Running Head: MODERN SLAVERY 1

Modern Slavery

Natalie Gutierrez

e3 Civic High

Abstract
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Millions of people worldwide are victims of sex trafficking. Men, women, and children all suffer

from the horrible conditions and abuse of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking or in other words,

modern slavery, involves 20.9 million people worldwide and is a $32 billion business. This can

all be prevented if our society learns how to prevent and deal with sex trafficking. Men can learn

to respect women, women can learn the starting signs of abuse, and our youth can be taught how

to prevent being vulnerable to the enticing promises traffickers make. Victims of this modern

slavery are often overlooked in our society's. People turn a blind eye or simply refuse to

acknowledge the problem. We have to look at the underlying problems of the person in order to

understand their needs. As a society we have to learn to face our problems and educate ourselves

on how to improve our world.

Keywords: women, sex trafficking, modern slavery, education, prevent

Modern Slavery
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How important is education to you? Many world problems throughout history, and in

present day, could be solved if everyone had been educated on the subject. One large world

problem happening today is sex trafficking. Although many people believe that sex trafficking

can be reduced through law making because it will create safer streets, in fact the most effective

method for reducing sex trafficking is through education because the problem can be stopped

before it starts..Men, women, and youth should be made more aware and be educated on the

catastrophic effects sex trafficking has on our society and the victims. Educating men would

lesson the objectification of women and the wrongfulness of this modern slavery. Educating

women would give women alternatives for finding income and having a renewed sense of self-

value and esteem. By educating the youth we would be targeting the most vulnerable and

stopping most of the problem before it starts. The youth would learn the signs and learn to be

more alert of the dangers around them.

How does sex trafficking affect our society? At least 20.9 million adults and children are

bought and sold worldwide into commercial sexual servitude, forced labor and bonded labor. All

these people are in modern day slavery. Everyday they endure pain and deception. Sex

trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons who are

threatened, forced, coercion, abducted, frauded, deceptioned, vulnerabile, or receiving payments

or benefits to a the person in control of the victim. Frequently, women are put into jail as a form

of correction. This is the absurd way of the government solving the problem. Educating these

men and women about their rights and options is the key to the ending of sex trafficking.

Although many believe that women are the only victims, men are also victims. Women and girls

make up 98% of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation we have to remember the rest is

men. Women and girls are mostly trafficked for sex exploitation but men are mostly trafficked
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for the 3 Ds jobs. The 3 Ds jobs are the difficult, dirty, and dangerous. Most men are forced or

tricked into doing these jobs.

Victims of this modern slavery are often overlooked in our society's. People turn a blind

eye or simply refuse to acknowledge the problem. We have to look at the underlying problems of

the victims in order to understand their situation. Although society believes women are to blame

for sex trafficking we are very wrong. Thinking this creates a stigma. For example, in countries

like India having sex with a prostitute is more acceptable than having sex with a girlfriend.

Allowing circumstances like these to continue is simply atrocious. Instead of women being

pitying for being raped they are blamed for provoking men to hurt them. Men are also often

have told to consider themselves lucky to have been with a women when they have been raped.

This psychological abuse worsens the dilemma and lowers the chances of victims speaking up to

their abusers and defending themselves. Helping men and women understand they are not to

blame for the horrible abuse helps their recovery process and maintain a healthy state of mind.

Not only is it important to save women but it is fundamental to provide the victims with

help after. The transition of returning to a normal life can be very traumatizing. Many victims

suffer from PTSD as a result of all the traumatic events. There are several ways that women can

be helped. One key way is to eliminate the fact that victims are prosecuted which people like to

believe solves the problem. This is in no way helpful. It treats the traumatized victims like

criminals and does not help them mentally recover from the trauma. The government needs to

step up and accept that there are other ways to help victims. They need to ignore all the stigma

around the $32 billion industry and take action. Governments need to provide the women and

men who were sexually abused with proper healthcare and the ability to have a safe sanctuary.

Counterargument
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Again and again people believe that sex trafficking can be solved through law-making.

However, laws will make matters worse because they will not force the traffickers to stop.

