Myths about Human Trafficking - Essay Example

Human trafficking is a criminal activity that has risen to be the second largest after drug trafficking. According to the International Labor Organization, 21 million people globally are victims of trafficking involving forced labor and sexual exploitation (Merry, 2015). There is no doubt that human trafficking is an evil that requires robust countermeasures to combat it. However, there are popular myths about human trafficking that do not only distorts a proper understanding of the problem but also hampers efforts to combat it. This paper describes two myths about human trafficking and challenges these myths with the aim of creating awareness about the truth surrounding human trafficking for better actions towards combating it.

Identifying and Challenging the Two Myths

Most of the people have common beliefs about human trafficking. One of the common myths about human trafficking is that citizens of the United States never become victims of human trafficking (Withers, 2017). It is believed that human trafficking usually occurs to poor people in other countries or those who come to the United States to seek employment opportunities. It is further believed that victims of human trafficking in the United States are immigrants who lack English fluency so that they cannot speak out for themselves to seek help.

However, the truth is that majority of the victims of human trafficking are American citizens. In fact, it is estimated that the vulnerable population for human trafficking, which comprises of young teens, runaways, and homeless youth, is between 244,000 and 325,000 (Withers, 2017). Also, the Polaris Project estimates that about 200,000 United States children fall victims of sexual trafficking (The Polaris Project, 2012). Such facts inform that human trafficking is a real problem here in America and that the American citizens and children are vulnerable, hence everyone should play a role in bringing it to an end.

Another myth on human trafficking is that human trafficking only happens through kidnapping, drugging or chaining up the victims by the perpetrators (Withers, 2017). Most people believe that human traffickers execute their tricks through actions such as kidnapping and abductions the victims and locking them up in a workplace or a home.

Nevertheless, the fact is that a majority of the human trafficking victims are recruited through friends or are lured through promises for a job or even recruited from foster homes, rehabilitation centers, malls, and jails (The Polaris Project, 2012). Polaris Project estimated that 32% of the sex trafficking victims are recruited through friends (The Polaris Project, 2012). It is an indication that human traffickers are moving away from common, obvious and known means of recruiting victims into complex and less suspected ways of easily reaching the victims without the use of force.

Target Audience

This paper is addressed to my co-worker whom we discussed the issue of human trafficking and happened to perceive it as a less serious problem that is common in third world countries only. My co-worker seemed to believe that human trafficking is a process that involves the use of force. I write the paper for him to realize that human trafficking is here in the United States and that every citizen is vulnerable since it does not even involve force to be recruited as a victim.

Resources for More Information on Human Trafficking

The following are resources that one can refer to for more information on human trafficking; facts, myths and help.

https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking

https://www.soroptimist.org/trafficking/faq.html

http://mashable.com/2016/05/03/human-trafficking-myths/#CVeTTTSIFuqi

Identifying and Appealing to One's Motivations when Discussing Human Trafficking

Peoples' motivations towards human trafficking can be identified through opening up discussions about the issue. However, to appeal to them would need one to gather facts about the issue to vividly describe the problem and make them realize that it is real and amongst ourselves.

Conclusion

It is paramount that everyone distinguishes between myths about human trafficking and the realities of the issue. This is because identifying realities about human trafficking makes people more cautious about it and to think about how they can avoid or prevent it from occurring to others. Being aware of human trafficking begins with shading off myths about it and paves the way towards a call to action to combat human the issue.

References

Merry, S. E. (2015). Counting the Uncountable: Constructing Trafficking through Measurement.

The Polaris Project. 2012. Human Trafficking Cheat Sheet. Washington, D.C.: Polaris Project.

Withers, M. (2017, July 26). Untangling Myths About Human Trafficking. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/modern-day-slavery/201707/untangling-myths-about-human-trafficking