KINDS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

INTRODUCTION

Human trafficking is a pervasive and reprehensible phenomenon across the globe, the roots of which date back to centuries ago. The aim of this article is to discuss the various kinds of human trafficking still relevant in the contemporary times; however, before doing so, it is important to know what exactly the term means. Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labour or services, or to engage in commercial sexual acts; the coercion in question can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological.[1]

1. SEX TRAFFICKING

Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking where individuals are forced into sexual acts for commercial purposes without their consent; it is, in a way, a form of sexual slavery. One of the many definitions of it holds that, it is the act of recruiting, harbouring, transporting, acquiring, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.[2]

It is to be noted that, to identify sex trafficking, one must observe the difference between when the alleged victim is an adult and when it is a child. In case of an adult, for it to be sex trafficking, there should be the involvement of use of force, fraud, or coercion to pressurize the victim to engage in the sexual activities (to be used for commercial purposes). On the other hand, when the victim is minor, the only thing that needs proof is the performance of sexual acts for commercial purposes; that is, evidence of force, deception, or other forms of coercion are not relevant in establishing the existence of sex trafficking.[3]

2. LABOUR TRAFFICKING

Labour trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery involving the recruitment, harbouring, transportation or obtaining of individuals who are made to perform labour or services without their consent through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.; this often includes situations of debt bondage, forced labour, and involuntary child labour.[4] Common characteristics of workplaces where such trafficked persons are made to work include inhumane conditions in violation of a wide spectrum of laws designed specifically to regulate the working conditions put in place by employers; these conditions are often in addition to the little or no pay given to the workers who work more hours than what is often deemed acceptable by the labour laws in place.

Such a form of trafficking, as discussed may include situations of debt bondage where the employer (or trafficker) will deploy various strategies to ensnare the victim in an unending debt cycle that is never repayable and might even be transferred to the future generations of the victims upon their death; or situations of forced labour where, as put forward by the International Labour Organization, all work or service is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.[5] Forced labour in hindsight can be considered a subset of element of labour trafficking, the difference between the two being that the latter encompasses a broad range of activities beyond just the work itself (like recruitment and transportation of the individuals, etc.); while on the other hand, forced labour focuses just on the situation of making one perform labour under various forms of threat.

3. ORGAN TRAFFICKING

A lucrative illegal trade, one that operates on a global level but is still surprising less talked about than the commonly known sex or labour trafficking, is the organ trafficking; this is mainly because this illegal profit-making business operates in the darkest of shadows and in plain sight all at the same time. According to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), trafficked organs are used in 10% of organ transplants, including liver, heart, and lung transplants; although we do see cases where these trafficked organs are discreetly transplanted into recipients in the most prestigious hospitals in major cities across the globe, most often than not, transplants tend to take place in improvised operating rooms within homes.[6]

Traffickers usually establish a donors requirement from a place of vulnerability and hence the victims arent always thoroughly screened to ensure they meet the requirements to be a healthy donor; on the flip side, traffickers may prey on desperate patients in need of organs by disguising themselves as a reputable representative of an organ matching organization.[7] We hence see the existence of financial exploitation in both scenarios, leading to the estimated generation of about $840 million to $1.7 billion annually, according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI).

4. CHILD TRAFFICKING

As a subset of human trafficking, child trafficking encompasses the unlawful acquisition, relocation, and forced exploitation of minors, typically for labour or commercial sexual purposes; it can also be done to force them into s domestic labour, armed groups, criminal activity, and even adoption.

To discuss the integral need to do away with this trafficking before everything we can take the example to child trafficking done for the purposes of forced labour. The trafficking in children across national borders and continents, is closely interlinked with the demand for cheap malleable and docile labour in sectors and among employers where the working conditions and the treatment grossly violate the human rights of the children and adults alike; the hazardous conditions in question are so unacceptable they not only stunt the development of a child but also exposes it to an array of dangerous health issues.[8] Government in such cases often cannot force the employers to make better these circumstances since forced child labour usually, at a large scale goes on in the informal sector, that is, in the businesses of unregistered employers; this leaves the government unable to bring it under its purview to see if standards of employment are being met.

5. BEGGING RINGS

Begging rings refer to organised networks of individuals that are forced or coerced into begging for money or resources in public places in virtue of their vulnerable or marginalised status; consequently, the proceeds of these rings are often hogged by the organizers or traffickers rather than the individuals directly involved in begging.

A common example of this form of trafficking can be observed in the existence of child beggars that often roam the streets. Street kids, runaways, or children living in poverty can fall under the control of traffickers who force them into begging rings; consequently, these children are at times intentionally disfigured to attract more money from passersby, in addition to severe beatings and injuries inflicted on them if they dont bring in the money.[9]

6. CHILD SOLDIERS

The term child soldiers is often used to associate to a form of human trafficking (that falls under the concept of child trafficking) where thousands of children are coerced to be recruited and used in armed conflicts across the world; moreover despite the name, the recruitment of these children do not just end with them being soldiers, more often than not they are also used as scouts, cooks, porters, guards, messengers, spies and more.[10]

Children, both boys and girls, in such situations experience extensive forms of exploitation and abuse as well as being exposed to unconscionable forms of violence not suitable for their tender ages.[11] They are often to participate in active combat or hazardous labour, in addition to being often deprived of proper nutrition needed for their development.[12]

CONCLUSION

Through the discussion in this article, one has to realise that the intricate dynamics of human trafficking highlight the critical need for a comprehensive and coordinated global response. Again, it is important to realise that mere laws, despite international collaboration between governments is not near enough to combat the nefarious reality of sex trafficking and forced labour to a more diabolical trade in organs and exploitation of children. What is also needed is the uncompromised initiative of bringing about awareness of the evils of human trafficking by collaborations of governments not only with NGOs but also communities as a whole.

REFERENCES

1. What is Human Trafficking?, India, available at: https://www.justice.gov/humantrafficking/what-is-human-trafficking (last visited on December 29, 2023).

2. Sex Trafficking, India, available at: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/trafficking.html (last visited on December 29, 2023).

3. Ibid.

4. Labor Trafficking, , India, available at: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking (last visited on December 29, 2023).

5. Human trafficking, forced labour and debt bondage, India, available at: https://www.gla.gov.uk/who-we-are/modern-slavery/who-we-are-modern-slavery-human-trafficking-forced-labour-and-debt-bondage/#:~:text=Debt%20bondage%20can%20also%20be,and%20a%20job%20finding%20fee (last visited on December 29, 2023).

6. Organ Trafficking: The Unseen Form of Human Trafficking, India, available at: https://www.acamstoday.org/organ-trafficking-the-unseen-form-of-human-trafficking/ (last visited on December 29, 2023).

7. Ibid.

8. Trafficking in children, India, available at: https://www.ilo.org/ipec/areas/Traffickingofchildren/lang--en/index.htm (last visited on December 30, 2023).

9. Chapter 5. Human Trafficking, India, available at: https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=710sectionid=46796906 (last visited on December 30, 2023).

10. Children recruited by armed forces or armed groups, India, available at: https://www.unicef.org/protection/children-recruited-by-armed-forces (last visited on December 30, 2023).

11. Ibid.

12. Supra note 10.