Sex Trafficking & Its Relevance to Macro Social Work

Sex Trafficking & Its Relevance to Macro Social Work

Anastasia Rotenberg

University of Denver

                Most people associate the concept of slavery with the forced capture and deportation of Africans into the new world, and their subsequent exploitation for various profit generating ventures, like sugar, coffee, and cotton. Yet, the reality of the situation is that slavery exists today, and on an even greater scale than in the past. Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery that refers to the illegal sale of human beings for sexual exploitation or forced labor “by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability” (1949 UN Convention as cited in Pickup, 1998, p. 45)^[1]. Slavery, in particular sexual slavery, has developed and matured with the spread of globalization in the last century. Many factors contribute to the prevalence of sex trafficking, including the easy recruitment of uneducated girls and women from marginalized groups, low probability of criminal prosecution for the perpetrators, and a high demand for sex work. In this paper, I will examine the social issue of sex trafficking and its relationship to macro social work practice.  

                Traffickers prey on vulnerable members of society. The ones affected the most are women from third world countries who are burdened with poverty and are seeking work abroad. When we examine sex trafficking through the systems theory, we see how trafficked victims are affected on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. In the micro sphere, former sex slaves might find that their friends and family reject them once their involvement in the sex industry is revealed. Moreover, after being held in captivity for a long time and being subjected to beatings and sexual abuse, victims become desensitized to violence and are less likely to seek outside help. This may even push them to make another attempt to go abroad for work, continuing the vicious cycle. In addition, besides depression and significant mental health problems, women’s physical health deteriorates—they suffer from infectious diseases, sexually transmitted infections, injuries from violence, and drug and alcohol addictions. At the mezzo and macro levels, they are faced with ineffective law enforcement and corrupt governments, who often believe that trafficked women are unworthy of help (Hughes, 2010, p. 335).

Sex trafficking is a vivid example of how globalization has exacerbated the illicit trade of people within and across territorial borders for the purpose of economic gains. With the elimination of European border control and the decline of Eastern European economies, the sex industry began to flourish. In the video “Globalization II: Good or Bad?” John Green (2012) argues that there are several advantages of globalization, such as the expansion of international trade, an increase in the Western service economy, increased travel among populations, and a global community that is better integrated and more connected then it has ever been before. However, globalization has also resulted in the fast growth of sex trafficking because it widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Brecher, Costello and Smith (2000) acknowledge this inequality and discuss how women have become the main victims of “exploitation in export industries and have suffered the brunt of cutbacks in public services and support for basic needs” (p. 7). The combination of an increasing wealth disparity and decreasing public assistance for those in the lower income brackets has pushed populations, especially women, to take more risks when seeking employment.