Human Trafficking
The Human Toy
In our world today, we see and hear about an abundance of crime and human dysfunction. We see cases of illegal trade of weapons and drugs. Yes, this causes distress throughout the county and our world, but these are just “things.” Beyond the drugs and weapons, there is an even worse kind of illegal trade. Humans. Besides the illegal trade of weapons and drugs, human trafficking is the third largest illegal money-maker (Farr 2). Human trafficking is the purchase, sale, recruitment, harboring, transportation, transfer, or receipt of a person for the purpose of commercial sex (Gerdes 19). This being the world’s third largest illegal industry, it is rarely heard of and expressed. Human Trafficking is an enormous global problem. Of the estimated four million people who are trafficked around the world each year, over one million are trafficked into the sex industry. The volume keeps increasing. Researchers believe that the “actual” numbers are much higher than these estimates because many instances of trafficking go undetected (Farr 3). Researchers have concluded that sex trafficking is one of the most, if not the most, rapidly growing form of human trafficking (Farr 5). This industry is expanding at an ever accelerating rate, operating in marketplaces where supply and demand are high and risks to the traffickers are low, making it a highly profitable and enduring business (Farr 3). , The fastest-growing source region is the former Soviet States now known as the NIS (Newly Independent States). Not only did they serve as the fastest-growing source region, but also they were the introductory, contextual example of the supply side of sex trafficking. Most recent studies suggest that there are as many as 500,000 women from the NIS sold into prostitution each year. An estimated seventy percent of these women are trafficked to Western Europe, and another fifteen percent are sent to the Middle East and Southeast Asia (Farr 8).
In our world today, we see and hear about an abundance of crime and human dysfunction. We see cases of illegal trade of weapons and drugs. Yes, this causes distress throughout the county and our world, but these are just “things.” Beyond the drugs and weapons, there is an even worse kind of illegal trade. Humans. Besides the illegal trade of weapons and drugs, human trafficking is the third largest illegal money-maker (Farr 2). Human trafficking is the purchase, sale, recruitment, harboring, transportation, transfer, or receipt of a person for the purpose of commercial sex (Gerdes 19). This being the world’s third largest illegal industry, it is rarely heard of and expressed. Human Trafficking is an enormous global problem. Of the estimated four million people who are trafficked around the world each year, over one million are trafficked into the sex industry. The volume keeps increasing. Researchers believe that the “actual” numbers are much higher than these estimates because many instances of trafficking go undetected (Farr 3). Researchers have concluded that sex trafficking is one of the most, if not the most, rapidly growing form of human trafficking (Farr 5). This industry is expanding at an ever accelerating rate, operating in marketplaces where supply and demand are high and risks to the traffickers are low, making it a highly profitable and enduring business (Farr 3). , The fastest-growing source region is the former Soviet States now known as the NIS (Newly Independent States). Not only did they serve as the fastest-growing source region, but also they were the introductory, contextual example of the supply side of sex trafficking. Most recent studies suggest that there are as many as 500,000 women from the NIS sold into prostitution each year. An estimated seventy percent of these women are trafficked to Western Europe, and another fifteen percent are sent to the Middle East and Southeast Asia (Farr 8).