The Inextricable Correlation between Human Trafficking and Prostitution
It's the conflating of trafficking and prostitution (emphasis added).”
This view has also translated into increasingly restrictive domestic laws that have implications for all citizens. In this regard, Brock emphasizes that, “As a result, human trafficking is used as a rationale to tighten boarders and implement ever more restrictive immigration laws, and to criminalize or otherwise punish the very people who anti-trafficking advocates purport to protect.” Notwithstanding the social assistance that prostitutes receive in the process, the fact remains that their primary source of income is disrupted when law enforcement authorities crack down on prostitution. Indeed, Brock points out that, “Much of what is pursued in the name of a war on trafficking has troubling consequences for poor people around the world. Women are of course disproportionally represented among the poor.”
The other school of thought concerning prostitution maintains that irrespective of how well off women may believe they are as prostitutes, the profession is inherently exploitive in insidious ways that place it on the level of human trafficking. For example, according to Chicago-based lawyer Catherine Longkumer who works with trafficking victims to help them restore their lives, “We've got this idea of an ideal victim - someone who is physically locked in a room, chained up and who makes no money. Certainly that classic example of the locked-up trafficking victim exists on our shores, too.” Likewise, some prostitutes in the United States have been lured into the profession using less violent but still effective coercive methods that prevent them from quitting. In this regard, Irvine points out that, “While it's not always obvious to the outside world, intimidation and drug addiction become tools for control. The reality is that traffickers are very smart. You can use a lot of psychological coercion to keep a person bonded, things like threats, or, ‘If you try to leave, you'll be deported, or your family will be harmed.’”
Moreover, there are other issues involved in the conceptualization of victimhood when applied to prostitution. For example, a trafficking expert and clinical professor of law at the University of Michigan, Bridget Carr, argues, “Can people be ‘victims’ if they sell their bodies for sex - and keep some of that money or trade it for drugs? Are they victims if a pimp provides cell phones, buys them clothes, or even cars, or places to stay? In some instances, a prostitute might even have children with her pimp.” Given these tendencies, it is little wonder that some people view prostitution as satisfying the legal definition of a free arrangement between consenting adults with no victimization involved. As a result, even some members of the law enforcement community may have problems conceptualizing prostitutes as being “victims,” even in those situations where they are young. Nevertheless, when children are forced into prostitution, even advocates have trouble supporting the institution.
A number of factors have been cited concerning why children in some countries throughout the world continue to be victims of sex trafficking, and although these reasons differ from country to country, there is a common denominator of exploitation involved. According to Mathews, “The common variable for all victims is that they are exploited, whether by a family member, their community, or even a corrupt government. How and why this exploitation permeates young lives is found in varying explanations in countries around the world.” For example, some researchers have maintained that the lack of a universal definition for "child" has contributed to the problem of human trafficking because without a common definition, it is not possible to identify who is being victimized.
Indeed, although the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a working definition for “child” as being an individual under the age of 18 years and therefore, child sex trafficking laws should protect children age 17 years and under, some countries may consider the age a person can consent to sexual activity to be less than 18 years and the respective country's laws assume precedence over the international conventions. This problem is further exacerbated in countries where births are not recorded officially or where a false identification card is readily obtainable on the black market. Therefore, to the extent that countries are…
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