Human Trafficking: U.S. and Global Comparative Analysis

Introduction and Definitions

Human trafficking is a very serious issue that affects every country around the world. Also known as "sex trafficking" or "modern-day slavery," the term reflects the primary reasons people are bought and sold today: the sex trade and involuntary labor. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) defines sex trafficking as "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for a commercial sex act, induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age." Labor trafficking is defined as "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, using force, fraud, or coercion for subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery." (CNHTR, n.d.)

Victims of trafficking include men, women, and children. However, women and children make up approximately eighty percent of the trafficked victims who cross U.S. borders, and seventy percent of them are trafficked into the prostitution and pornography industry (CNHTR, n.d.). Victims are mainly exploited for household labor, agriculture, food and care services, and the garment industry. "Traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion to compel women, men, and children to engage in these activities." (CNHTR, n.d.)

Human trafficking has become a global issue because every country is affected. A comparative analysis of human trafficking in the United States with the rest of the world reveals a yearly increase in human trafficking both domestically and globally. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year. The categories of trafficked individuals include women, children, teenagers, and young adults, who may be foreign nationals or domestic citizens. Under federal law, it is a crime to compel people to work by force. However, enforcement of this law has been challenging: human trafficking rose by 35.7% in the United States between 2015 and 2016. Since 2008, there have been 2,515 reported cases of human trafficking, and half of those cases involve children under the age of 18. Data reveal that 82% of the cases are sex trafficking and 83% of victims are American citizens (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011). Moreover, 10% of the cases are labor trafficking, comprising 81% male and 29% female victims.

Between 2015 and 2016, there were 7,572 reported cases involving 6,340 females and 978 males, as well as 70 cases listing a gender minority. Reported cases showed that 4,890 were adults and 2,387 were minors, and there were also significant numbers of non-reported cases. California ranked first among U.S. states with 1,323 cases, followed by Texas with 670 cases and Florida with 550 cases. Alaska, Rhode Island, and Vermont reported the fewest cases of human trafficking (Banks & Kyckelhahn, 2011). Despite the efforts of federal and state governments, cases of human trafficking have continued to rise in the United States.

At a global level, human trafficking similarly shows no sign of declining. Sexual exploitation is the worst form of global human trafficking, accounting for 79% of cases, while forced labor accounts for 18%. Globally, sexual exploitation is the most documented form of human trafficking compared to forced labor, forced marriage, domestic servitude, organ removal, and the exploitation of children for begging (UNODC, 2009). Traffickers exploit disadvantaged people, prey on their lack of security, deceive them, gain control over them, and profit from their forced services.

Evidence from UN reports shows that women are disproportionately affected by human trafficking. For example, thousands of girls from West African countries have been trafficked to Europe and lured into prostitution. While the United States has more stringent laws against human trafficking than many other countries, the problem continues to rise both domestically and globally. Countries in Central Asia and Eastern Europe record the largest numbers of convictions, with more than 10 recorded convictions per year, followed by countries in Central and Eastern Europe with approximately 10 recorded convictions per year. According to the United Nations, the United States also records up to 10 convictions per year. South Africa is notably one country with no recorded convictions of human traffickers.

The United States serves as a source, destination, and transit country for children, men, and women used for trafficking. Sex trafficking of both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals has been documented, and trafficking occurs in both illicit and legal industries including commercial sex, manufacturing, salon services, restaurants, carnivals, and domestic services. People who enter the United States without legal status are particularly vulnerable to trafficking, prompting NGOs, governments, and organizations to express concern about the risks associated with the global supply chain of human trafficking. NGOs have noted that traffickers target disabled people and lure children into prostitution. While victims originate from every U.S. state and every country around the world, the United States, the Philippines, and Mexico were the top three source countries for human trafficking victims in fiscal year 2015.

Women are frequently victims of sex trafficking because of traditional gender roles. Families in countries such as India, Nepal, and West Africa often choose to educate their male children and send daughters to work at an early age (Buchmann, DiPrete, & McDaniel, 2008). In Asia, women and children are ideal targets for human traffickers because their cultures expect them to bear the burden of family hardships and responsibilities.

