Tag: #human trafficking

GLOBAL SEX TRAFFICKING: PART VI-AUSTRALIA

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GLOBAL SEX TRAFFICKING:

PART VI – AUSTRALIA 

By Trevor K. McNeil

On the Surface

Australia is generally seen as a tough, sporty, happy-go-lucky western democracy. A small isolated continent surrounded by water in a geographic region known as Oceania. A tangle of contradictions and mix of traditions making it one of the most unique, unusual and interesting nations on earth. Sadly it is also a tier 1 level country in terms of international human and sex trafficking. This despite consistently complying with minimum requirements.

Not Enough

It turns out the minimum is not quite enough. Trafficking is rampant in Australia in terms of both labor and sexual exploitation. It is difficult to know exactly how bad the problem is, as there is little reliable data on the issue. The government is quite scattershot in terms of acknowledging the issue. Often downplaying it as not to sully their international reputation.

No Significant Steps

According to a report by the United States Justice Department, while levels of sex trafficking are relatively low, it remains a persistent problem. Mostly due to a lack of significant steps on the part of the government. Of the 87 cases of sex trafficking in 2014, less than half ended in prosecution. Despite cases such as a 15-year-old girl who, after suffering horrific abuse requiring surgery for severe damage to her anus, was sold to an undercover police officer for $5,000.

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Global Sex Trafficking: Part V-North America

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Global Sex Trafficking:

Part V: North America

By Trevor K. McNeil

“Sex terrorism is the use of illicit sex, violence and threats to intimidate or coerce to the state of fear and submission. Sex trafficking includes the transportation of persons by means of coercion, deception and /or force into exploitative and slavery-like conditions, and is commonly associated with organized crime,”–Erika Klein, activist, writer.

Show Me The Money

Poverty and the desire to get out of it can be a very powerful motivator, although capitalism can also be a motivating factor. For everyone who “pulls themselves up by their boot-straps,” as per the American Delusion, there are more who pursue a darker journey. Taking advantage of the freest of markets in the world. The one that is completely free of any regulation, because it operates outside the law. An estimated two-thirds trafficking victims in the United States are U.S. citizens. With foreign-born women, government statistics estimate between 15,000 and 50,000 are trafficked into the country each year. Foreign born sex trafficking victims for the most part come to the United States legally on various types of visas.

The Need and the Damage Done

The most lucrative illegal market is narcotics. It is the only vice to have a democratic government declare “war” on it. Some of the richest people in North America are drug dealers. As evidence of that fact, Massachusetts has just brought suit against the billionaire Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma. Massachusetts claims Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers personally and actively pushed their highly addictive narcotic pain-killer, Oxycontin on an unsuspecting populace.

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Global Sex Trafficking: Part II-Asia

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GLOBAL SEX TRAFFICKING:

PART II – ASIA

 By Trevor K. McNeil

Denied

Human trafficking is quite simply the exploitation of a human being. Trafficked people typically have limited access to the basic necessities of food, sleep, hygiene, safety and medical care. Traffickers subject their victims to terrible physical and psychological abuse. Social isolation, being one of the worst. Violence and harsh exploitive treatment often leads to serious health risks including HIV/AIDS. Furthermore serious mental health issues result from such treatment. Anxiety, fear, stress, insecurity and trauma are common. The few studies done on the results of trafficking on its victims show high levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in formerly trafficked persons. The Trafficking experience can also lead to cognitive impairment, memory loss, depression, and even suicide.

Another Side Of Human Trafficking

Sex trafficking is an element of the globalized human trafficking trade.  The casual observer does not see the harmful consequences of the underground criminal trafficking business. Trafficked children are of course the most vulnerable.  Sadly, trafficking whether for labor or sex or a combination of the two will have a detrimental impact on a child’s emotional, physical, and overall psychological development. Human trafficking is slavery.  Slavery is at its greatest level in human history.

Human Costs

Human beings are social creatures. Social isolation is a devastating result of trafficking. A sex trafficker’s evil intent is to separate a slave from their family and support system. There is no mechanism for the enslaved to reach out for help. The traffickers send victims to international destinations cutting them off even further from empathetic social contacts due to language, geographic and cultural differences. Rescued sex slaves report facing stigma and isolation both during and after their trafficking experience, most hurtful from family and friends.

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