The Violent And Perverse System Of Human Trafficking

Slavery has been around for ages. There has always been someone forcing others to do their will. But slavery drags on in modern times, especially today. Modern day slavery, otherwise known as human trafficking, is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as â€Å"...the illegal transport of individuals by force or deception for the purpose of labor, sexual exploitation, or activities in which others benefit financially† (â€Å"Human†). Slavery is not an issue of the past. It has waxed and waned throughout history, and will never cease unless something is done to stop it. Human trafficking is a serious issue in the world, the United States, and even in Iowa. The violent and perverse system of human trafficking is a worldwide system. People who are†¦show more content†¦To keep their victims from escaping, traffickers employ terroristic threats. They may threaten to deport them, take their (false) travel documents or hurt their families (â€Å"Human†). Overall, human trafficking, in essence, is a brutal industry. Since human trafficking is such an unjust thing, many, including the United States, have risen to combat it. In the 1990s there was a surge of human trafficking cases worldwide. Years later in 2005, the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs published an article about the fight against human trafficking. They noted in their article that numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were formed in order to combat this surge of modern day slavery (Coonan). The United Nations also became involved in the 1990s. They treated human trafficking mainly as a law enforcement issue and so began forming what would later be called the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (the Convention) (Coonan). The Convention is not centered around lobbying and human rights groups, but on law enforcement and crime prevention. Therefore the crime must be defined. A daughter document to the Convention, the The UN Protocol to Prevent, Sup press, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (the Protocol), has done this. The Protocol has been particularly important for fighting human trafficking because of two reasons: organizations which signed the treaty were required to criminalize and prosecute