Human trafficking is considered by the United Nations to be one of the fastest-growing transnational crimes, along with drug trafficking and the illicit arms trade. It violates immigration policies, labor laws, human rights regulations, and above all, human dignity. Trafficking in persons is a low-risk enterprise because the number of investigations and prosecutions is relatively low; however, the illicit trade is highly profitable, with annual revenues topping US $31.6 billion in 2005 (Belser, 2005, UN.GIFT). The probability of bringing traffickers to justice is minimal. In 2006, according to the United Nations, "for every 800 people trafficked, only one person was convicted" (p. 1), making human trafficking an effective and attractive criminal enterprise.

Based on 2007 data gathered by the ILO, the United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people find themselves victims of forced labor—including sexual exploitation—as a result of trafficking: 56% are in Asia and the Pacific, 10% are in Latin America and the Caribbean, 9.2% are in the Middle East and Northern Africa, 5.2% are in sub-Saharan countries, 10.8% are in industrialized countries, and 8% are in transitional economies.

In Latin America, Europe, and Asia, women are often offered opportunities to work and live in the United States. Instead, they are deceived into signing contracts with trafficking recruiters obligating them to repay smuggling fees. This so-called "debt bondage" agreement (Broderick, 2005) ensures that trafficked women typically spend the rest of their lives being sexually exploited and living in enslaved conditions. They are never compensated; instead, they are physically and psychologically manipulated and tortured. Once victims are enslaved, it is almost impossible for them to escape. Quantifying the exact extent of trafficking has been difficult, not only because of the concealed nature of the crime, but also because, until several years ago, there had been little agreement on the definition of human trafficking.

Traffickers use countless methods to control their victims, including debt bondage, little or no medical attention, malnourishment, long hours of forced labor, little or no compensation, and physical and psychological abuse. Unless the trafficker is caught by authorities or the victim dies, victims tend to experience prolonged mental, physical, and emotional pain.

Many countries have tried to combat human trafficking by implementing different policies. In the United States, sex trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal activities, as traffickers earn anywhere from thirteen to twenty billion dollars worldwide per year. Policies such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA, P.L. 106-386) (Siskin & Wyler, 2013, p. 2) have targeted human trafficking at the federal level. These policies increase criminalization fines and punishment for perpetrators and provide sex trafficking victims with benefits and psychological services. Given that the human trafficking issue is vastly on the rise, the TVPRA put additional preventive measures in place, including:

"The President shall establish and carry out programs to prevent and deter trafficking in persons, including (1) technical assistance and other support to improve the capacity of foreign governments to investigate, identify, and carry out inspections of private entities, including labor recruitment centers, at which trafficking victims may be exploited, particularly exploitation involving forced and child labor; (2) technical assistance and other support for foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations to provide immigrant populations with information, in the native languages of the major immigrant groups of such populations, regarding the rights of such populations in the foreign country and local in-country non-governmental organization-operated hotlines; (3) technical assistance to provide legal frameworks and other programs to foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations to ensure that (A) foreign migrant workers are provided the same protection as nationals of the foreign country; (B) labor recruitment firms are regulated; and (C) workers providing domestic services in households are provided protection under labor rights laws; and (4) assistance to foreign governments to register vulnerable populations as citizens or nationals of the country to reduce the ability of traffickers to exploit such populations." (Government Printing Office, 2010, p. 687)

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 prohibits trafficking, punishes traffickers, and protects victims. The TVPA was the first comprehensive federal law addressing human trafficking, encompassing criminal statutes prohibiting the practice, public awareness programs designed to help prevent trafficking, and measures such as specialized immigration requirements to help protect victims. The TVPA provides for enhanced penalties for all severe forms of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and forced labor. Since its initial passage, there have been several significant revisions and additions to the TVPA (Clawson, Dutch, Solomon, & Goldblatt-Grace, 2009).

Problem Statement and Research Questions

The issue of human trafficking is not only a problem in the United States; it has been part of worldwide society for a long time. Despite policies aimed at decreasing its incidence, the numbers continue to rise. The U.S. Department of State has estimated that approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked annually across international borders worldwide. Of those 800,000 victims, an estimated 50,000 individuals are trafficked into the United States each year.

