Human trafficking is one of the most widespread and worst crimes that occur around the world every day. This activity is incredibly terrifying in that it can go on almost unnoticed. Many people are either involved in that activity or are its victims, so active means of combating this type of crime are needed. One of the first steps to tackle this problem in the United States may be recognizing human trafficking as a public health issue. The paper aims to analyze this problem from a public health perspective and use a victim case study to find a solution to treat survivors.
First of all, to analyze the situation, it is necessary to understand human trafficking. According to US law, human trafficking is recruiting, sheltering, and transporting people by force to coerce them into any activity (Rothman et al., 2017). This wording primarily evokes thoughts of abduction and slavery; however, victims and survivors can be utterly unnoticed in society, as is the case with Theresa Flores. The incident that happened to her is exceptionally instructive because it shows how easily individuals can be involved in such activities. Theresa’s story makes people wonder how easy it is to fall into slavery by trusting the wrong person.
Her experience also sheds light on exactly how this can happen, providing invaluable knowledge of the victim and the survivor’s situation. The situation is dire in that Theresa lived in a good family with loving and influential parents (Revelation Twelve-Eleven, 2015). In other words, from the outside, it represented the complete opposite of the stereotype of a trafficking victim. People often think that only women with low social responsibility, who enjoy the attention and act accordingly, fall into sexual slavery. However, Theresa was the most ordinary child, a 15-year-old girl, when she became the victim.
Her story has several key moments, the first of which is her past, background, and family situation. Despite the good relations with the parents, there was insufficient attention to children in their family. Due to the constant moving, Theresa had no opportunity to make friends or any connections anywhere. Ultimately, this led to the child’s lack of a sense of security, to the presence of a strong desire to be loved and important to someone (Revelation Twelve-Eleven, 2015). It was on these feelings that her deceiver, who is a hidden trafficker, played.
This factor, according to Flores, is the key by which a potential victim can be calculated. A simple lack of love was enough to lure her into a trap, drug, and rape her. In Theresa’s case, her tormentor tied her to himself using blackmail, threatening to tell and show everyone the shameful photographs (Revelation Twelve-Eleven, 2015). Fearing her parents’ reaction, the girl continued to do whatever she was told, which ultimately led to her abduction and imprisonment, from which she miraculously managed to escape. Her example explains how this system works, which helps develop measures to prevent such cases.
To link human trafficking and the field of public health, one essential condition must be met. The public health approach states that if the vulnerabilities that caused a person to be trafficked are not removed, the individual’s likelihood of falling back into it is very high. Therefore, it is necessary to identify characteristics that fit this definition and the situation of victims of slavery. First of all, human trafficking is associated with specific personal barriers that are difficult to overcome. Theresa’s story ends with her escaping from a motel in her pajamas, barefoot, and with no money or ID (Revelation Twelve-Eleven, 2015). The happy ending became possible only thanks to the attention of an outsider who called the police, who were able to bring the girl home. However, if a person has nowhere to return, the exit from slavery will be accompanied by a lack of basic physical necessities: food, clothing, shelter (Judge et al., 2018). Thus, in the absence of these funds, objects of trafficking in persons will either be kidnapped again soon or will return to their former life in an attempt not to die.
Another characteristic of vulnerable populations is the possibility of physical violence against them to coerce them into cooperation. It’s not even about beatings, but about the formation of addiction against a person’s will, by adding drugs to food or injection. Often, to maintain their victims in the necessary condition, especially in the sex industry, the owners pump them with drugs, thus bringing them to the required state. Even if people somehow manage to get out of this situation, the first thing they face will be severe drug withdrawal (Judge et al., 2018). Such a state can cause a person to go back to those who drove him into such a position. Alternatively, an individual may turn towards other drug dealers, thus committing illegal activities. Simultaneously, people can turn to prostitution if they had forced sex in exchange for some means of life since this is the simplest and most understandable way of survival for them.
Finally, another option is psychological pressure, which often accompanies physical impact. An example of this attitude is seen in Theresa’s story, as she was blackmailed for two years (Revelation Twelve-Eleven, 2015). Threats to distribute nude photographs of her forced the girl to do what the traffickers demanded of her. Precisely because the pressure was constant, Theresa could not break out of this vicious circle since she was afraid of public condemnation and reprisals. Thus, there is a problem of social and systematic barriers that create stigma towards victims of trafficking. Although such individuals are indeed considered victims of crime, society often sees them as criminals (Judge et al., 2018). Even when leaving the circle of human trafficking, such an attitude can induce a person to return.
Given the many and varied factors that affect trafficking victims, finding treatment and rehabilitation are challenging. However, case management should become the main element for analyzing a specific situation, as well as providing all the basic human needs (Judge et al., 2018). It is also essential to track progress to demonstrate improvement to the patient and maintain control over his condition in such a situation.
Finally, the consequences of trauma and mental health need to be addressed through medical means. The basis of general treatment should be multidisciplinary patient care, combined with help from social and community groups, whose role is to reintegrate a person into society (Judge et al., 2018). The latter can only be achieved by eliminating the stigma regarding victims in the community, as well as by forming a particular social network for monitoring survivors. Finally, it is essential to continually monitor the person’s condition and contact them as often as possible to prevent them from returning to slavery.
Thus, human trafficking can be viewed in the context of public health policy by addressing the principles of physical and mental health listed above. People who leave the circle of slavery are vulnerable, which can easily lead to returning or committing crimes. To prevent this, it is necessary to create a whole social system, free from prejudices, ready to help victims of violence reintegrate.
References
Judge, A. M., Murphy, J. A., Hidalgo, J., & Macias-Konstantopoulos, W. (2018). Engaging survivors of human trafficking: complex health care needs and scarce resources. Annals of Internal Medicine, 168(9), 658-663. Web.
Revelation Twelve-Eleven. (2015). Theresa Flores [Video]. YouTube. Web.