Trafficking Women Slaves

SEX TOURISM

&

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

                        BY

SHAUN COLEMAN

Sex trafficking is the demand for prostitution and commercial sexual services that is a central cause of trafficking for sexual exploitation. Experts agree that trafficking patterns flow with the global supply of and demand for trafficked women. Just like any other capitalist industry, the sex industry is subject to the natural pulls of supply and demand. Scholars such as Siddharth Kara have focused on the economic aspects of sex trafficking. Kara espouses the belief that the demand structure and the supply aspect of the worldwide economy make trafficking a profitable business that will be extremely difficult to eliminate. Too often, however, the customer's role in sex trafficking is invisible because the demand side of the equation is never addressed.

Since the mid-1970s, approximately 30 million women and young girls have been subjected to the worldwide trade of sex trafficking. Trafficking victims traditionally came from Latin America and Southeast Asia; now, however, victims originate in Eastern and Central Europe.  Experts note that trafficking generally originates in poor areas that lack viable economic opportunities for women. Studies also indicate that wealthier countries are the main sources of exploitation and demand. According to a study released on December 5, 2007, California is a top destination for human traffickers who force people into the sex trade or hard labor through

Force or fi-aud. Apparently, California is vulnerable to trafficking due to its nature as an international border of various ports and airports and a popular destination for immigrants.

The United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people are in forced labor (including sexual exploitation) at any given time as a result of trafficking. The Polaris Project estimates that the sex trafficking industry generates approximately $32 billion a year. This industry has turned into a sexually derived industry encompassed by the exploitation of women through pornography, male escort services, mail-order brides, sex tourism, and forced prostitution.

In 2003, the United States government estimated that the number of people annually trafficked was between 800,000 and 900,000. Even more disturbing, it is estimated that 50,000 women and children from all around the world are yearly trafficked into the United States specifically for the sex trade. A 2007 study estimated the number of people trafficking within the United States every year is anywhere between 14,500 and 17,500.

Sex trafficking is an "exceptional evil," a multi-billion dollar "underground industry. In 2011, the State Department released a report showing numerous countries that were not doing enough to combat trafficking in their countries. Some of the countries on the list are Algeria, Cambodia, Bolivia, Curacao, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In some countries trafficking has led to governmental corruption and organized crime. This corruption of politicians and law enforcement officials is critical for mass trafficking of women and children to be successful.