Human trafficking has been a great concern to both the U.S. government and the international community. In an effort to combat it, the government has made policies to accelerate anti-TIP (Trafficking in Persons) efforts by enacting laws such as the Violence Against Women and Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, P.L. 106-386) (Siskin & Wyler, 2013, p. 2). Congress has also taken steps to eliminate human trafficking by offering grants to law enforcement agencies to design strategies for combating it. The United States has enacted additional regulations to address the problem. For example, the Protect Act of 2003 serves as a remedy for ending the exploitation of children. The goal of the Protect Act is to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, which are major elements of human trafficking. The first conviction under the Protect Act was related to virtual child pornography. Christopher Handley was convicted for engaging in explicit sexual conduct involving children through child pornography cartoons; in 2008, he pleaded guilty to violating the Protect Act (Wayne & Genelle, 2011).

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (Department of State, 2016) is another law the United States adopted to combat human trafficking. Since its enactment, the United States has made significant efforts to enforce the law, which was renewed in 2006 and 2008 and reviewed again in 2013. Despite the benefits of the Act in combating human trafficking, its implementation remains challenging. Before an offender can be convicted, victims must admit to being subjected to a severe form of trafficking. Because the law mandates that the victim participate in the prosecution, many trafficked persons are fearful of retaliation against themselves or their families. This fear serves as a major deterrent to the application of the law.

Moreover, an international Convention has been signed to address transnational crime. The Palermo Protocol—formally, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children—along with its Interpretative Notes (Travaux Préparatoires), represents a complete set of international obligations regarding human trafficking. The Convention went into effect on September 29, 2003, and the Palermo Protocol went into effect on September 25, 2003. Today, 117 countries have signed the Protocol, which now has 146 member parties. After ratification, each country assumes the obligation to translate the regulations into domestic law. The Palermo Protocol focuses on prevention, the protection of victims, and cooperation among State Parties to fight human trafficking and—most importantly—provides a clear definition of the scope of human trafficking:

"…the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs." (UNODC, 2013, p. 24)

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this research is to carry out a comparative study of human trafficking in the United States with the rest of the world and to explore the efficacy of policies and procedures intended to end human trafficking.

Primary Research Question

How do acts of human trafficking affect the entire world?

Subsidiary Research Questions

What are the different types of human trafficking, and how are victims trafficked? What is the history of human trafficking, and how prevalent is it around the world today? What are the statistics on characteristics of human trafficking incidents across the globe?

Definition of Terms

Force — The use of physical restraint or serious physical harm, including physical violence, rape, beatings, and physical confinement (Center for National Human Trafficking Resource).

Fraud — Making false offers to victims, such as visa sponsorship, wages, employment, or better working conditions (Center for National Human Trafficking Resource).

Coercion — Threatening an individual with serious harm or physical abuse against themselves or a loved one (Center for National Human Trafficking Resource).

Debt Bondage — An illegal practice in which traffickers tell victims they owe money to pay for living expenses and smuggling fees, forcing victims to repay the debt through labor or commercial sex (Clawson, Dutch, Solomon, & Goldblatt-Grace, 2009).

Sex Trafficking — A type of human trafficking in which vulnerable women and children are coerced into a life of slavery and forced to engage in prostitution, pornography, live sex shows, military prostitution, mail-order bride services, or sex tourism (Center for National Human Trafficking Resource).

Globalization — "Greater mobility of goods and people and rapid communication throughout the world" (Shelley, 2005, p. 37).

Government Corruption — "Irregular conduct by government officials for their own personal gain" (Hughes, 2000, p. 4).

Significance of the Study

This research proposal analyzes information from two databases: the Department of Justice and a university's Human Trafficking Project. The information retrieved relates to the prevalence of certain cases of human trafficking specifically in the United States. The Department of Justice provided data on the rate of "suspected incidences" of different types of trafficking in the United States for the years 2007 through 2010. The university law school provided data on different federal-level cases ranging from 2003 through 2008. This allowed the researcher to analyze the frequency distribution of victims' countries of origin, their genders, the gender of perpetrators, the locations of incidents, the types of violence inflicted, and whether victims initially crossed international borders.

