Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking - Paper Example

Question 1: Domestic Violence

Domestic abuse is defined as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, threatening, coercive, degrading and violent behavior, that include sexual violence, and in a majority of cases by partner or ex-partner and also by a carer or family member. Physical violence is in the form of emotional and physical abuse, and it touches every part of the society regardless of race, class, religion culture and wealth (Guy, Feinstein & Griffiths, 2014). Overwhelmingly, domestic abuse is mostly by the women, and the perpetrator is mainly the male. Although a majority is of cases is often male to female, although it should be recognized that men, children and also the elderly are abused. Domestic abuse also occurs among the gay and lesbian relationships (Pearlman, Zierler, Gjelsvik & Verhoek-Oftedahl, 2016). The cost of domestic violence is prevalence is prevalent in the society in the United States, and it is estimated that two to four million women are the victims of domestic abuse every year. It is also known that every 18 seconds someone becomes a victim of domestic violence. A research study determined that almost 80.8% of the accused abusers are the male compared to 19.2% of female offenders, and while females also abuse, most of the offenders are male (Pearlman et al., 2016).

One of the most severe forms of domestic abuse is sexual abuse, which is defined as an unwanted sexual activity. It involves the perpetrators using perpetrators by using force and also making threats or even taking advantage of the victims and not being able to give consent. A majority of the victims often know each other (Guy, Feinstein & Griffiths, 2014). A majority of the victims often react through fear, shock or even disbelieve. The long-term symptoms have included anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder including anxiety. Efforts on how to treat the offenders have remained unpromising, but the psychological interventions for the survivors, and especially group therapy has appeared to be effective (Pearlman et al., 2016).

Financial problems are known to be one of the significant contributors of domestic violence, there are a majority of psychological factors that are deeply rooted, and it must be addressed to stop such cycle of abuse (Guy, Feinstein & Griffiths, 2014). The two dynamics that contribute to domestic violence include a destructive thought process that the abusers often experience through their partners and the harmful illusion that occurs between a couple, that is also referred as fantasy bond. These dynamics create a situation that another person is responsible for ones happiness (Guy, Feinstein & Griffiths, 2014). These two systems form the premise for abuse in the society. The issue of domestic violence has revolved continuously around these two issues and as long as they remain persistent in the community.

The existing policies and legislation in the United States are protected by both the federal and the state laws, and they could also seek relief in civil as well as the criminal courts. The victims of the domestic violence can always build a criminal case against the abuser and file a civil lawsuit for assault (Guy, Feinstein & Griffiths, 2014). The Violence Against Women Act offers various resources to the victims of the violence. Although these laws exist, the cases of domestic violence are still prominent in the American society because a majority of the victims do not often report such abuses, especially if it involves couples and family members (Pearlman et al., 2016). Such cases are usually solved at the family level, and criminal cases cannot be developed.

The series of violence can be stopped by addressing the underlying issues that contribute to domestic abuse. The state and federal laws should be strengthened to address the issue of domestic violence in the society (Pearlman et al., 2016). To achieve a consistent approach to this problem is substantial funding for programs that address domestic abuse in the community. The programs for addressing domestic violence have been underfunded for decades, and they are highly dependent on the voluntary sector to provide critical services to the victims (Guy, Feinstein & Griffiths, 2014).

Question 2: Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is defined as a form of modern-day slavery, and it often involves the use of fraud, force or coercion to obtain labor and commercial sex act (Weitzer, 2015). Every year thousands and even millions of men, women, and children are trafficked in countries that include the United States. It is approximated that human trafficking generates billions of dollars, in profits second to drug trafficking as a form of transnational crime (Hodge, 2014). Human trafficking is a hidden crime, and a majority of the victim does not seek help from the authorities as a result of language barriers, the fear of traffickers and also the fear of law enforcement. The traffickers are known to use force, coercion and even fraud to lure the victims and thus forcing them to either labor or commercial sex exploitation (Weitzer, 2015).

The business market is continuously seeking for cheap labor, and most of the time they would spend a lot of time on finding cheap labor, and when they see it, they never question where it comes from (Hodge, 2014). The wealth around the world continues to support the industry of human trafficking either directly or indirectly. The continued focus on cheap labor as well as workers fuels the business.

One of the strategies to combat human trafficking is first acknowledging the issue and partner with other countries to tackle the problem. Another approach is establishing the National Referral Mechanism to identify victims and the presumed victims of trafficking (Weitzer, 2015). The other strategy is the training of professionals to enable them to identify the victims on first-level. The other is the through awareness-raising campaigns for human trafficking (Hodge, 2014). Through these campaigns, both the private and the public sectors can promote the establishment of slave-free supply chains. Policies should not just be developed, but there should be strict implementation of these strategies to minimize the issues from the society (Weitzer, 2015).

The government of the United States is doing an adequate job in apprehending human traffickers. There are treaties and laws have been accepted to combat human trafficking in the United States, and as a country, it has taken pride as being a country that has put the concept of human rights at its forefront although it is known as one of the dominant importers of human trafficking (Hodge, 2014). Several policies have been enacted to combat the issue of human trafficking, and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 was passed, and it includes the establishment of programs to prevent violence against women, sex trade, slavery and involuntary servitude. The other policy is Protect Act of 2003, which prevents child abduction and the sexual exploitation of children. The Departments of Homeland Security also combats trafficking and smuggling using the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (Weitzer, 2015).

Globalization has promoted human trafficking in some ways. There has been increased flow of trade in the world that it was before, and this alone has improved the free flow of people (Hodge, 2014). Notably, this not only boosts slave trade, but it also eases its movement between countries. Trafficking has also taken advantage of more transparent borders, political and economic upheaval and broadband communication and mass migration of people, who are termed vulnerable for instance the victims of war, the poor and also those who are seeking opportunities in the west (Weitzer, 2015).

The current laws and preventive measures in the United States are not enough to stop human trafficking. The lack of adequate implementation of these laws, as well as lack of political support, has prevented these laws from being effective in combating the issue because currently, the country is still one of the biggest destinations of the slave trade (Hodge, 2014).

Reference

Guy, J., Feinstein, L., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Early Intervention in Domestic Violence and Abuse.

Hodge, D. R. (2014). Assisting Victims of Human Trafficking: Strategies to Facilitate Identification, Exit From Trafficking, and the Restoration of Wellness. Social Work, 59(2), 111-118.

Pearlman, D. N., Zierler, S., Gjelsvik, A., & Verhoek-Oftedahl, W. (2016). Neighborhood Environment, Racial Position, and Risk Of Police-Reported Domestic Violence: A Contextual Analysis.Public Health Reports.

Weitzer, R. (2015). Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 223-242.