Educating the traffickers and victims will change their perspectives and help them realize the

wrong they are causing. As a matter of fact many believe that women are in the industry because

of their free will and that there is no reason to help them recover. They truly believe women will

automatically be okay and do not need therapy. They equally believe that sex trafficking is

helpful to women trying to change their lives and earn money. All of these beliefs are wrong

because women suffer from illness such as AIDS and PTSD when they are rescued. Women and

men need help, time, and care to recover from the trauma. Many also choose to believe that sex

trafficking simply does not exist. This is a comment that most uneducated and ignorant people

make. Sex trafficking is $32 billion industry that affects 20.9 million people worldwide. If more

people were educated and faced with the facts, comments like this would be non-existent and so

would this industry.

Conclusion

Women, men, and children all can be saved by reducing sex trafficking through

education because the problem can be stopped before it starts. The $32 billion industry is a

harmful problem in our society. Do not be afraid to ask for help if you are a friend find

yourselves in trouble. Educate yourself and the people around you, and together we can solve

this problem.

Annotated Bibliography

Bales, K., & Soodalter, R. (2009). The slave next door: Human trafficking and slavery in

America today. Berkeley: University of California Press.

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The slave next door: Human trafficking and slavery in America today gives an account of

the disturbing reality of sex trafficking in the United States of America. The book gives

several different perspectives: slaveholders, policemen, victims, etc. It tells their stories as

well as calling to action all the readers of the book. The main goal of the authors was to

educate the readers on how they can each make a difference and help the victims of sex

trafficking as well as how we can each solve sex trafficking. Ron Soodalter and Kevin

Bales help capture and bring to light the stories of victims of modern slavery.

Dando, C. J., Walsh, D., & Brierley, R. (2016, May 5). Perceptions of Psychological Coercion

and Human Trafficking in the West Midlands of England: Beginning to Know the Unknown.

Public Library of Science.

Perceptions of Psychological Coercion and Human Trafficking in the West Midlands of

England: Beginning to Know the Unknown the data that accumulated from all the U.K data.

They talk about the psychological abuse the victims go through and the coercion that each

victim is forced to go through. The article talks about the public acceptance and the help the

government does not provide on sex trafficking. It describes the psychological coercion that

victims go through when they are forced to commit these sexual acts. It describes the

current acts that are

Kristof, N. D., & WuDunn, S. (2009). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for

women worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide is a book that

talks about the major problems that goes on worldwide and the calling to help for all the

women that are suffering from oppression. The award winning pair of journalists joined

together and traveled to several locations worldwide to document and experience the
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lives of the victims. The book specifically focusing on the subjects of Sex Trafficking

and Intergenerational Prostitution, Maternal Mortality, Gender-Based Violence,

Developing Education for Women, and Economic Empowerment. In detail, the book

tells the tragic tales of their lives, the daily torture they endure, and how difficult it is for

them to recover from the horrific experiences. They show the victims, men and women,

in their hard lives struggling to help themselves. Apart from documenting these stories

they describe a specific solution to the difficult problems.

Romo, R. (2015, November 10). Human trafficking survivor: I was raped 43,200 times. CNN.

This news article talks about the tragic story of a Karla Jacinto, a sexually abused victim.

This the rough estimate show made of men that had hurt her. She described how she was

abused since the age of five and how her hardships started at a very young age.

She had been trafficked at a very young age and fortunately saved. She talked about how

hard her life in Mexico was and how her recovery went. This article helps to spread

awareness on the issue, which is what the survivor wants.

U.N Data (2001) Sex workers: HIV testing. Worldwide: U.N. Data

The HIV prevalence rate data is based on national surveys of women from ages 15-49.

The source of the data accumulation is from The Millennium Development Goals Development

from the United Nations Statistics Divisions. They collected data from 72 records. The data

update was on February 24, 2016. The data had been collected since the year 2001. The goal for

The Millennium Development Goals Development is to be able to have reverse begun the

spread of HIV. This data that was accumulated also helps in learning how much diseases like

malaria are spreading. The data also helps in combating the diseases and showing the progress

being made.
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