Limitations of the Study

Even though the researcher collected information from two different databases, several limitations remain. Because human and sex trafficking are often underreported and unrecognized in the United States, no database can capture the exact rate of these forms of trafficking. In many instances, when traffickers are caught, they frequently enter into plea bargains and avoid going to trial, eliminating such cases from databases. This project is therefore limited to examining only the variables present in the two databases. The Department of Justice study was conducted in only 25% of the United States, meaning the findings cannot be generalized to the entire country. The university's Human Trafficking Law Project analyzed only twenty cases, a small sample size. A larger number of cases would carry greater statistical significance.

Literature Review

The widespread exploitation of men and women has become a great concern to the global community. Traditional approaches to tracking down traffickers, bringing criminals to justice, and preventing trafficking have had limited impact. The following review of the literature discusses the societal costs of human trafficking and measures that can be taken to address the problem.

To enhance understanding of the severity of human trafficking, it is important to recognize the existence of the issue at both minimum and maximum levels. The literature reviewed focuses on the historical background of the research, its causes, risk factors, consequences, and prevention, as well as the involvement of governments and private parties. Trafficking of all types continues to exist today largely because of cultures that tolerate sexually aggressive behavior, high demand for prostitution, government corruption, and the broad impact of globalization. Efforts are needed to raise global awareness of this issue, eliminate social stigma, and increase assistance to victims of human and sex trafficking.

Wheaton et al. (2010) place human trafficking into categories: "Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, using force, fraud, or coercion for subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery." (Wheaton, 2009, p. 115)

Human trafficking has been identified as one of the fastest and largest growing industries globally, with annual profits exceeding $32 billion. Although human trafficking has been carried out since ancient times, the phenomenon has changed over time based on political and economic systems; trafficking today is not practiced in the same manner as it was in the 1920s. O'Brien (2009) argues that globalization and economic disparity have tremendously influenced the supply of victims for trafficking.

Belser (2008) equates human trafficking with modern slavery and forced labor, describing it as the use of coercion for the production of goods and services—a coercion that implies a loss of human freedom and a violation of human rights. Wyler (2013) believes that human trafficking subjects women, children, and men to exploitative conditions that some equate to slavery. Despite U.S. and international efforts to eliminate the practice, human trafficking continues to flourish in virtually all countries. The United Nations has confirmed that victims of trafficking come from 136 nationalities. Common forms of trafficking include debt bondage, sexual exploitation, and forced labor; others include the use of children in armed conflict and as child soldiers. A major challenge in addressing the problem is the willingness of service providers and employers to violate anti-trafficking laws, compounded by an increase in demand for cheap international labor that has weakened enforcement.

Human trafficking has been a great concern to the U.S. and international community. Trafficking in persons (TIP) represents one of the most prolific aspects of international crime and has been a significant focus of the U.S. government because of its connection to serious human rights abuses. The TIP involves violations of public health, labor, and human rights standards. Traffickers take advantage of conditions of vulnerability such as social exclusion, poverty, political instability, and ignorance. Actors engaging in human trafficking range "from amateur family-run organizations to sophisticated transnational organized crime syndicates" (Siskin et al., 2013, p. 2). Victims of trafficking are often subjected to physical and mental abuse, social isolation, debt bondage, and confiscation of their travel documents and identity cards. Traffickers also use fear of reprisals against victims' families as a means of control. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that more than 20.9 million individuals are victims of forced labor. Annually, around 17,500 people are believed to be trafficked within the United States, raising concern among both the U.S. community and the international community.

In the United States, estimates of human trafficking range from 14,500 to 20,000 victims between 2005 and 2012 (Clawson, Dutch, Solomon, & Goldblatt-Grace, 2009). The ILO has estimated that 12.3 million people are in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, or involuntary servitude. Internationally, as recognized by the U.S. Department of State, between 12 million and 27 million human beings are suffering in bondage around the world. In the United States alone, sex trafficking is estimated to bring 50,000 women and girls to American shores for purposes of prostitution.

