Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery In The Modern World

At any given moment millions of people are enslaved all around the world illegally. Men, women, and children being held captive are forced to do horrendous acts every single day under the control of a more powerful person or group of people. Although this problem is not predominant, or looked at as the biggest problem in our society today, no one realizes the dangers it brings to the people affected by human trafficking. People being held captive every day lose hope of becoming free because they have accepted that no one is listening or will push them flee their subduers. “Eighteen thousand foreign nationals are trafficked annually in the United States, and the estimated number of U.S. citizens who are sold into slavery each year is even
This is a criminal activity that dates back to the times of slavery, even though it was abolished more than a two centuries ago in Europe and it has been an industry slowly rising in the ranks of the criminal world. Human trafficking is not easily detectable in modern day society because of its nature to be able to blend into everyday surroundings and a source said “ trafficking is everywhere and nowhere”(Hanes). Human trafficking is bad in the USA, it is also a big problem in eastern European countries and in Asia. There has been many studies conducted in Asia to see if demographics play a part in who is more likely to be trafficked. Research has been found that has showed “ poverty, low education, and lack of understanding about human trafficking are not necessarily key contributing factors to vulnerability at all” (United), and in many cases in Northern Thailand girls with a higher education are more likely to be trafficked. Europe’s biggest type of trafficking problem is for sexual exploitation. A substantial amount of young women are brought into this process from “inside and outside the European borders. Victims from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as from Asia, Africa and Latin America have been identified in the last years, and it seems that we face a growing phenomenon” (Petriliggieri). This problem is worldwide and is estimated that people from 127 different countries are currently enslaved right now. Many people do not have a choice when they are inserted to this lifestyle because of how much power many traffickers have gained over the years. Typical problems like this are evident in drug and prostitution