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What Fuels Human Trafficking? Like drugs and arms trafficking, human trafficking is a market-driven criminal industry that is based on the principles of supply and demand. Many factors make children and adults vulnerable to become the human supply for the trafficking industry. However, the human trafficking industry does not exist because of the number of individuals who are vulnerable to exploitation. Ultimately, human trafficking, as with every market-driven industry, is fueled by demand for labor, services, and commercial sex acts supplied by victims of trafficking. Consequently, to solve the problem of human trafficking, it is essential to end the demand that is created by customers who buy products, services, or people for commercial sex from the trafficking industry. Why Does Demand Thrive? Labor trafficking and sex trafficking of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals persist, thrive, and expand for two main reasons: - Low Risk due to insufficient or ineffective laws or law enforcement: When human traffickers are not prosecuted, they have no incentive to stop.
- High Profits:
- When consumers are willing to buy goods and services from the trafficking industry, they create a profit incentive for labor traffickers.
- When consumers are willing to buy commercial sex from victims of sex trafficking, they make it profitable for traffickers to sexually exploit children and adults.
Left unchecked, human trafficking in both forms will continue to thrive in environments where traffickers can reap high gains with relatively low risk. Demand for Labor Trafficking: What You Need to Know Human trafficking victims make an alarmingly high number of consumer goods and food products that are both imported to the United States and produced domestically. As economies around the world integrate, it has become faster and easier for goods produced by labor trafficking victims to enter the global market. In the U.S., traffickers exploit and enslave both foreign nationals (some of whom enter the U.S. legally) and U.S. citizens. Some of the industries with labor trafficking include: - Domestic labor
- Agriculture
- Landscaping
- Day labor sites
- Garment factories
- Meat-packing plants
- Door-to-door sales
- Chain and fast food restaurants, bars
- Nail salons
In all cases of labor trafficking, consumers provide the demand, the profit, and thus the incentive to the traffickers. Consumers can include companies that subcontract sweatshops, end-consumers who buy cheap good produced by trafficking victims, or individuals who use the services of a trafficking victims. By changing purchasing choices consumers have the power to reduce the demand and help stop human trafficking. Demand for Sex Trafficking: What You Need to Know Individuals who buy commercial sex acts create the demand for sex trafficking. Within the commercial sex industry venues in which sex trafficking has been found to take place include: - Brothels
- Massage parlors
- Strip clubs
- Escort services / call girls and other "erotic services" agencies
- Hotels and motels
- Private homes
Many buyers are unaware or ill informed about the ugly realities of sex trafficking situations in which victims are often subjected to physical and psychological abuse and manipulation perpetrated by the traffickers and sometimes other customers. Popular media like books, movies, television shows and music sometimes glamorize and romanticize the commercial sex industry without acknowledging the issue of sex trafficking. Additionally, it is common that victims of trafficking will not discuss their situation with customers or ask for help because they are trained by their traffickers to lie and tell inaccurate stories about their situation and why they are providing commercial sex acts. If victims do not portray the image their trafficker demands of them, they run a risk of scaring customers away and not earning enough money for their trafficker, which typically leads to violent repercussions from their traffickers. Sign up to stay informed. Donate to make an impact now.
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