Bales (2004) estimates that between 1815 and 1957, more than 300 international treaties were enacted to suppress the slave and trafficking trade. However, a lack of uniformity in conceptualizing and defining human trafficking has represented a major problem, especially when prosecuting human traffickers across borders. An action may be legal in one country and illegal in another. Moreover, the absence of an internationally agreed-upon definition has made data collection and comparative analysis very difficult, particularly in cross-border contexts (Sverdlick, 2014).

A finding by the United Nations (2008) shows that every stage of trafficking involves sexual, psychological, and physical violence and abuse that can permanently affect victims. The trafficking process involves deprivation, violence, torture, manipulation, abusive working conditions, economic exploitation, and forced substance use. Through manipulation, victims may sustain long- and short-term physical injuries and disabilities that may lead to death. Trafficked individuals are at risk of HIV infection, and the trauma victims receive includes depression, disorientation, alienation, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating. Victims may also become hostile, irritable, or aggressive toward third parties. The stigma they face significantly impacts their lives, including rejection by family or community (Cary, Oram, Howard, Trevillion, & Byford, 2016).

Cary et al. (2016) argue that many victims of human trafficking experience a high prevalence of traumatic stress disorder (TSD) and depression. Wheaton et al. (2010) believe that the United States is losing economically because of human trafficking. The authors argue that freedom of choice is a prerequisite to productivity, and that human trafficking impedes U.S. economic growth. While employers require human services to produce goods and services, traffickers divert the same population into sex slavery and domestic servitude, depriving employers of a consistent labor supply. The economic consequences include lower productivity and loss of revenues. Labor shortages lead to rising operational costs: "a small increase in the cost of labor can significantly increase the cost of production and decrease profit" (Wheaton et al., 2010, p. 128).

On the other hand, some employers exploit human trafficking to source cheap labor. In the United States, agricultural sectors and other industries maximize returns by exploiting trafficking victims. Knowing that victims have minimal bargaining power, employers provide only the minimum level of wellbeing and disregard workers' constitutional rights and safety. "While trafficked labor is monetarily cheaper to employers than legal labor, there are additional costs involved including physical, psychological, and criminal costs. For example, there is the possible loss of social status (and therefore income) if it becomes public that the firm uses trafficked labor." (Wheaton et al., 2010, p. 129)

A report by the United Nations (2008) reveals that countries incur high costs because of human trafficking. These economic costs include the value of resources devoted to treating victims, prevention, prosecution, and apprehension of offenders. Trafficking also constitutes a loss of human resources with consequent revenue losses. Moreover, human trafficking threatens national jurisdictions and violates the rule of law and international law. In many societies, organized crime is a mechanism for unlawfully influencing markets, redistributing national wealth, and assuming political power. The consequences may lead to civil unrest and post-conflict situations. The complex situation of human trafficking encompasses violations of human rights and the persistence of organized crime in society.

Human trafficking also has negative impacts on economies, financial markets, and societal structures. Since trafficking is associated with organized crime and financial power, its effects are interlocking and complex, crossing human, political, economic, and social dimensions. The aftermath produces dangerous and destabilizing consequences for society, including direct economic loss, loss of human safety, and harm to social, environmental, and health sectors.

Economic theory argues that slavery is detrimental to the economy. Classical and neo-classical economists revealed that slavery is unprofitable. Adam Smith believed that free labor was more productive, more motivated, and more profitable (Adam, 2009). Based on this argument, the work carried out by slaves serves only their maintenance. An individual with no property can earn no interest beyond subsistence (Adam, 2015). This parallels the situation of contemporary human trafficking, in which victims earn only enough to sustain themselves.

Belser (2008) asserts that forced labor is synonymous with human trafficking, and estimates that the number of people subjected to forced labor ranges between 12.3 million and 27 million. The U.S. government estimated that number at 12.3 million in 2005. A breakdown of the victims revealed that between 1.4 and 2 million were forced to carry out commercial sexual acts, while 20% were associated with state-imposed forced labor.