to go. We, as a nation, need more safe houses such as the famously

known, Grandmas House of Hope. Their slogan is to Loving others until they learn to love

themselves.

Americans should come together to help eliminate the criminal act of human trafficking.

Forced labor is the second most populated criminal industries. Most are held against their will

and forced to cook, clean and nanny for little to no pay. The largest criminal industry is women

and children being forced to participate in sexual acts. These women and children that experience

this will end up with a physical and emotional toll on their bodies. As a nation, we need to strive

to eliminate these horrible and potentially life threatening acts. Lets focus on eliminating the

danger on the streets and raising this generation to stand up for those that do not have the power

to speak for themselves.

Works Cited
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Home. Child Trafficking Statistics, Ark of Hope for Children , arkofhopeforchildren.org/child-

trafficking/child-trafficking-statistics.

Hotline Statistics. National Human Trafficking Hotline, Polaris,

humantraffickinghotline.org/states.

Human Trafficking - The A21 Campaign. Human Trafficking - The A21 Campaign, Abolishing

Injustice in the 21st Century , www.a21.org/content/human-trafficking/gl0ryw?

permcode=gl0ryw&site=true.

Human Trafficking - The A21 Campaign. Human Trafficking - The A21 Campaign, PROCON,

www.a21.org/content/human-trafficking/gl0ryw?permcode=gl0ryw&site=true.

Human Trafficking Victim Shares Story. ICE, Department of Homeland Security ,

www.ice.gov/features/human-trafficking-victim-shares-story.

Sex Trafficking. Polaris, Polaris , 15 Nov. 2016, polarisproject.org/sex-trafficking.

Volunteers, F4C's. Human Trafficking Facts &Amp; Stats. Force 4 Compassion, Force 4

Compassion , www.f-4-c.org/slavery/facts.asp.

What Is Human Trafficking? Human Trafficking Fact Sheet | Proposition 35: The CASE Act

PASSED!, Californians Against Sexual Explortations,

www.caseact.org/learn/humantrafficking/.
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