Human trafficking is an illegal restriction of freedom or coercion for profit. In today’s world, human trafficking is frequently carried out secretly, and many people are unaware of the spread of this criminal business. However, the International Labor Organization estimates that 24.9 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking (National Human Trafficking Hotline, n.d.). Most people are involved in trafficking for commercial sex or forced labor. Often victims of trafficking are vulnerable people, children and adolescents, and emigrants.
In most people’s minds, human trafficking looks similar to ancient slavery – people are attacked, taken prisoner, and physically tortured. However, in most cases, victims enter this area through covert recruitment, third parties, or even through family members. Open coercion is also often absent at the stage of recruitment – psychological tricks and manipulations lure potential victims. Another misconception is that many believe that all victims of human trafficking are refugees from other countries. Indeed, many emigrants are among the victims of trafficking. Still, many people are involved in trafficking in their home country, even in their hometowns. These social misconceptions can harm the identification of victims, as they reduce awareness of the actual state of the problem.
Human trafficking has recently riveted the influence of society, but it has existed in all historical periods. The insufficient attention to this problem in previous decades is probably due to the low coverage of human trafficking in the media, prejudice against illegal immigrants, and the lack of representation of victims and their stories in the information field (Weitzer, 2014). However, this problem has now been given more attention. In addition, the high-profile lawsuits of recent years related to human traffickers also influenced the degree of social awareness.
Despite the measures taken, many human traffic cases remain unattended, and the number of victims does not decrease significantly. To overcome the restrictions in work and more effectively combat this criminal area, only the efforts of the police and lawmakers will not be enough. Raising public awareness of trafficking and its victims helps to improve the detection of such issues, which can help more victims gain freedom.
References
National Human Trafficking Hotline. (n.d.). Human trafficking. Web.
Weitzer, R. (2014). New directions in research on human trafficking. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 653(1), 6–24. Web.